esl giving presentations lesson

Your browser is not supported

Sorry but it looks as if your browser is out of date. To get the best experience using our site we recommend that you upgrade or switch browsers.

Find a solution

• Skip to main content
• Skip to navigation
• Macmillan English
• Onestopenglish
• Digital Shop

• Back to parent navigation item
• Sample material
• Amazing World of Animals
• Amazing World of Food
• Arts and Crafts
• Mathematics
• Transport and Communication
• Teaching Tools
• Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship
• Support for Teaching Children
• Vocabulary & Phonics
• Spelling Bee Games
• Phonics & Sounds
• The Alphabet
• Onestop Phonics: The Alphabet
• Alphabet Booklet
• Interactive Flashcards
• Warmers & Fillers
• Young Learner Games
• Stories and Poems
• Fillers & Pastimes
• Fun Fillers
• Ready for School!
• Topics & Themes
• Young Learner Topics
• Young Learner Festivals
• Festival Worksheets
• Art and Architecture
• Business and Tourism
• Geography and the Environment
• Information Technology
• Science and Nature
• Topic-based Listening Lessons
• Cambridge English
• Cambridge English: Preliminary (PET)
• Cambridge English: First (FCE)
• Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE)
• Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)
• General English
• News Lessons
• Topics and Themes
• Beyond (BrE)
• Beyond: Arts and Media
• Beyond: Knowledge
• Go Beyond (AmE)
• Go Beyond: Arts & Media
• Go Beyond: Knowledge
• Impressions
• Macmillan Readers
• A Time to Travel
• Life & School
• Skills for Problem Solving
• Digital Skills for Teens
• Support for Teaching Teenagers
• Games Teaching Materials
• Business and ESP
• Business Lesson Plans
• Business Skills Bank
• Business Top Trumps
• Elementary Business Lessons
• HR Management
• Let's Talk Business
• Business News Lessons
• ESP Lesson Plans
• Career Readiness
• Professional Communication Skills
• Cambridge English: Business (BEC)
• Everyday Life
• Celebrations
• Live from...
• Live from London
• Discussion Cards
• Writing Lesson Plans
• Life Skills
• Support for Teaching Adults
• Vocabulary Lesson Plans
• Language for...
• Vocabulary Teaching Materials
• Macmillan Dictionary Blog
• Vocabulary Infographics
• Kahoot! Quizzes
• Blog Articles
• Professional Development
• Lesson Share
• Methodology: Projects and Activities
• Methodology: Tips for Teachers
• Methodology: The World of ELT
• Advancing Learning
• Online Teaching
• More from navigation items

Business Skills Bank: Giving Presentations

By Tim Bowen

This Business skills lesson plan by Tim Bowen presents common features of presentations and practises useful language for putting together and giving presentations.

Lesson length: 60-75 mins

Materials: Worksheets 1-5

Subsidiary aims: Listening (or reading) for specific information, discussion of what makes a good presentation.

Business Skills Bank: Giving presentations—Worksheets

Business skills bank: giving presentations—teacher's notes, presentations part 1, presentations part 2.

• British English
• Business / ESP
• Intermediate
• Lesson Plan / Teacher's Notes
• Pre-Intermediate
• Printable Worksheet
• Up to 90 mins
• Upper-Intermediate
• Whole Class

Related articles

Business Skills Bank: Meetings

Sara Helm introduces a short series of lessons for business professionals on meetings skills and the type of functional language needed to conduct meetings in English.

Business skills bank: Preparing for a first meeting: Part 3

By Sara Helm

In this lesson students participate in a business meeting, while the teacher observes and takes notes for a performance review.

Business skills bank: Preparing for a first meeting: Part 2

A lesson to help review and practise language for leading and participating in meetings.

3 Readers' comments

Only registered users can comment on this article., more from business lesson plans.

Live from London: Business—Negotiations

By Pete Clements

Watch authentic London office workers describe the ways to conduct successful negotiations and the skills good negotiators need. Now Interactive!

Live from London: Business — Dress codes

Watch authentic London office workers giving advice on the best ways to dress to impress. Try the new Interactive Worksheets!

Live from London: Business — Emails

By Bryan Goodman-Stephens

Watch authentic London office workers explain how they use emails and phones to communicate in their companies. Now with Interactive Worksheets!

Join onestopenglish today

With more than 700,000 registered users in over 100 countries around the world, Onestopenglish is the number one resource site for English language teachers, providing access to thousands of resources, including lesson plans, worksheets, audio, video and flashcards.

• Connect with us on Facebook
• Connect with us on Twitter
• Connect with us on Youtube

Onestopenglish is a teacher resource site, part of Macmillan Education, one of the world’s leading publishers of English language teaching materials.

• Privacy Policy
• Cookie policy
• Manage cookies

©Macmillan Education Limited 2023. Company number: 1755588 VAT number: 199440621

Site powered by Webvision Cloud

Business English Lesson plan- Giving a Presentation (ESA Framework)

Type of Lesson: Integrated skills (Listening integrated to speaking, pronunciation and vocabulary using authentic material. Theme: giving presentations)

Aims: To identify the characteristics of a good and bad presentation To introduce vocabulary related to presentations To review sentence stress and intonation patterns for effective presentations.

Outcome: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to give a sales presentation about their companies’ new product.

Read: 5 Great Activities to Use with Your Business English Students!

Read: How to Conduct a Needs Analysis for Your Business English Class

Assumptions: Students have a wide range of vocabulary related to the business field. They are able to articulate full sentences using complex and compound sentences. They are aware of how important intonation is when delivering a message. They are able to differentiate intonation patterns. They will already know many adjectives that are used to describe the product they sell at their company, as they will have used them in their own language while performing sales pitches. They have prior experience in giving presentations in their own language and have given presentations in previous ESL classes. They are familiar with the structure of a presentation: introduction, overview, state points, state results and conclusions, summarize, and close.

– Save $100 with the TESOL Diploma and Teaching Business English Specialist Package! –

Students background information: Students are to give a sales presentation about their companies’ new product at a business conference. They are well established sales people in Japan and this will be their first time presenting their product in an overseas environment.

Anticipated Problems and Solutions: Students may not be able to recall some ‘great speakers’. In this case, the teacher will suggest people such as Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, etc. They may have difficulty using proper intonation in certain phrases; this will be solved by demonstration and drilling. They may also have problems with some pronunciation in the intonation exercise. The teacher will be around to assist students with their individual needs.

