You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English Podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello, and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Jennifer and I'll be your host for this episode, the first in a two-part series about adding impact to your presentations.
We've all sat through boring presentations before.
And we've all worried during our own presentations that others might be feeling that way.
So what can we do to prevent this?
A presentation needs impact.
It needs to make the audience feel something, understand something, or believe something.
And it needs to make them want to do something.
Fortunately, there are some simple techniques and language that you can learn that will add impact to your presentations.
And then people will look at you and not out the window.
In this lesson, we'll hear part of a presentation delivered by Ben.
Ben is going to talk to his colleagues and managers about cloud computing.
But first he is going to identify a problem and then show that there needs to be a solution to that problem.
Only then can he help them understand what cloud computing is and what benefits it might bring to the company.
As you listen, try to answer the following questions.
1.
What happened to Ben on Monday morning?
Two, where is Ben's stuff stored?
Three, what does Ben say about the number of documents in their department?
Okay, everyone.
I think Darren's update was really valuable.
Thanks, Darren.
Now, I'd like to turn things over to Ben.
Ben's put together a presentation about cloud computing for us.
Right, Ben?
Thanks, Sadie.
Cloud computing is right.
But if you saw this on the agenda and were looking forward to getting all the answers about the future of web technology, I'm sorry, I don't have all the answers.
But I do have a story to tell.
It's Monday morning.
I arrive at the office at 7.30, just like every day.
I fire up my computer, open my email, and find 200 messages.
200 messages.
Great.
That's part of my job.
But sometimes I get this crazy idea on my way to work that I might spend some time solving problems, helping clients.
You know the things that I get paid to do and that I like doing.
Crazy idea, I know.
Does this sound familiar?
Of course it does.
Okay.
So a bunch of these emails are asking me for different documents, which means now I've got another issue to deal with.
Because some of my stuff is stored on my desktop, some of my stuff is stored on three different flash drives, some of my stuff is stored on my laptop and some of my stuff is stored as email attachments.
That's a whole lot of stuff, stored in a whole lot of different places.
And everyone else I talk to is in the same boat.
It's like every computer in our company is a small piece of a jigsaw.
And nobody actually knows what the finished puzzle looks like, because we each hold only a few of the pieces.
All right.
A lot of documents exist in different versions on different computers.
We don't need the same documents stored on several computers.
There are just too many documents.
On my computers and my flash drives and in my email, I have just over 1,500 documents.
If everybody in our department has about the same number and if the average length of those documents is three pages, how many pages is that?
It's 135,000.
A ream of paper is two inches thick.
That means our department has a stack of documents over two miles high.
Over two miles.
That's ridiculous.
So, my question to you, my question for this company is, what are we going to do about this?
Are we going to continue simply to cope?
Or are we going to find a solution?
Isn't that exactly what we're constantly telling our clients to do?
Let's go through that presentation again and talk about exactly what's happening.
Thanks, Sadie.
Cloud computing is right.
But if you saw this on the agenda and were looking forward to getting all the answers about the future of web technology, I'm sorry, I don't have all the answers.
But I do have a story to tell.
An agenda is the list of things to be discussed at a meeting.
And a presentation on cloud computing appears on the agenda for this meeting.
So it would be natural for the audience to expect to hear some arguments in favor of this technology.
But Ben begins his talk by saying he doesn't have all the answers.
Why would he say that?
Well, this modesty will actually help the listeners connect with him.
If he stands up and tells everyone that he has all the answers, they might not believe him.
Instead, Ben says that he has a story.
Everybody likes a story, and this is a good way to create a positive relationship with your audience right from the beginning.
Let's hear Ben's story.
It's Monday morning.
I arrive at the office at 7.30, just like every day.
I fire up my computer, open my email, and find 200 messages.
200 messages.
Great.
That's part of my job.
But sometimes I get this crazy idea on my way to work that I might spend some time solving problems, helping clients.
You know the things that I get paid to do and that I like doing.
Crazy idea, I know.
Does this sound familiar?
Of course it does.
Ben is telling a story that everybody can understand.
His morning routine is probably the same as most other people's.
It's a part of everyday life.
That's one quality of a good story.
It helps bring the audience into your subject with something they can relate to.
Another important quality is humour.
Notice how Ben is being ironic or funny when he says that he gets the crazy idea that he might spend some of his time solving problems.
But no, when he fires up or starts his computer, he has to deal with his email messages.
Everybody listening has surely felt the same frustration.
How else can we start a story that will help us connect with the audience?
Let me tell you about what happened to a friend of mine recently.
Just the other day I had a strange experience.
I'd like to share a little story with you.
So I'm on my way to work the other day.
Ben's story serves a purpose.
He wants to talk about a problem that needs a solution.
Okay.
So a bunch of these emails are asking me for different documents, which means now I've got another issue to deal with.
Because some of my stuff is stored on my desktop, some of my stuff is stored on three different flash drives, some of my stuff is stored on my laptop and some of my stuff is stored as email attachments.
That's a whole lot of stuff stored in a whole lot of different places.
Ben has a new problem to deal with or try to solve.
His problem is about stuff or his work.
He uses this word again and again.
In fact, he uses the entire phrase, some of my stuff is stored, several times.
He's repeating this phrase to add impact.
He's emphasizing how much stuff he has and how many different places it is stored.
Repetition can have a very strong effect on an audience.
So let's practice a few more examples of using repetition for emphasis and impact.
The folks in sales are wondering what's going on.
The folks in marketing are wondering what's going on.
