Summarizing, concluding and recommending

 

Change the two paragraphs below with words from the boxes.

 

Okay, I think that is the (a) _______ of the (b) _______ part of my talk. I'd now (c) _______ to say a few words in (d)_______. What we have to remember is the importance of good research. In order to get good (e)_______ we must provide enough (f)_______, so I would like to ask for more people and more money. It's as simple as that. Money and people are the vital resources we need. That's all.

 

That (g)_______ what I want to say so can I (h)_______ the main points? (i)_______ I talked about the objectives of the Calypso project. (j)_______ I (k)_______ the problems, essentially the lack of resources and the time difficulties we had. We also had personnel problems. Finally I (l)_______ that during this time, our competitors have introduced new products. In (m)_______, therefore, it is now extremely important to launch a new Calypso product during the current year. Thank you for listening.

Introducing questions and discussion

 

Make correct phrases by matching the verb on the left to the correct words on the right.

 

1. conclude a) your views

2. hear b) my talk

3. have time c) some comments

4. make d) a question

5. ask e) for a discussion

 

SUMMARY

Presentation Tips

 

Know Yourself Strengths Weaknesses Talents Feelings Opinions Nervousness Motivation   Know Your Audience Number of people present Interests / Expectations Level of expertise Commonality / Individuality   Know Your Material Knowledge of Subject Research Personal Experience Preparation Rehearsal

Present Yourself Dress Posture Voice Gestures Body Language Confidence Enthusiasm   Present to Your Audience Positive Polite Interesting Informative Thought-provoking   Present Your Material Organization Clarity Visuals Language Volume

 

Speech Preparation

Choose topic ® Profile the audience, occasion, and location ® Gather material ® Select material ® Organize material ® Prepare presentation

aids ® Practice ® Write ® Revise ® Rehearse ® Present ® Questions and answers

Language Note

Presenting at a glance

 

Introduction
Great	Good morning everyone. Thank you for coming today.
Introduce yourself	My name is…(Andrew White). I’m a…(controller) for…(ABC).
State objective	As you know, today I’m going to talk about…
Outline structure	My presentation will cover 3 main points: 1. _____ 2. _____ 3. _____
Timing	My talk will last about…(15 minutes).
Questions	Please interrupt at any time if you have any questions.
Link	OK. To begin I’d like to look at…
Main Body
Part one	So, the First Part of my presentation is…
Closing first part	So, that’s all I have to say on the First Point. Any questions on that?
Opening part two	OK, let’s move to the Second Section which I have called…
Sequencing	There are three questions to look at here: Firstly… Secondly….Finally…
Closing/moving on	OK, that’s everything on Part Two. I will now move to Part Three.
Highlighting	Here I would like to highlight two items.
Using a visual	As you can see on this chart…
Recommending	I would suggest…
Digressing	Could I digress for a second?
Returning	Let me now return to…
Closing	OK, that’s all I wanted to say on Part Three.
Ending
Signal end	That brings me to the end of my presentation.
Summarise	· To sum up, I talked about __________ 1. _____ 2. _____ 3. _____
Conclude	That concludes my presentation.
Invite questions	Do you have any questions?
Handle questions positively	That’s a good question.
Closing	I’m sorry we are out of time.
Thanking	Thank you very much for your attention.

 

Unit 5 Presentations: Describing Trends

I Market movements

1 Here are some common verbs (actions) that we use to describe changes in a market. Do they describe upward or downward movements? Are they regular or irregular verbs? Complete the chart.

 

STEM	MOVEMENT	PAST	PAST PARTICIPLE
increase		increased	increased
decrease
fall
rise
raise

 

 

2 Find the verbs in these sentences.

Prices rose sharply.

Our suppliers raised their prices sharply.

Notice how the verbs are used differently. In both sentences the prices went up. But in the first sentence they went up on their own. In the second sentence someone put them up.

 

Complete these sentences with the correct form of the verbs raise or rise.

1. The Chancellor has just _______ the duty on petrol.

2. The sun _______in the east and sets in the west.

3. Our share price has _______ recently.

4. She _______an important point at the meeting yesterday.

5. Bank lending rates _______ by 0.5% last month.

6. Could I _______ a question?

3 Here are some newspaper headlines. Are they good news or bad? Find verbs that indicate a movement. Is it upwards or downwards?

4 Here are some more newspaper headlines. What stories do you think they are about?

Write out all the verbs in the headlines. Can you think of verbs with the opposite meaning? For example, double -- halve

Which of these verbs can you make into a noun?

For example, to weaken (verb) -- weakness (noun)

 

II Describing changes

Look at the graph.

