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 second in a two-part series about adding impact to your presentations.
Nobody likes a long and boring presentation.
In fact, a long and boring presentation can do a lot of damage.
People might actually feel less convinced of your idea.
And that's certainly not what you want.
It doesn't matter if you're giving a presentation at a staff meeting or a sales presentation to a potential client.
You have to make an impression.
Most business people have to sit through a lot of meetings and presentations and it can be difficult to impress them.
So how are you going to make them sit up and listen?
How are you going to convince them of your idea?
You need impact.
Fortunately, there are specific things you can do to add impact, and that's what we're talking about today.
In our last episode we heard Ben talk about the problem of too many documents on too many computers in too many locations.
He finished by suggesting that he has a solution to this problem.
In today's lesson, Ben will continue his presentation.
He's going to talk about cloud computing, which he thinks can solve many problems in the department.
He'll use several different techniques for adding impact.
As you listen, try to answer the following questions.
What are the benefits of the system that Ben is suggesting?
Why does Ben mention several large companies such as IBM and Dell?
What does Ben think that people should spend less time doing?
So what it comes down to now is are we going to continue simply to cope, or are we going to find a solution?
Isn't that exactly what we are constantly telling our clients to do?
Let's consider a different way of doing things.
Imagine one giant desk with all the employees of our company sitting around this desk.
In the center of that desk are all the folders documents spreadsheets, images that we need to do our work.
When we need one of those, we just reach over and get it.
If we want to talk to someone about something, we just look across the table and talk.
If we want to discuss something on the QT, we pass the person a note.
This is how we should be working.
This is cloud computing, and it's the wave of the future.
What I'm suggesting is a system that will allow us to work more efficiently, communicate more effectively and store information more sensibly.
And what could be better than that?
All right.
Now, cloud computing is pretty new, but the benefits are clear.
It's fast, cheap, reliable, easy, efficient, and secure.
I'm not alone here.
We'd be joining a growing number of companies that work in the cloud.
I'm talking about IBM, Dell, Hewlett Packard, T-Mobile, Saatchi & Saatchi, ESPN, Panasonic, Columbia University, Nokia Siemens, Microsoft.
Should I go on?
We've got to make a choice here.
Do we want to live in the last century, dealing with email, local area networks, and lost files?
Or do we want to live in the 21st century, enjoying the benefits of cloud computing, online storage and truly efficient collaboration?
Not too difficult of a choice, is it?
So let's make a change.
Let's organize ourselves better and work better.
Let's take what the best innovators are offering and stop wasting time.
Let's spend less time organizing and more time doing.
And let's do it now.
Let's go through Ben's presentation again and talk about the language and techniques he's using to add impact.
Let's consider a different way of doing things.
Imagine one giant desk with all the employees of our company sitting around this desk.
In the center of that desk are all the folders documents spreadsheets, images that we need to do our work.
When we need one of those, we just reach over and get it.
If we want to talk to someone about something, we just look across the table and talk.
If we want to discuss something on the QT, we pass the person a note.
This is how we should be working.
This is cloud computing, and it's the wave of the future.
Ben calls cloud computing the wave of the future to mean that it will become more and more common.
He's trying to convince people that cloud computing is useful, and to do this he uses metaphor.
Imagine one giant desk, he says.
The people working around this desk are the employees.
And Ben's description of this situation makes work sound simple.
Files and folders are easy to reach, and communication is free and open, across and around the desk.
Discussing something privately, or on the QT, can be done by passing a note.
It's a simple but effective metaphor.
Rather than talking about the technical aspects of cloud computing, about servers and interfaces, Ben is painting a picture that everyone can understand.
Let's practice some other examples of simple metaphors that you can use to help people understand your point.
Our reports look terrible.
It's like going to a job interview in torn jeans and a t-shirt.
We're falling behind in the race, and we need to catch up.
A good leader is the brain, but the workers are the heart and hands.
The coming economic crisis is going to be a tsunami that only the strongest will survive.
Next, Ben summarises the benefits of cloud computing.
What I'm suggesting is a system that will allow us to work more efficiently, communicate more effectively and store information more sensibly.
And what could be better than that?
In the last episode, we talked about repetition.
You can hear some of that here.
Ben uses a verb and then more plus an adverb several times.
Communicate more effectively, for example.
In fact, he does this exactly three times.
This is tripling or grouping ideas into three points.
Two doesn't have the same impact and four is too many, but three has a certain magic.
The important thing about tripling is that the three items be parallel or have the same basic grammatical structure.
That repetition is what helps tripling have impact.
Consider Chevrolet's slogan in the 1940s, eye it, try it, buy it.
Powerful, isn't it?
Notice how the following examples use tripling to make an idea more memorable.
We need to cut costs, work harder and increase sales.
I'm talking about figuring out what the problem is, how to solve it and what it will cost.
Earnings are down.
Our competition knows it.
Our creditors know it.
And our shareholders know it.
With a bit of luck, a lot of money, and a year of hard work, we can make this happen.
Let's rejoin Ben at another point in his presentation.
All right.
Now, cloud computing is pretty new, but the benefits are clear.
It's fast, cheap, reliable, easy, efficient, and secure.
I'm not alone here.
We'd be joining a growing number of companies that work in the cloud.