Aids/Materials: YouTube video “Enhancing Your Presentation Skills”; a vocabulary presentation worksheet; stress and intonation worksheet; Steve Jobs iphone 2007 presentation YouTube Time: approx. 150 minutes

ENGAGE – Business English Lesson Plan

– Learn to create Business English lesson plans online! –

Aim: to introduce the topic of giving presentations and to outline skills and characteristics that lead to a good presentation. Techniques used: questionnaire; discussion; brainstorming Skills: speaking and listening Interactive Pattern: SS Time: 10 minutes

Aids/Materials: handouts with questions/board

Put students into pairs and have them discuss the following questions:

1.                  What are the characteristics of a great speech/presentation? 2.                  Who are the greatest speakers that you can think of? 3.                  Who do you need to give presentations to as a part of your job? What are they about?

Once students have finished discussing in pairs, have an entire class feedback and have students brainstorm the characteristics of a great speech are.  (Examples of ideas that will be elicited: eye contact, clear voice, positive body language, etc.).

STUDY – Business English Lesson Plan

20-hour Teaching Business English Course Only $199!

Step 1: introduce words and phrases related to giving presentations Techniques: Gap-filling Skills: Reading and speaking Interactive Patterns: T-S; SS Time: 5-10 minutes

Aids/Materials: Vocabulary: Presentation Language worksheet.

Students will be given a ‘Vocabulary: Presentation Language’ worksheet that uses words and phrases suitable for presentations. They are to work in pairs in order to fill in the blanks of the passage. After students have completed this activity, the teacher will take it up as a whole class and discuss any vocabulary words they were unsure of.

Vocabulary: Presentation Language

Complete the following presentation excerpts using the words below.

after that                     finally                          illustrate                                  outline to start with                 then                             describe                                   specifically purpose                        sum up                         thank                                       tell you

Good morning, everybody. I hope you are all doing well today and I’d like to _______ you all for being here. Today I am here to __________ about our latest product, and more _________ about how it works and what it does. I’d also like to __________ the products’ features and __________ inform you about where you can get it and how. ____________, I’d like to briefly __________ our current marketing policy in Canada. ________, I’ll __________ some of the problems we have encountered in our market share. ___________, I’ll ________ our progress this year and continue on with our main _______ for being here; the product.

Answer Key: thank, tell you, specifically, illustrate, finally, to start with, describe, then, outline, after that, sum up, purpose

Step 2: To identify how important intonation is in delivering a sound presentation Techniques: Elicitation Skills: Listening and speaking Interactive Patterns: T-S Time: 5 minutes Aids/Materials: Vocabulary: Presentation Language worksheet

The teacher will read the excerpt twice. T will ask the students to listen carefully and identify the differences. The first time, T will read it using proper sentence stress (stressing content words: nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs), intonation and tone of voice. The second time, T will read it in a monotone voice. Then T will elicit the difference and which one is more effective and why: T: “Which speech was more effective?” S: “The first one” T: “Why?” S: (Possible answers) “You used expression, your voice changed, you sounded enthusiastic. In the second reading, your sounded dull, boring.”

Read: How to Use the Communicative Approach

Read: How to Use Task-based Learning

ACTIVATE – Business English Lesson Plan

Aim: Practice intonation patterns Techniques: reading aloud Skills: speaking and pronunciation Interactive Patterns: SS Time: 10 minutes

Aids/Materials: “Good and Bad Stress and Intonation” from UsingEnglish.com

The teacher will hand out the worksheet “Good and Bad Stress and Intonation”. Students will work in partners to practice saying the sixteen sentences with both good and bad intonation. The back of the worksheet provides helpful tips in how to express the sentences in the best and worst ways possible. Once students have finished practicing with a partner, they will go over each sentence as a whole class. The teacher will correct them where necessary

Step 1: Aim: to identify characteristics of effective presentations. Technique: note-taking, listen for main ideas Skills: listening and speaking Interactive patterns: S and SS Time: 10-15 minutes Aids/Materials: YouTube video “Enhancing Your Presentation Skills- Killer Presentations” by Doug Jeffries. (about 7:18 minutes)

The teacher will play the video twice to ensure students have a full understanding of the content. Students are responsible for noting at least five presentation skills that Doug Jeffries mentions in the video (Making your audience comfortable, establishing eye contact, ‘power of the pause’, body language/gestures, effective content). They will then go over and discuss the importance of each point as a whole class. For example:

T: “Why is establishing eye contact important when giving a presentation?” S: “It engages the viewer and allows them to know that you are speaking directly to them”

The teacher will now ask students if they know who Steve Jobs was and what he was responsible for.

T will tell the students that they will now watch a presentation by Steve Jobs and they have to discuss the following questions:

–          Can you identify any of the presentation skills described by Doug Jeffries in Steve Jobs’ video?

–          What makes Steve Jobs’ iphone 2007 launch presentation effective? (Possible answers: visuals, timing of speech accompanied by visuals, clear voice, confidence, knowledge of product).

–          How does he keep the audience engaged? (Possible answers: movement, gestures, tone/pitch, humour, repetition (“re-invent, revolutionary”)

T will ask students to take a closer look at Steve Jobs’ presentation. T will direct them to identify any words they think made his presentation effective; words he repeated, words that they think helped to describe/promote his product. Students should pick out certain adjectives such as revolutionary, life-changing, re-invent, magic, etc. T will write students’ answers on the board and then ask them to think of other vocabulary words they could use to sell a product, focusing on a product that the company they work for sells. “If you were to sell your company’s new product in a presentation like Steve Jobs’, what type of words would you use to engage the audience and make them want to buy your product? Come up with as many adjectives as you can to promote your product.” Students will compile an individual list. Once they have finished their lists, they will discuss their adjectives together as a class. T will write their ideas on the board, adding to the list that we compiled from Steve Jobs’ presentation and give the students time to copy any of the adjectives that they wish to use for their presentations into their notes.

Aim: Students will create a presentation with the assistance of ICT tools (PowerPoint/Camtasia) to sell a product to their classmates using appropriate vocabulary and body language. Techniques: collaborative writing and discussion Skills: Speaking, listening, reading and writing Aids/Materials: computers with Camtasia program and Microsoft PowerPoint Interactive Pattern: SSS Time: approx. 50 min.

For the final stage of the lesson, T will tell students that they are going to create a presentation, much like the one they viewed in the Steve Jobs video, using ICT tools (Camtasia or Powerpoint) to sell a product of their choice. The product must be something they are fully aware of as they will not have much time to research.

T will briefly go over the main stages of a presentation. Students’ presentation must  follow this format: introduction, overview, state point, state results, summarize, and close.

