This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 14, Getting Challenged in Your English Presentation, How to Keep Calm.
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Yeah, I just want to wear sandals already.
Because they're more comfortable. My feet hurt.
And they want to breathe. They want to say hello to the world.
Yeah, I know. I know. I love sandals. I love wearing sandals.
Unfortunately, we can't wear sandals at work, most workplaces at least.
And today we're talking about making presentations at work.
But specifically one thing that happens that I think a lot of our listeners, you know, are concerned about.
Like this is something that our listeners really stress about when they prepare for a presentation in English is what do they say if they get a question at the end of the presentation where someone didn't understand?
Right. Or someone wants them to expand on the topic.
Very interesting. Very useful. Totally. Why do you think this is scary, though, the idea of this?
It's hard because you prepare for a presentation and you don't know what they're going to ask.
Yeah. And I mean, you can anticipate some things and you definitely should.
But there's always that, you know, chance that, you know, you've worked so hard on something and then someone starts to question you.
Maybe maybe they're questioning you just to ask.
But, you know, maybe they're maybe they might disagree with you also.
A little bit of a challenge. Right. Exactly.
And so, you know, you need to sometimes it can be very, you know, like jarring, like, oh, jarring.
That's a good word. I like that word. Absolutely.
It can be disturbing and jarring. I mean, and on top of that, if we don't have the right words and phrases to defend ourselves or to go deeper to explain, it really leaves us feeling quite exposed and vulnerable.
Right, right. True. Yeah. Oh, hard. Have you ever had a presentation situation, Michelle, where at the end, you know, you thought you made a great presentation and then there was that one pesky little person asking a question that just, you know, like pushing your buttons a little bit, challenging you or asking for clarification?
Um, I, I, I'm only thinking back and I don't know if this, I have a random memory of something, something in high school where I had to present something and, um, it might've been for like a science course.
And I feel like I, I, I imagine that there was a lot of that kind of questioning there.
And, you know, that's, that's a little harder for me, especially as I'm not, you know, necessarily the big science person.
So, you know, it also depends how comfortable you are with the topic.
With the material. Yeah, that's huge. That's huge.
And that's huge for our listeners, too. That was a long time ago.
And I don't even, you know, you know, sometimes when you think, am I making up this memory or did this really happen?
Do you ever have that happen, Lindsay, where you're like, this was a scary experience?
Yeah, you don't know if it happened. That's true.
That's true. lesson. Very cool. Perfect.
And Michelle, what should our listeners do if they want to keep better track of today's episode?
They want to go back, review it. What should they do?
Well, I think that they should get a transcript.
Yeah. The transcripts are a really cool way, guys, to take this episode and make it a lesson, right?
Just as an episode, it's not a lesson. It's just edutainment.
But if you want to make a real lesson, you need the transcript.
Okay, Michelle, let's go into it. I mean, what are some phrases that we could use to begin our explanation?
Let's say that I'm challenging you, Michelle.
What would you say? Hmm. Okay. Well, if you're challenging, I'm going to, you know, want to clarify, right?
So, I mean, can you tell me, like, what question would you be asking me?
Yeah. So, for example, I might say, oh, Michelle, can you say a bit more about that?
Or what exactly do you mean by that? Hmm.
Sounds a little scary. Okay. Well, here's something I could say.
I could say, well, what I mean is… Very nice.
See, it's very simple, but it also sounds confident to me.
Yeah, yeah, exactly. You want to just maintain your composure, like take a deep breath.
Everything's fine. Yeah, that's right. That's huge.
And then another thing you could say is, okay, so let me explain what I mean.
Yeah, it definitely sounds like you're still like... very confident, you know, like, you know, the answer.
And, you know, instead of that, you're even even if you know, there are definitely those times, I'm sure when you'll be like, Oh, yeah, might be a little bit hard to find the words, especially you're nervous already, right?
So when if you have these phrases, it's immediately just going to make you sound very calm, cool and collected.
That's right. And it's very important to maintain that composure.
You know, it's huge. The thing is, this is happening at the end.
So even if you give a great presentation, unfortunately, this part is potentially what people are going to remember, guys. about your presentation.
