Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast, number 644, Giving a Successful Presentation.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast, episode 644.
I'm your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan.
This episode is called Giving a Successful Presentation.
It contains lots of vocabulary related to giving a speech or presentation.
So let's get started.
Do you hear that?
It's a packed house and your presentation was a hit.
People are clamoring for more.
I can't believe it.
I wasn't expecting that kind of reception.
The audience really seemed to like it.
Like it?
They were on the edge of their seats.
The presentation actually started slowly, but it seemed to gain traction in the middle.
Thanks.
I'm still in shock.
Maybe if I tweaked it a little, I could give this presentation at the national conference.
You'll have time later to think about that.
Right now, you need to get out there for the Q&A.
They're waiting for you.
But I don't have anything else to say.
Just get out there.
Your adoring public is waiting for you.
Our dialogue begins with the event organizer, the person who is in charge of or who is running this particular event where the presentation is going to be made.
She says to Herman, the person who is going to give the presentation, the presenter, did you hear that?
It's a packed house and your presentation was a hit.
A packed, P-A-C-K-E-D, house is when you have a very large audience.
Lots of people who come and they take up every seat in the place where the event is being held.
Sometimes we say they're standing room only, meaning there are no more places to sit because there are so many people there.
That's a packed house.
It doesn't mean it's a house that you live in.
The word house here just refers to the place the auditorium or stadium where the event is taking place.
The event organizer says that Herman's presentation was a hit.
To say something is a hit means that it is very successful.
It was very popular.
We talk about hit songs or hit movies.
These are songs and movies that are very popular.
Hit has a number of other definitions.
Take a look at our learning guide for those.
Finally, the event organizer says people are clamoring for more.
To clamor C-L-A-M-O-R means to ask for something, but in a very loud way, to make a lot of noise, demanding or insisting that something happen.
The people are clamoring for more.
They're wanting Herman to do more of his presentation or to make the presentation longer, to continue it.
Herman says, I can't believe it.
I wasn't expecting that kind or that type of reception.
Reception comes from the verb to receive.
It's a noun meaning the way or the manner in which something is received, the way people react to something or react to someone.
The presentation got a good reception.
It was well received, we might also say.
The audience, Herman says, the people who were listening, seemed to like it.
The event organizer says, like it?
They were on the edge of their seats.
She says, like it, meaning they didn't just like it.
They loved it.
They were on the edge of e d g, e of their seats.
The seat is where you sit in an auditorium or stadium.
The edge is at the very end, or border, if you will, of the seat.
It's where your body is just barely on the seat and The expression to be on the edge of your seat means that you are so interested, you're so eager to hear or see something, that you may be sitting up in your seat almost like you're about to stand up.
That's to be on the edge of one's seat.
Herman says the presentation actually started slowly, but it seemed to gain traction in the middle.
The expression to gain traction T-R-A-C-T-I-O-N is means to have more success, to get better, to begin, to be more well-received.
That's to gain traction.
The event organizer says you had the audience hooked from the start.
To be hooked, H-O-O-K-E-D, means to like something and need something.
You want more of it.
You like it and you want even more.
This could be true in, for example, someone who is using certain drugs.
They may be hooked on drugs.
Notice the preposition we use, on, hooked on a certain drug.
The other word here would be addicted, especially if you are talking about drugs.
However, to be hooked or hooked on something is an expression we can use for just about anything.
In this case...
Herman had the audience hooked.
In other words, the audience was very interested.
They needed and wanted more from the start, from the very beginning of his presentation.
She says, you could have heard a pin drop in there.
The expression you could have heard.
A pin drop means means that it is a situation where everyone is quiet because they are interested in something.
They want to hear what will happen next.
When someone makes an announcement in front of a group of people that is very important, everyone will be quiet and listen.
That's where you could hear a pin drop.
Well, this is the past tense.
So the event organizer says you could have heard a pin drop.
It was that quiet.
It was so quiet you could hear a pin dropping on the floor.
A pin I should mention is a small piece of usually metal that you put into something, you stick into something, usually to keep something in place.
For example, you may have an announcement, a piece of paper, and you take a kind of pin called a pushpin and you put it into the wood or you put it into the board, so that the announcement, the piece of paper, stays.
Well, that's a pin.
It's a small, sharp piece of metal that goes into something.
She says to Herman, Your presentation is undoubtedly the highlight of the conference.
Undoubtedly means clearly, without a doubt, obviously.
A highlight is the best part of something, the most interesting or beautiful or important part of something.
You could say, I went to Rome and the highlight of my trip was to see Michelangelo's Pietà.
That's the highlight.
That was the best part.
Herman says, thanks.
I'm still in shock.
To be in shock means to be very surprised by something, unable to fully understand it and sometimes accept it.
You can be in shock over a good thing.
You can be in shock over a bad thing.
This is definitely a good thing.
Herman says, maybe if I tweaked it a little...
I could give this presentation at the national conference.
This may be a conference or a meeting for a given city or state.
But Herman thinks if he tweaked his presentation, meaning if he improved it, if he made some small changes while leaving most of it the same, but making small changes to improve it, then he could go on to a bigger conference.
The organizer says, you'll have time later to think about that.
Right now, you need to get out there for the Q and A. Q and stands for question.
A stands for answer.
The QA is something that happens at the end of many presentations, where the people who are listening to you, your audience, gets a chance to ask you questions about your topic.
Herman says.
The event organizer says just get out there, meaning go out back in front of the people.
Your adoring public is waiting for you.
To adore means to like or admire someone or something.
Here it's used to modify public.
Which are the people?
The people who listen to you or who watch you?
So your adoring public are the people who adore you, who love you, who want to see more of you.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Do you hear that?
It's a packed house and your presentation was a hit.
People are clamoring for more.
I can't believe it.
I wasn't expecting that kind of reception.
The audience really seemed to like it.
Like it?
They were on the edge of their seats.
The presentation actually started slowly, but it seemed to gain traction in the middle.
You had the audience hooked from the start.
You could have heard a pin drop in there when you were going over your main points.
Your presentation is undoubtedly the highlight of the conference.
Thanks.
I'm still in shock.
Maybe if I tweaked it a little, I could give this presentation at the national conference.
You'll have time later to think about that.
Right now, you need to get out there for the Q&A.
They're waiting for you.
But I don't have anything else to say.
Just get out there.
Your adoring public is waiting for you.
The highlight of all our podcasts is the script written by Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us next time on ESL Podcasts.
English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2010 by the Center for Educational Development.