Other points to remember to use in their presentations are: -use of vocabulary (adjectives and phrases) to describe the product -body language, gestures and intonation -synchronization of their speech with the slideshow presentation

After each student presents, the rest of the class will give them feedback regarding their presentation (both good and bad) and what they need to work on for a real life sales presentation scenario.

Adapted from lesson plan by 120-hour TEFL certificate graduate.

Take a TESOL course with Teaching Business English specialist!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Log In   0 The website uses cookies for functionality and the collection of anonymised analytics data. We do not set cookies for marketing or advertising purposes. By using our website, you agree to our use of cookies and our privacy policy . We're sorry, but you cannot use our site without agreeing to our cookie usage and privacy policy . You can change your mind and continue to use our site by clicking the button below. This confirms that you accept our cookie usage and privacy policy.

Free English Lessons

Presentations in english – video.

Download PDF

In this lesson, you can learn how to make presentations in English.

Do you have to make presentations in english in your job imagine you have to give an important presentation in english tomorrow. how would you feel about it, this business english lesson will help you learn useful phrases and techniques to introduce yourself and your topic, keep your ideas organised, deal with problems, and respond to questions from audience members., quiz: presentations in english.

Now, test your knowledge of what you learned in the lesson by trying this quiz.

There are 20 questions, following the same order as the lesson.

You will get your score at the end, when you can click on ‘View Questions’ to see all the correct answers.

Quiz Summary

0 of 20 Questions completed

Information

You have already completed the quiz before. Hence you can not start it again.

Quiz is loading…

You must sign in or sign up to start the quiz.

You must first complete the following:

0 of 20 Questions answered correctly

Time has elapsed

You have reached 0 of 0 point(s), ( 0 )

Earned Point(s): 0 of 0 , ( 0 ) 0 Essay(s) Pending (Possible Point(s): 0 )

• Not categorized 0%

Well done! You’ve finished!

That’s an excellent score! Congratulations!

A perfect score! Congratulations!

1 . Question

For those who don’t ________ me, my name’s Elaine, and I work in the HR department.

Choose the missing word.

2 . Question

Write the words in the correct gaps. There is one word you don’t need to use.

Before we , let me myself : I’m Jenny and I’m the head of purchasing.

3 . Question

Put the words in order to create something you might say at the start of a presentation.

View Answers:

4 . Question

Put these sentences in order to create the introduction to a presentation.

• Then I’ll explain what we believe are our greatest challenges.
• I’ll begin by highlighting some of the issues that have faced the retail sector during the pandemic.
• Finally, I’ll suggest some solutions for how we might tackle them in the coming year.

5 . Question

I’ll begin by lining out the policies, and then I’ll go on to highlight what they mean for you and your working habits.

The highlighted words are not used correctly; there should be one word (an -ing verb) instead. Write the correct word below.

6 . Question

Write the missing word to complete a common phrase used to introduce an interesting fact.

Did you that the average office worker in London spends more than two hours commuting to and from work?

7 . Question

Complete the gaps in Dale Carnegie’s famous quote about making presentations, using the verbs ‘say’ and ‘tell’ in the correct form.

“ the audience what you’re going to ; it, and then them what you’ve .”

8 . Question

Next, I’d like to talk about the new marketing drive to attract teens.

The highlighted words are an example of what?

• signposting language
• getting the audience’s attention
• inviting questions
• introducing yourself

9 . Question

Let’s move ________ and discuss the latest customer feedback report.

Choose the correct word.

10 . Question

At this , I’d to to the company’s performance on punctuality.

11 . Question

Put the words in order to create an example of signposting language.

12 . Question

Let’s examine this in more ________.

Choose the two words that are possible.

13 . Question

14 . question.

Write a two-word phrasal verb that’s used as signposting language at the end of a presentation. (You use the same phrasal verb to mean put paper around an item before giving it as a present).

To , let’s remind ourselves of why this should matter to everyone here.

15 . Question

So, you’ve heard what I have to say. What conclusions can you take ________ from this?

16 . Question

Which question is not an example of a filler phrase, which you might say if you need some thinking time?

• Where was I?
• So, what was I saying?
• What’s the word in English again?
• What’s your take on this?

The odd one out – in other words, the answer you’re looking for – is a question that asks for someone’s opinion.

17 . Question

Complete this signposting language with a seven-letter word that means ‘make something clear’. You might say this if you realise you need to explain something in a different way.

To , I wanted to say that …

18 . Question

Write the words in the correct gaps to create a sentence you might say to delay answering a question. There is one word you don’t need to use.

I’ve time for questions at the end of this session, so we’ll your idea later.

19 . Question

• You’ve raised an important point there. What does everyone else think about this?

What technique is this an example of?

• delaying the answer to a question
• deflecting the answer to a question
• dismissing a question

20 . Question

Thanks for your putting in , but I don’t see how that’s connected to what I’m saying.

The highlighted words are not used correctly; there should be a one-word noun instead. Write the correct word below.

1. How to Introduce Yourself and Your Topic

If some people in the audience don’t know who you are, you should introduce yourself and your position.

In a more formal setting, you could say something like this:

• Good morning everyone. For those who don’t know me, my name’s Simon, and I work in the marketing department.
• Hello everybody. Before we begin, let me introduce myself briefly: I’m Reese and I’m the head of HR.

If you work in a more informal company, you could say:

• Hi guys; if you don’t know me, I’m Sylvia and I work in digital marketing.
• Hello! I see some new faces, so I’ll introduce myself first: I’m Julia and I’m one of our customer service team.

Next, you need to introduce your topic.

If your presentation topic is simpler, you could just say one sentence, like this:

• Today, I’m going to be talking about our new HR policies and how they affect you.
• I’d like to talk to you today about quality control and why we’re all responsible for quality control, whichever department you work in.

If your topic is more complex, you might add more detail to break your idea into stages. For example:

• Today, I’m going to be talking about our new HR policies and how they affect you. I’ll begin by outlining the policies, and then I’ll go on to highlight what they mean for you and your working habits. Finally, I’ll briefly discuss why we feel these new policies are necessary and beneficial for us all.

Here’s another example:

• I’d like to talk to you today about quality control and why we’re all responsible for quality control, whichever department you work in. First of all, I’ll explain why ‘quality control’ has a broader meaning than you might expect. I’ll continue by giving examples of real quality control, and why this matters for all of us. To finish, I’ll be asking you to think of ways you can incorporate quality control into your working habits.

Here, you saw two examples. You can use these as templates to begin your presentation:

• I’ll begin by… and then I’ll… Finally, I’ll…
• First of all, I’ll… I’ll continue by… To finish, I’ll…

Okay, now you can practice! We’d like you to do two things.