So that's why we need to listen closely today.
We need to take notes. We need to get the transcripts for today and sit down and learn these phrases.
Go over and practice them. But let's keep going, Michelle.
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Another phrase is, let me go a bit deeper.
Very nice. Thank you. Very nice. I like this.
You know what? This sounds quite natural.
You sound very native, Michelle. Oh, thank you.
How about this one? What I'm trying to say is dot, dot, dot, right?
Et cetera. Okay. Very good. I like it, Lindsay.
And the last one is, what I'm getting at is... To get at means what?
It's like what my point is, right? What I'm trying to say.
Yeah, what I'm implying. Yes, yes, yes. Exactly.
I like that phrase, to get at something.
What I'm getting at is, you know, it's not just used here.
It's used in different contexts. So that's a natural phrase, guys, that you should learn, you know, and you'll hear it.
Native speakers will use it for sure. Yes, yes.
Okay. Awesome. Okay, Michelle. So here we're in a business meeting with other All Ears English colleagues.
And Michelle, you are making a presentation.
Ooh, okay. Are you ready? All right. So here we go.
So to sum up, based on the research that I've done, I believe that the best way to expand as a company is to open local offices all over Asia and Europe, starting with Tokyo.
Sorry, Michelle, I am a little bit surprised by your suggestion.
What exactly do you mean by local offices?
Okay, let me explain what I mean. We can open local offices where we host events for listeners in each city.
Oh, I see what you mean. And how will this help our bottom line?
What I'm getting at is that it will help build a sense of community within our brand.
And it will give us insider insight into how to market in different countries.
Interesting proposal, Michelle. We will definitely consider it.
Thank you. I like that idea. I like the idea, too.
And I like how you maintained your composure because you had the right words and phrases here, Michelle.
Thank you. Yeah, because when you said...
You said, I'm a little surprised by your suggestion.
Yeah. That was like, uh-oh. Like, I don't know.
That sounded really scary to me. That could have thrown you off, right?
Yes. I mean, it wasn't a blatant kind of insult or like breaking down of your idea, but it was definitely a little challenge.
Yeah. It sounded almost like, what are you thinking?
Mm-hmm. Even if it wasn't meant to be that way, like especially imagine you're in this meeting and you're making the presentation and somebody says, I'm a little surprised by that.
Can be scary. So just keep it. Keep it cool, guys.
Keep it cool. Keep it cool. Keep it cool.
You got it. You got it. Very cool. So let's go back, Michelle.
And let's take a look at these phrases here that we used.
We actually you only use two, but the way you use them was just awesome.
Oh, goodness. I got it. Lindsay, you're always full of compliments.
Thank you. Okay. So the first thing you said was, okay, let me explain what I mean.
Yes. Okay. And also this has to do with the tone of voice, obviously.
Right? Yeah, yeah. Exactly. The right tone of voice there.
What's the second one that you used? The second one I said was, what I'm getting at is, yeah.
So, yeah, that's it. I mean, and then so you kind of, you're showing that you are arguing a certain perspective.
Yeah. Right, exactly. And I'm not going to let a little scary question get in my way.
Yeah, because maybe the person doesn't really understand, you know, the value of what you're saying or maybe they're, yeah, maybe they are challenging it or, you know, maybe it is a little bit out there, right?
A little bit different from what people are used to, right?
In this case, you know, you're saying you're surprised by it.
So if it, you know, people might react in that way and you have to know how to express yourself.
Well, yeah, you have to know how to respect yourself and also to stand by your idea.
I mean, you've gone, Michelle, and you've done this research and you figured out that this is the best way.
And it's based on some kind of research.
It's not just an opinion. Right. So it's the key moment where we need to stand by our own perspective.
And that's not always easy. And having the right phrases, guys, will make it much easier.
Exactly. Exactly. Awesome. Awesome. Very cool.
We're going to push our listeners up through their promotions and their life visions, their career paths.
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Okay. Very cool, Michelle. And I will see you back here very soon.
All right. I'll see you later. Bye, guys.
Thanks a lot. Bye. Thank you for listening to Business English, a podcast just for you, the high achieving global professional.
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