The folks in head office are wondering what's going on.
I don't like it.
You don't like it.
Nobody likes it.
It doesn't matter whether you're behind schedule, ahead of schedule or on schedule.
You need to update the client.
I don't want to hear maybe, might or may.
I want to hear must.
Ben wants to add some colour to his description of the problem.
And everyone else I talk to is in the same boat.
It's like every computer in our company is a small piece of a jigsaw.
And nobody actually knows what the finished puzzle looks like, because we each hold only a few of the pieces.
If someone is in the same boat, it means they have the same problem.
And the problem here is compared to a jigsaw puzzle.
The stuff he needs for his work is separated on different computers which Ben says are like the pieces of a jigsaw.
He is using metaphor, in which we compare a thing or situation to something else in order to make a point.
When we do this, it helps people understand the problem or see it from a different perspective.
Showing how these computers are pieces of a puzzle suggests there is a bigger picture.
Listen to these examples of using metaphor.
The negotiation was like trench warfare.
We went back and forth for months without anyone gaining much ground.
This ship is sinking fast and the captain has left the boat.
We've been playing defence for too long.
It's time we went on the offensive.
Our branding is pretty poor.
We're like a plain old cereal box on the bottom shelf at the grocery store.
Ben then uses another technique to help people consider the problem.
There are just too many documents.
On my computers and my flash drives and in my email, I have just over 1,500 documents.
If everybody in our department has about the same number and if the average length of those documents is three pages, how many pages is that?
It's 135,000.
A ream of paper is two inches thick.
That means our department has a stack of documents over two miles high.
Over two miles!
That's ridiculous!
The idea here is that there are too many documents.
To make people understand just how many there are, he explains it in visual terms.
He adds up the number of documents and shows people how high the stack or pile is.
With digital files, we don't realise how much stuff we actually have.
But when you imagine it in terms of paper, it's clear that there are a lot of documents.
Ben's audience can really see what he's talking about.
It's important to help people visualise facts, figures and statistics.
It gives them meaning and power.
Just using numbers can be boring and ineffective.
Notice how the following examples help an audience picture what's being talked about.
If you put the number of cars we sold this quarter end to end, it would stretch from Boston to Beijing and back again.
Facebook now has over 500 million unique users.
That's equal to the entire population of the European Union.
What we pay on equipment leases is now more than the average American spends on a house.
You could fit the production facilities of our five biggest competitors inside our new factory.
The problem has been introduced.
Now Ben is going to begin a transition toward the solution.
How does he do this?
So, my question to you, my question for this company, is what are we going to do about this?
Are we going to continue simply to cope?
Or are we going to find a solution?
Isn't that exactly what we're constantly telling our clients to do?
Does Ben expect his audience to answer these questions?
No, he doesn't.
They are rhetorical questions, which means they are used to persuade.
When Ben says, are we going to find a solution?
What he really means is, let's find a solution.
When he says, isn't that what we're constantly telling our clients to do?
He really means, this is what we tell our clients.
And these rhetorical questions have impact because they bring the listener to the side of the speaker.
The listener can see that they agree on something.
Practice these rhetorical questions and see how they point to an obvious answer.
With margins so low, why aren't we aggressively cutting costs?
Is taking on a bit of debt in order to expand such a bad idea?
Do we want to let the competition completely destroy us?
Ben's not finished his presentation, but he's made an excellent start.
He has helped people see that there is a problem, and then he has set them up to hear a solution.
Now let's practice some of the language we learned for visualizing numbers and using repetition to add impact.
You'll hear a question and the technique to use, then you'll hear a prompt.
Use the words in the prompt to make a response to the question.
For example, if you hear, Repetition.
Why should customers buy our products?
Our products.
Affordable.
Stylish.
Well made.
You can say, Our products are affordable, our products are stylish, and our products are well made.
We'll play an example answer after each practice.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
Visualizing.
How much paper do we waste every year?
Every year.
Waste.
2,000 trees.
Paper.
Answer.
Every year we waste 2,000 trees of paper.
Repetition.
What colors do our customers like?
Some of the people.
Brown, orange, yellow.
Answer.
Some of the people like brown, some of the people like orange, and some of the people like yellow. visualizing how many customers did we have last year last year customers equal population of Boston answer last year our customers equal the population of Boston Repetition.
What do you have to do every morning?
I have to check mail, make coffee, call my boss every morning.
Answer.
I have to check my email every morning, I have to make coffee every morning and I have to call my boss every morning.
Now let's practice some of the vocabulary and idioms from this lesson.
You'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat the whole sentence saying the missing word.
For example, if you hear, You can say Darren sent out an update about the changed production schedule.
After each response, we'll play the correct answer.
Let's begin.
We hired an advisor to help us with our financial problems.
Answer.
We hired an advisor to help us deal with our financial problems.
I gave my presentation and then... things over to the next speaker.
Answer.
I gave my presentation and then turned things over to the next speaker.
When I... up the printer, it gave me an error message.
Answer.
When I fired up the printer, it gave me an error message.
Answer.
The employees were happy that the staff meeting had a short agenda. and repetition.
We've also seen how beginning a presentation by telling a story can help you connect with the listeners.
Be sure to listen next time when we'll hear Ben talk about how cloud computing can solve the problems he's raised in the first part of his presentation.
We'll also introduce lots more ways to make your presentations sizzle.
For more practice, Premium members can access the online quizzes and study notes for this and other episodes in the Learning Centre.
Not a member yet?
Then head over to www.businessenglishpod.com Thanks for listening, and see you next time.