First, practice introducing yourself informally, and explaining your topic in a simple way, with one sentence.

Then, practice introducing yourself formally, and explaining your topic in a more detailed way.

Pause the video and practice speaking. All the language you need is in this section.

Learn more about this topic with another free English video lesson from Oxford Online English: Greetings and Introductions .

Ready? Let’s move on!

2. How to Make a Strong Start

I’m sure that in your life, you’ve heard good speakers and bad speakers.

Good speakers grab your attention and don’t let go. You want to hear what they have to say. You feel interested and energised by listening to them.

Bad speakers are the opposite. Even if you try to make yourself listen, you find that your attention drifts away. Your eyelids feel heavy, and you have to struggle to stay awake.

So, here’s a question: what’s the difference between good speakers and bad speakers? And, how can you make sure you speak effectively when you make your presentation in English?

Here’s one way to think about it: bad speakers don’t think they have to earn your attention. Good speakers understand that no one has to listen to them, so they work hard to make you want to pay attention.

What does this mean for you, and your presentation?

Getting people’s attention starts from the beginning. You need to make it clear what people should expect from your presentation, and why they should care about what you have to say.

Sounds like a nice idea, but how do you do this?

Here are three techniques you can use.

One: establish a problem which many people in your audience have. Then, establish that you have a solution to their problem.

For example:

• Have you ever felt unfairly treated at work, or felt that the work you do isn’t appreciated? We’ve been working to design new HR policies that will make sure all staff get fair recognition for their contribution to the company.

In this way, you take a boring-sounding topic like HR policies, and you make it more relevant to your audience. How? By connecting it with their experiences and feelings.

The second technique? Mention an interesting fact, or a surprising statistic to get people’s attention.

• Did you know that the average office worker spends eight hours a day at work, but only does four hours of productive, useful work? I’m here to tell you about ‘quality control’, and how you can use this idea to make better use of your time.

Finally, you can engage people by telling a short story and connecting it to your topic. Stories are powerful, and they can add an emotional dimension to your topic if you do it well. For example:

• I once met a young salesman—I won’t mention his name. He spent several weeks building a relationship with a potential client. He worked overtime, and he was working so hard that he was under severe stress, which started to affect his personal life. In the end, he didn’t close the deal—the clients signed with another firm. Today, I’m going to talk about confidence as a sales tool, and how you can avoid the traps that this young man fell into.

Use one of these three techniques in your introduction to connect with your audience and show them why they should be interested in what you have to say.

Here’s a question for you: which technique would you prefer to use, and why?

Okay, now you’ve introduced your topic and you have everyone’s attention. What next?

3. Using Signposting Language

There’s a famous quote about making presentations:

• “Tell the audience what you’re going to say; say it, and then tell them what you’ve said.”

Have you heard this before? Do you know who said it?

This comes from Dale Carnegie , a very successful American salesman and writer. He lived a long time ago, but his advice is still relevant today.

So, here’s a question: what does the quote mean?

It means that your presentation shouldn’t just give information. You also need to show people how your information is organized.

To do this, you need signposting language.

Let me give you an example to explain.

Imagine you go to a website. The website is full of really useful, interesting information. But, the information is all on one page. There’s no organization, and you have to scroll up and down, up and down this huge page, trying to find what you need. Would you stay on that website?

Probably not. You’ll find a website which makes it easier for you to find the information you need.

What’s the point here?

The point is that having interesting or relevant information is not enough. How you structure and organize your information is equally important.

If you don’t structure your presentation clearly, people won’t pay attention, just like you won’t stay on a website if you can’t find the information you want.

So, how can you do this?

You use signposting language. This means using words and phrases to show the audience where your points begin and end, to show what’s coming next, and to remind them about things you talked about before.

• Okay, that covers the new policies. Next, I’d like to move on and discuss what these policies mean for you.
• Now that you’ve heard a bit about what not to do, let’s focus on positive advice to help you be more effective salespeople and close more of your leads.

When you say something like this, you aren’t giving people information about the topic of your presentation. Instead, you’re showing people where you are, and where you’re going next.

It’s a kind of signpost. You don’t need signposts to travel from one place to another, but they can make it easier.

What else can you use signposting language for?

You can use signposting language to move from one point to the next. For example:

• Next, I’d like to talk about…
• Let’s move on and discuss…
• At this point, I’d like to turn to…

You can use signposting language to add detail to an idea:

• Let me go into some more detail about…
• Let’s examine … in more depth.
• I’d like to elaborate on…

You can use signposting language to show that you’ve finished your main points, and you’ve reached your conclusion:

• To wrap up, let’s remind ourselves of why this should matter to everyone here.
• Let’s review the key points from this session.
• So, you’ve heard what I have to say. What conclusions can you take away from this?

If you have an important presentation in English, practice using signposting language.

Use signposting language to move between points, to show when you’re giving a summary or going into more detail, and to signal that you’ve reached your conclusion.

Okay, but things don’t always go so smoothly in real life. We know that! Let’s look at some advice and language for dealing with problems during your presentation.

4. Dealing With Problems

Imagine you’re making your presentation in English. What could go wrong? What problems could you have?

There are many common problems:

You might forget where you were, or forget an important word. You might realise that you said something wrong, or you didn’t explain something clearly. You might forget to mention something important. Or, someone might ask you an awkward question, which you have no idea how to answer.

Of course, there are other possibilities!

Let’s think about these problems. What can you do, and more importantly, what can you say in these situations?

First of all, it’s a good idea to make a cue card with key points, as well as any important vocabulary you need. If you lose your place, or you forget a word, it could help.

However, you can’t prepare for everything. So, it’s useful to learn some phrases to deal with problems smoothly.

If you lose your place, and can’t remember what to say next, you can use a filler phrase like:

If you still can’t remember, look at your cue card with your main points.

Of course, forgetting something isn’t ideal. But, if you do, it’s better to keep talking, rather than just standing there in silence.

What if you make a mistake, or you realise that you didn’t explain something well?

You could say:

• Let me rephrase that.
• Actually, what I meant to say is…
• To clarify, I wanted to say that…

In this way, you can correct yourself without admitting that you made a mistake!

What if you realise that you forgot to mention something important?

Use a phrase like this:

• Let me just add one more thing:…
• I’d like to add something to a point we discussed earlier.
• Let me return to an earlier point briefly.

Again, this allows you to correct your mistake in a confident way, so you look like you’re in control.

Finally, what do you do if someone asks you a difficult question, which you can’t answer?