I'm talking about IBM, Dell, Hewlett Packard, T-Mobile, Saatchi & Saatchi, ESPN, Panasonic, Columbia University, Nokia Siemens, Microsoft.
Should I go on?
Ben wants people to understand the basic benefits of cloud computing.
To get his idea across, he uses a rapid-fire list.
Fast, cheap, reliable, easy, efficient and secure.
All of the benefits are stated in a quick list of adjectives.
This is much better than trying to give each adjective its own sentence.
Ben then says, I'm not alone here.
Ben doesn't mean physically alone.
He means that he's not the only person who thinks that cloud computing is a great idea.
And to help everyone understand just how popular such systems are becoming, he gives his audience another rapid-fire list, this time of big companies.
So people don't have to just trust Ben's opinion about cloud computing.
If such major companies as IBM, Panasonic and Microsoft use it, it must be a good idea.
At the end of his list he says Should I go on to suggest that the list is too long to mention every company?
At this point, it's hard for the audience to resist Ben's idea.
And this rapid listing helps create this impact, just as it does in the following examples.
The new facilities are big, clean, modern, bright, cheap, and quiet.
Imagine a franchise in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing, Guangzhou, Bangkok.
Our new website is better in terms of speed, design, navigation, reliability, SEO.
A lot of managers have already signed on.
Dave, Jen, Wendy, Nick, Ian, Pam.
Now listen as Ben uses another technique to strengthen his message.
We've got to make a choice here.
Do we want to live in the last century, dealing with email, local area networks and lost files?
Or do we want to live in the 21st century, enjoying the benefits of cloud computing, online storage and truly efficient collaboration?
Not too difficult of a choice, is it?
People like choice, but they also like limited options.
Ben gives two choices, living in the last century or living in the 21st century.
Of course, what he's really doing is making cloud computing more appealing by placing it in contrast to the alternative.
That is, he's showing how this new approach is much better than the old approach.
The choice is clear.
What would you choose, lost files or truly efficient collaboration?
Frustration or working together effectively?
This is a very clever tactic.
Making comparisons is something we do very naturally, and it can help you show how your idea is a good one by placing it beside a poor one.
How else can you set up a contrast?
In Chicago, we did okay, but in New York City we're doing great.
Bennett Brothers competes on cost and speed.
That's not us.
We're about quality and customer service.
You can continue paying several different telephone bills, or you could bundle your services into one convenient package.
The manager of yesterday gave orders.
The manager of today, on the other hand, asks for input.
Ben has arrived at the end of his presentation and he needs a good finish.
So let's make a change.
Let's organise ourselves better and work better.
Let's take what the best innovators are offering and stop wasting time.
Let's spend less time organizing and more time doing.
And let's do it now.
At the end of a presentation, it's important to let people know what you want them to do.
This is the call to action.
Ben's call to action is a strong one.
Notice how he says, let's, to make it feel like a team effort.
He doesn't say, you have to do something or I'm going to do something.
He says, let's, and he says it again and again.
This is one approach, or you can use some of the other techniques we've talked about, such as repetition or visualisation.
Ben also emphasises certain key words for effect, saying let's spend less time organising and more time doing.
And he ends on a very strong word, now, because a good call to action has a sense of urgency to it.
People have to feel like they should do something immediately.
Let's have a look at some other call to action examples and see how they convey this sense of urgency.
You have no time to lose.
You need to join the rush to social media before it's too late.
Do you like what you hear?
Well, if you sign up now, I'll throw in a free month of service.
There's never a good time to waste money, so let's make a change now.
Okay, let's get back to our desks, pull up that list of leads, and demolish that sales record.
Now let's practice some of the language we've covered today.
First, let's try making a contrast.
You'll hear a topic to use for your contrast.
Then you'll hear a prompt.
Use the language in the prompt to contrast two ideas related to the topic.
For example, if you hear... Different printers.
Old, slow, but, new, fast.
You can say... The old printer was slow, but the new printer is really fast.
We'll play an example answer after each practice.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
Different websites.
They're easy to use, but our looks great.
Answer 1.
Their website is easy to use, but our website looks great.
Different employees.
Brent, skilled.
But, Cindy, organised.
Answer 2.
Brent is very skilled, but Cindy is more organized.
Different years.
Last year, terrible.
However, next year, very profitable.
Answer 3.
Last year was terrible.
However, next year should be very profitable.
Other companies worry cost while worry customer satisfaction.
Answer 4.
Other companies worry about cost, while we worry about customer satisfaction.
Now let's practice useful vocabulary and idioms.
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 I'm not thinking that our salaries are too low, you can say I'm not alone in thinking that our salaries are too low.
We'll play the correct answers after each question ready.
Let's begin.
I closed my office door so that we could talk on the Answer 1.
I closed my office door so that we could talk on the QT.
Our database was not... So somebody stole information.
Answer 2.
Our database was not secure, so somebody stole information.
Brian really thinks robots are the of the future.
Answer 3.
Brian really thinks robots are the wave of the future.
Google is in the field of IT.
Answer 4.
We've reached the end of this episode, the second in our two-part series about adding impact to presentations.
We've looked at, using metaphor, grouping ideas in threes, using rapid-fire lists and making contrasts.
We've also seen how to make an effective call to action at the end of a presentation.
With a little preparation and these techniques, your colleagues will always look forward to your presentations.
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?
Thanks for listening, and see you next time.