 

1.Write down sentences using these descriptions. 1 a dramatic increase 2 a steady rise 3 a peak 4 a trough 5 a sharp drop 6 a slight decline

2. Mark the places where sales a remained stable b fluctuated c decreased substantially d levelled off e fell by 1,000 units f fell to 1,000 units.

3. Work with a partner. Take it in turns to describe the graph. E.g. There was a steady rise in sales in January and the first half of February, then they fell to 1,000 units in mid March.

 

Think of different ways to describe the changes. E.g. Sales rose for the first six weeks of the year, then decreased substantially, and there was a trough in mid March.

4. These adjectives can all be used to describe changes.

slight steady sharp dramatic

substantial rapid gradual negligible

 

Some describe the size of an increase or decrease, some describe the rate or speed and some describe both.

A slight increase is a very small increase.

A steady increase is a regular increase. It isn't sudden.

A sharp increase is a large and sudden increase.

 

Look at the other adjectives and say what sort of changes they describe.

 

5. An adjective describes a noun and an adverb describes a verb.

There was a sharp increase in profits. Profits increased sharply.

 

adjective noun verb adverb

 

Make adverbs from the list of adjectives in 3. Add -ly and make any other necessary changes in spelling. For example, sharply, steadily.

 

 

6. Try using some of the adjectives and adverbs to describe changing trends in your country. Work with a partner. Write sentences describing increases and decreases in these things.

1 The rate of inflation

2 Interest rates

3 The number of people unemployed

4 Property prices

5 Rates of direct and indirect taxation

The rate of inflation rose steadily for the first few months of the year but there's been a slight fall recently. I think it will remain steady for the next few months.

III Causes and results

1. These trends are visible in many countries in the world today. Are they happening in your country? If so, why do you think they are happening? What do you think caused them?

 

• People are living longer than they used to.

• Jobless totals are increasing.

• The cost of imports is rising.

• Public concern about road accidents is growing.

• Governments are reducing expenditure on defence.

• People are becoming more aware of green issues.

• More students are taking higher education courses.

 

Where do you think these trends will lead? What will be the results?

 

2. Now match each trend to one of the causes and one of the results in these lists.

Causes

1 The shortage of jobs available for young people

2 Improved health care and medical advances

3 Rises in accident statistics

4 Political changes in the former Soviet Union

5 Currency devaluations

6 The publicity given to the effects of pollution

7 The economic recession

Results

a Stricter laws on drink-driving

b An increase in demand for environmentally-friendly goods

c Inflation

d A better qualified workforce

e Increasing numbers of pensioners

f Substantial increases in the costs of unemployment benefits

g A decline in the aerospace industry

 

 

Make sentences about each trend, describing how it came about and saying what the results will be. The phrases in the boxes will help you.

People are living longer now than they used to. This is largely due to improved health care and medical advances. As a result, we will have increasing numbers of pensioners in the population.

Explaining causes

This is a result of.. (e.g. This is a result of bad management. )

This is because of... (e.g. This is because of bad management. )

This is largely due to... (e.g. This is largely due to bad management.)

... contributed to this. (e.g. Bad managementcontributed to this.)

 

Describing results

As a result, we will have... (e.g. As a result, we will have a drop in sales.)

It could lead to... (e.g. It could lead to a drop in sales.)

It may result in... (e.g. It may result in a drop in sales.)

... will be a direct result. (e.g. A drop in sales will be a direct result.)

 

3. Draw a graph or table that shows a trend or changes in your industry. (Or bring one that you have at work into class.) For example, it could show

• increases/decreases in sales

• changes in staffing levels

• changing patterns of demand

• rising or falling costs or prices

• changing volumes of output.

 

Tell a colleague what it represents. Explain the changes, saying what the causes are and what the results will be.

 

 

IV Writing

1. Read this report on the performance of the Laura Ashley Group. Write out all the phrases used to describe relationships between causes and their results.

 

Company Report

The strong turnaround in Laura Ashley's results this year can be attributed to several factors. One of these was our new simplified management structure which led to faster decision-making processes and substantial cost reductions. A second factor was the increase in sales which resulted from new merchandising techniques and greater employee involvement.

However, in North America our performance was disappointing. This was largely due to unsatisfactory margins, brought about by problems with stock control and distribution. We expect significant changes in next year's results. Our new alliance with Federal Express will lead to better information systems and consequently an improvement in the flow of goods within our supply chain.

2. Write short notes in the empty boxes of this diagram to show the chains of events.

3. Use this diagram to write a similar report on the performance of the Chemicals Division of another company. Follow the same pattern.

 

 

V Speaking

A STEP analysis is a useful business tool for examining ways in which organizations need to adapt to changing external environments. STEP stands for sociological, technological, economic, and political changes. Perform a STEP analysis of your company or department. Discuss how your work is being affected (or may be affected) by these factors.

 

VI Content of visual aids.