You have a few options. First, you can delay giving an answer. For example:

• I’ve allocated time for questions at the end of this session, so we’ll address your idea later.
• I’m not in a position to answer that right now, but I’ll get back to you later this week.

This gives you time to think of an answer and do some research if you have to!

Next, you can deflect the question, by asking a question back, or maybe by asking other audience members what they think. For example:

• That’s an interesting question. Before I answer, I’d like to know: what’s your take on this?

Finally, if the question is irrelevant, you can dismiss the question and move on. For example:

• Thanks for your input, but I don’t see how that’s connected to what I’m saying.
• I don’t mean to be blunt, but I don’t think that’s relevant to today’s discussion.

Notice how you can use phrases like thanks for your input, but… or I don’t mean to be blunt, but… to make your language more indirect and polite.

So, for dealing with difficult questions, just remember the three d’s: delay, deflect, dismiss!

Thanks for watching!

We Offer Video Licensing and Production

Use our videos in your own materials or corporate training, videos edited to your specifications, scripts written to reflect your training needs, bulk pricing available.

Interested?

More English Lessons

Business english lessons.

• Facebook 111
• Odnoklassniki icon Odnoklassniki 0
• VKontakte 0
• Pinterest 0
• LinkedIn 26

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience.

7 ESL Activities for Public Speaking

Public speaking can be a scary thing.

Also known as glossophobia , the fear of public speaking is a major source of anxiety for roughly 75% of people worldwide .

However, public speaking is an essential skill everyone needs to have , including language learners.

The good news is that it gets easier with practice, which is why you should try out some of the below activities for public speaking that will help improve your or your students’ skills.

1. Watch TED Talks and observe body language

2. practice mimicking body language, 3. recite famous speeches, 4. give presentations in small groups, 5. prepare solo presentations using powerpoint, 6. do improvised presentations on random topics, 7. do some drama activities.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Playing videos from TED Talks is a fantastic way for you to see people giving professional-quality presentations in English. The TED Talks website is filled with hundreds of different speakers, with topics ranging from the fascinating world of technology to the meaning of life.

Here’s a list of excellent TED talks presentations for ESL students , along with guidelines on how to use them in the classroom.

Think about things you like and don’t like about the presentation as you watch the video. Once the presentation has ended, write down the positive and negative aspects you observed. This will get you thinking about what kind of techniques you can implement in your own speeches, as well as which mistakes to avoid.

To give yourself or your students a well-rounded learning experience, you could add FluentU   to your toolbox. FluentU is a language learning program that allows you to watch a library of authentic English videos with interactive dual-language subtitles. This can be a great way to break down what each video contains.

• Thousands of learner friendly videos (especially beginners)
• Handpicked, organized, and annotated by FluentU's experts
• Integrated into courses for beginners

Good public speaking skills aren’t just about using clever words and speaking clearly— body language is equally as important . Incidentally, there’s a TED Talk you can watch covering the power of body language.

Start by brainstorming different types of body language, like gestures, postures and facial expressions. You can select actions like smiling, frowning, crossing your arms and more. After introducing body language, try matching your examples to various emotions and messages.

The results of this can be surprising because some meanings of expressions and gestures vary depending on the culture. Gestures that may seem polite could be offensive in other countries. For example, the “thumbs up” sign may seem universal for good job , but in Australia, Greece and the Middle East, it could be construed as an offensive insult.

Once you’ve elicited examples of positive and negative body language, practice how to use good body language in your presentations .

Making a speech is difficult enough, but writing a good one can feel like an impossible challenge to a beginner ESL learner.

Take some of the pressure off by reciting famous speeches. That way, you can focus on speaking skills without diving into writing or grammar.

• Interactive subtitles: click any word to see detailed examples and explanations
• Slow down or loop the tricky parts
• Show or hide subtitles
• Review words with our powerful learning engine

Speeches can be taken from historical figures, social media and even movies. For beginners, you could work with a selection of famous short poems . For advanced students, try a longer speech, such as John F. Kennedy’s “Moon Speech.”

Standing alone in front of the class can be a nerve-wracking experience, even for the most gifted of learners.

If you aren’t ready for solo presentations, work in small groups so all of the attention isn’t focused on one individual learner. This can be done in just about any context, from proposing a business idea to describing how to cook your favorite food.

If you’re teaching this exercise, monitoring your students’ activity can be difficult with several groups working at the same time, so have your students assess each other.

Give every student a scoring sheet with criteria covering things like voice projection, timing, entertainment and ease of understanding. As your students listen, each group can score their partners based on this criteria. Then, you can use their scoring sheets to give feedback at the end of the class.

When you feel ready to come up with your own material, try preparing your own presentations with the help of PowerPoint.

PowerPoint slides are a great visual aid, as well as a way to make the presentation easier for nervous students.

• Learn words in the context of sentences
• Swipe left or right to see more examples from other videos
• Go beyond just a superficial understanding

Make sure the topic is a suitable difficulty level, and ideally, something you’re interested in. Just make sure to give enough time to write a presentation script and create the PowerPoint slides to go along with it.

I recommend planning the project in advance so there’s time to work on the presentations. Students who don’t have PowerPoint on their computer can use Google Slides as an alternative . It’s free and just as effective.

Once you or your students have built up some confidence in speaking, you can start trying some real  challenges , like on-the-spot presentations.

Do this by writing out a list of different topics and putting them in a hat, bag or any other object you or the students have to stick your hand into. These topics could be anything from my dream job  to the importance of a healthy diet.

Randomly select one topic, and without any preparation time, talk to the class or another audience for as long as they can about their chosen topic.

Public speaking doesn’t have to be about presentations. You can change things up a bit by trying some drama activities  as well.

These could include role plays and reenactments of famous movie scenes. While acting, students still use skills like good body language, voice projection, intonation and even improvisation  to make their dialogue sound natural and convincing.

• FluentU builds you up, so you can build sentences on your own
• Start with multiple-choice questions and advance through sentence building to producing your own output
• Go from understanding to speaking in a natural progression.

While lectures and note-taking can be beneficial, nothing compares to the hands-on experience you can get from practicing public speaking.

That’s why you should implement some of the above activities for public speaking into your lessons or personal learning plans to improve confidence and overall speaking quality.

Related posts:

Enter your e-mail address to get your free pdf.

We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe

• Professional development
• Planning lessons and courses

Student presentations

In this article I would like to give you a few tips and some advice on what I've learned from helping students prepare and deliver presentations.

• Why I get students to do presentations
• Syllabus fit
• Planning a presentation lesson
• Classroom Management

Why I get students to do presentations Presentations are a great way to have students practise all language systems areas (vocabulary, grammar, discourse and phonology) and skills (speaking, reading, writing and listening). They also build confidence, and presenting is a skill that most people will need in the world of work. I find that students who are good presenters are better communicators all round, since they are able to structure and express their ideas clearly.

• Presentation skills are extremely useful both in and outside the classroom. After completing a project, a presentation is a channel for students to share with others what they have learned. It is also a chance to challenge and expand on their understanding of the topic by having others ask questions. And in the world of work, a confident presenter is able to inform and persuade colleagues effectively.
• Presentations can also form a natural part of task based learning. By focussing on a particular language point or skill, the presentation is a very practical way to revise and extend book, pair and group work. The audience can also be set a task, for example, a set of questions to answer on the presentation, which is a way of getting students to listen to each other.

Syllabus fit Normally the presentation will come towards the end of a lesson or series of lessons that focus on a particular language or skill area. It is a type of freer practice. This is because the students need to feel relatively confident about what they are doing before they stand up and do it in front of other people. If I have been teaching the past simple plus time phrases to tell a story, for example, I give my students plenty of controlled and semi controlled practice activities, such as gapfills, drills and information swaps before I ask them to present on, say, an important event in their country's history, which involves much freer use of the target grammar point.

Planning a presentation lesson Normally a presentation lesson will have an outline like this:

• Revision of key language areas
• Example presentation, which could be from a textbook or given by the teacher
• Students are given a transcript or outline of the presentation
• Students identify key stages of the example presentation – greeting, introduction, main points in order of importance, conclusion
• Focus on linking and signalling words ('Next…', 'Now I'd like you to look at…', etc.). Students underline these in the transcript/place them in the correct order
• Students are put into small groups and write down aims
• Students then write down key points which they order, as in the example
• Students decide who is going to say what and how
• Students prepare visuals (keep the time for this limited as too many visuals become distracting)
• Students practise at their tables
• Students deliver the presentations in front of the class, with the audience having an observation task to complete (see 'Assessment' below)
• The teacher takes notes for feedback later

It is important that the students plan and deliver the presentations in groups at first, unless they are extremely confident and/or fluent. This is because:

• Shy students cannot present alone
• Students can support each other before, during and after the presentation
• Getting ready for the presentation is a practice task in itself
• When you have a large class, it takes a very long time for everyone to present individually!

I find it's a good idea to spend time training students in setting clear aims. It is also important that as teachers we think clearly about why we are asking students to present.

Aims Presentations normally have one or more of the following aims:

• To inform/ raise awareness of an important issue
• To persuade people to do something
• Form part of an exam, demonstrating public speaking/presentation skills in a first or second language

I set students a task where they answer these questions:

• Why are you making the presentation?
• What do you want people to learn?
• How are you going to make it interesting?

Let's say I want to tell people about volcanoes. I want people to know about why volcanoes form and why they erupt. This would be an informative/awareness-raising presentation. So by the end, everyone should know something new about volcanoes, and they should be able to tell others about them. My plan might look like this:

• Introduction - what is a volcano? (2 minutes)
• Types of volcano (5 minutes)
• Volcanoes around the world (2 minutes)
• My favourite volcano (2 minutes)
• Conclusion (2-3 minutes)
• Questions (2 minutes)

Classroom Management I find that presentation lessons pass very quickly, due the large amount of preparation involved. With a class of 20 students, it will probably take at least 3 hours. With feedback and follow-up tasks, it can last even longer. I try to put students into groups of 3 or 4 with classes of up to 20 students, and larger groups of 5 or 6 with classes up to 40. If you have a class larger than 40, it would be a good idea to do the presentation in a hall or even outside.

Classroom management can become difficult during a presentations lesson, especially during the final presenting stage, as the presenters are partly responsible for managing the class! There are a few points I find effective here:

• Training students to stand near people who are chatting and talk 'through' the chatter, by demonstration
• Training students to stop talking if chatter continues, again by demonstration
• Asking for the audience's attention ('Can I have your attention please?')
• Setting the audience an observation task, which is also assessed by the teacher
• Limiting the amount of time spent preparing visuals
• Arranging furniture so everyone is facing the front

Most of these points are self-explanatory, but I will cover the observation task in more detail in the next section, which deals with assessment. 

Assessment The teacher needs to carefully consider the assessment criteria, so that s/he can give meaningful feedback. I usually run through a checklist that covers:

• Level - I can't expect Elementary students to use a wide range of tenses or vocabulary, for example, but I'd expect Advanced students to have clear pronunciation and to use a wide range of vocabulary and grammar
• Age - Younger learners do not (normally) have the maturity or general knowledge of adults, and the teacher's expectations need to reflect this
• Needs - What kind of students are they? Business English students need to have much more sophisticated communication skills than others. Students who are preparing for an exam need to practise the skills that will be assessed in the exam.

I write a list of language related points I'm looking for. This covers:

• Range / accuracy of vocabulary
• Range / accuracy of grammar
• Presentation / discourse management- is it well structured? What linking words are used and how?
• Use of visuals- Do they help or hinder the presentation?
• Paralinguistic features

'Paralinguistics' refers to non-verbal communication. This is important in a presentation because eye contact, directing your voice to all parts of the room, using pitch and tone to keep attention and so on are all part of engaging an audience.

I find it's a good idea to let students in on the assessment process by setting them a peer observation task. The simplest way to do this is to write a checklist that relates to the aims of the lesson. A task for presentations on major historical events might have a checklist like this:

• Does the presenter greet the audience? YES/NO
• Does the presenter use the past tense? YES/NO

And so on. This normally helps me to keep all members of the audience awake. To be really sure, though, I include a question that involves personal response to the presentation such as 'What did you like about this presentation and why?'. If working with young learners, it's a good idea to tell them you will look at their answers to the observation task. Otherwise they might simply tick random answers!

Conclusion Presentations are a great way to practise a wide range of skills and to build the general confidence of your students. Due to problems with timing, I would recommend one lesson per term, building confidence bit by bit throughout the year. In a school curriculum this leaves time to get through the core syllabus and prepare for exams.

Presentations - Adult students

• Log in or register to post comments

Presentation Article

Research and insight

Browse fascinating case studies, research papers, publications and books by researchers and ELT experts from around the world.

See our publications, research and insight

Search form

• Speaking exams
• Typical speaking tasks

Oral presentation

Giving an oral presentation as part of a speaking exam can be quite scary, but we're here to help you. Watch two students giving presentations and then read the tips carefully. Which tips do they follow? Which ones don’t they follow?

Instructions

Watch the video of two students doing an oral presentation as part of a speaking exam. Then read the tips below.

Melissa: Hi, everyone! Today I would like to talk about how to become the most popular teen in school.

Firstly, I think getting good academic results is the first factor to make you become popular since, having a good academic result, your teacher will award you in front of your schoolmates. Then, your schoolmates will know who you are and maybe they would like to get to know you because they want to learn something good from you.

Secondly, I think participating in school clubs and student unions can help to make you become popular, since after participating in these school clubs or student union, people will know who you are and it can help you to make friends all around the school, no matter senior forms or junior forms.

In conclusion, I think to become the most popular teen in school we need to have good academic results and also participate in school clubs and student union. Thank you!

Kelvin: Good evening, everyone! So, today I want to talk about whether the sale of cigarettes should be made illegal.

As we all know, cigarettes are not good for our health, not only oneself but also other people around. Moreover, many people die of lung cancer every year because of smoking cigarettes.

But, should the government make it illegal? I don’t think so, because Hong Kong is a place where people can enjoy lots of freedom and if the government banned the sale of cigarettes, many people would disagree with this and stand up to fight for their freedom.

Moreover, Hong Kong is a free market. If there's such a huge government intervention, I think it’s not good for Hong Kong’s economy.

So, if the government wants people to stop smoking cigarettes, what should it do? I think the government can use other administrative ways to do so, for example education and increasing the tax on cigarettes. Also, the government can ban the smokers smoking in public areas. So, this is the end of my presentation. Thank you.

It’s not easy to give a good oral presentation but these tips will help you. Here are our top tips for oral presentations.

• Use the planning time to prepare what you’re going to say. 
• If you are allowed to have a note card, write short notes in point form.
• Use more formal language.
• Use short, simple sentences to express your ideas clearly.
• Pause from time to time and don’t speak too quickly. This allows the listener to understand your ideas. Include a short pause after each idea.
• Speak clearly and at the right volume.
• Have your notes ready in case you forget anything.
• Practise your presentation. If possible record yourself and listen to your presentation. If you can’t record yourself, ask a friend to listen to you. Does your friend understand you?
• Make your opinions very clear. Use expressions to give your opinion .
• Look at the people who are listening to you.
• Write out the whole presentation and learn every word by heart. 
• Write out the whole presentation and read it aloud.
• Use very informal language.
• Only look at your note card. It’s important to look up at your listeners when you are speaking.

Useful language for presentations

Explain what your presentation is about at the beginning:

I’m going to talk about ... I’d like to talk about ... The main focus of this presentation is ...

Use these expressions to order your ideas:

First of all, ... Firstly, ... Then, ... Secondly, ... Next, ... Finally, ... Lastly, ... To sum up, ... In conclusion, ...

Use these expressions to add more ideas from the same point of view:

In addition, ... What’s more, ... Also, ... Added to this, ...

To introduce the opposite point of view you can use these words and expressions:

However, ... On the other hand, ... Then again, ...

Example presentation topics

• Violent computer games should be banned.
• The sale of cigarettes should be made illegal.
• Homework should be limited to just two nights a week.
• Should school students be required to wear a school uniform?
• How to become the most popular teen in school.
• Dogs should be banned from cities.

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

Understanding presentations.

Level: Pre-intermediate (A2-B1)

Type of English: Business English

Tags: business people marketing management challenges business skills giving a presentation 16-18 years old 18+ years old Situation based Article based

Publication date: 10/26/2022

This lesson looks at the language of talking about graphs and charts in presentations. Students will read a presentation speech and listen to a presentation while completing a graph. Exercises focus on reading and listening skills, related vocabulary and offer the opportunity for students to discuss questions on the topic.

by Joe Wilson

Understanding_presentations_1_be.mp3

ANA CAROLINA

Really good, I loved the fact it has a lot of takilng points.

Leave a Comment

Student worksheet

Teacher lesson plan

Download audio

Save lesson to

Understanding_presentations_1_ae.mp3

COURSE PLANS

This comprehensive course plan covers the full range of language needs – listening, role play, vocabulary development.

Worksheets in English for Business course plan

Type of English: Business English Level: Pre-intermediate (A2-B1)

Make your lessons unforgettable

Did you know that your students can review the target language from our worksheets with our Expemo flashcard app? To let your student know, just enter their email address below (multiple emails can be separated with a comma).

Moving through your presentation

• Business Skills
• Presentation Skills

Presentations - useful phrases

This is a standalone lesson but it can also be used as part of the set titled:

• Delivering presentations

LESSON OVERVIEW

With this lesson plan, students learn plenty of useful phrases for presentations in English . They also prepare presentation excerpts , and learn how to start a presentation.

The lesson is the second of the three-part series of lessons about delivering presentations.  You will find the first part of the series here and the third part of the series here .

USEFUL PHRASES FOR PRESENTATIONS

The lesson starts with a brief discussion on successful presentations. After that, students match words useful to talk about presentations (e.g. recap, takeaway, breakdown ) to their meanings. Then, they read six excerpts from a presentation and decide which of the words studied in the previous exercise the excerpts are examples of. Next, students read four statements and decide if they agree with them or not. The statements refer to the presentation flow. After that, students read sentences and complete them with one word to create useful phrases for presentations (e.g. in a nutshell, let me expand on this point, let’s kick off by ). Then, they look at a list of functions and decide which of the phrases from the previous exercise exemplify them . This part of the lesson ends with a rephrasing exercise in which students rewrite sentences to use the newly learnt vocabulary. 

HOW TO START A PRESENTATION

In this part of the lesson, students prepare parts of presentations using relevant phrases from the first part of the lesson. They do that using prompts which describe what their part needs to cover. You can find the prompts on the last pages of the worksheet. Then, they move on to discuss the ways to start a presentation (e.g. by presenting an amazing fact, by telling a story). After that, students read some phrases for presentations and decide which of the discussed techniques they can be used with. Finally, students do a group task . They need to  brainstorm how to effectively start different kinds of presentations (e.g. a sales pitch for a time-management app, a motivational talk about developing new habits). 

Subscribe to unlock these and many other Standalone lesson lesson plans with the Unlimited plan

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

A little bit too US English and also relatively casual language. Maybe more suited to TED style or conference presentations rather than business.

Nice lesson but the online version doesn’t match with the SV and TV

Thanks for your comment! Can you share what exactly is off? I must be missing something because eveything looks OK to me.

Could you please send the link to the original presentation on how blockchain can empower women? The script looks really good and I’d love to watch the video if there is any. Thank you!

I’m afraid it wasn’t one particular presentation that we used but rather a collection of different facts and ideas. But you can read more about blockchain empowering women here .

a real masterpiece! thank u!)

Thanks, I’m glad you like it 🙂

Unfortunately none of the links work anymore for the google docs. They all say the file has been deleted. This is for the ‘phrases’ and Ex. 8 on the online presentation slides (44).

Apart from that, it’s a nice lesson with some great, informal expressions and phrases for the students to use.

Thanks for your comment! Regarding the links, everything works fine on our end. If you’re experiencing some trouble, please email us at [email protected] 🙂

Browse other materials recommended for you

Members only! Subscription models

With this lesson, students talk about subscription models, explore vocabulary and discuss their personal experiences and opinions. They also watch a video featuring advice on how to manage subscriptions and discuss real-life services.

Changing careers

With this speaking lesson, students navigate the territory of career changes. They discuss job market trends, as well as benefits and challenges of transitioning careers. They also talk about important skills and watch a video about a woman who changed careers.

The golden age of podcasting

Explore the fascinating field of technology and podcasts with this lesson! After reading an article, students discuss the use of AI in podcasts, practise vocabulary to talk about the topic and discuss their ideas if they launched a 100% AI-generated podcast.

Ace your next job interview

Dive into the realm of job interviews with this lesson. Students practise job interview vocabulary, watch a video for tips, talk about what can make an interview successful and learn about the STAR approach for responding to interview questions.

Office, remote or hybrid?

With this up-to-date lesson, students discuss work life after lockdown and practise vocabulary to talk about workplace changes. They also watch a news video about companies changing the way they work and discuss different work models.

As per my last email…

Dive into the intriguing world of emailing and talk about what annoys people the most. With this lesson, students expand their vocabulary, express irritation, and analyze real-life situations.

Is a degree worth it?

Engage your students in a discussion on the ins and outs of higher education. Explore education and career-related vocabulary and work on comprehension skills by watching a news report on the job market.

How to stand out at work

Let your students share opinions on getting promoted and being noticed at work. They will discuss hypothetical situations, share experiences and comment on advice from a video.

All about branding

This is a perfect lesson for students who want to discuss brands and the idea of branding. Students learn and practise useful phrases, as well as improve their comprehension skills.

Is there a minimum subscription period if I choose a monthly subscription?

No, there’s no minimum required number of subscription months. You can cancel any time you want. Basically, you can sign up and then cancel your subscription the next day, which will mean you have access for 1 month and won’t be charged again.

What currencies can I pay in for my subscription?

Our default currency is USD (American dollar), but you can also pay in EUR (euro), GBP (British pound sterling) or PLN (Polish zloty). You can change the currency you want to pay in at the Pricing page before selecting a subscription plan.

How can I edit an e-lesson plan?

You can get your own editable copy of an e-lesson plan and make changes to it. To do so, either (1) make a copy of it on your Google Drive (preferable method) or (2) download it in a Powerpoint format (but formatting might be a bit off so we can’t guarantee that it will work well).

Username or Email Address

Remember Me

Creative Resources for ESL/EFL Teachers

ESL Presentation Topics: 12 Mini Presentations

ESL presentation topics for intermediate and upper intermediate students. Great as a warm-up or a speaking lesson.

You can use the slideshow and share your screen on Zoom or other app when teaching online. Just click on the full screen option in the top right corner of the slideshow.

I used it with my students during our online lesson and we didn’t even have time to discuss all the topics, because they couldn’t stop talking. I was quite impressed how much they knew and also how well they could express their opinions.

One of the reasons why I love conversation activities is that I learn so much about my students. I think that we often underestimate our students and see them as the stereotypical lazy teenagers. Activities like these can show us that they are much more than that.

You can also download the PDF for easy printing below.

Other picture-based resources:

ESL Exam Speaking Picture Description and Questions

No-Prep ESL Picture Description Speaking Activity

Picture Based Speaking Activity For ESL/EFL Classes

Picture Prompts for Speaking and Writing: An ESL Activity

ESL Picture Description: Exam Skills Practice

Food and Travel ESL Lesson: Interactive Online Lesson

Conversation resources:

Popular Conversation Topics for (not only) Adults and Teenagers: 50 Questions

Conversation Starters: 30 Interesting Conversation Questions Not Only For ESL Students

Conversation Questions Gerunds and Infinitives: ESL Speaking Activity

30 Hypothetical Conversation Questions for ESL Students

ESL Conversation Topics

Related Posts

Best English Games to Play in Your ESL Classroom

Here is an extensive list of my favorite English games to play with my students. Board games Yes, you read that right. Cards Against Humanity. But! This is a family edition, so it’s clean. You can download if for free and print, but, make sure you feel comfortable using it,…

Conversation Questions: Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Conversation questions for practicing comparative and superlative adjectives. 1. We use comparatives to compare two things (or people). This movie is more interesting than the one you chose. Susie is smarter than her brother. 2. Superlatives are used, however, to show the difference between more than two things or more…

At The Restaurant: ESL Pair Work and Role Play Lesson.

  Not everyone can cook, but we all love food. It is a perfect conversation topic and even the shy students usually come out of their shells (seafood pun) when you ask them about their favourite food. Food is everywhere now, popular TV shows made home cooking fashionable, food blogs with…

Comments (7)

• Pingback: 50 ESL Conversation Questions for Teenagers and Adults | EFL Ideas
• Pingback: ESL icebreakers, warm ups, back to school activities and more | EFL Ideas
• Pingback: Phrasal Verbs Activity Exercises Discussion Questions | EFL Ideas
• Pingback: Conversation Topics for (not only) Adults: 5o Questions - EFL Ideas
• Pingback: Conversation Starters: 30 Interesting Conversation Questions - EFL Ideas
• Pingback: Back to School Activities ESL for ESL Classes- EFL Ideas

Amazing! Thanks a lot

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Humans: please leave this field blank.

If you do not manually logout, your login will last 30 days on this device.

Not part of the community yet?    JOIN NOW

Speaking Activities

Conversation

Speech & Debate

English Speaking Countries

The News in English

Personality Traits Board Game

Let's Talk About Me

Lonely Student

Giving Support

Business Idioms 13: Public Speaking

Friends: The One With The Male Nanny

ESL Oral Presentation Activities ( See Activities )

Giving a speech is difficult in any language. Teach your students that it is natural to be nervous, but there are presentation skills they can develop to become better at public speaking.

Use these ESL speech activities to help students improve their posture, eye contact, gestures, and voice.

Jump to ESL Oral Presentation Activities

Types of Speeches

There are three basic types of speeches: Informative, Demonstrative, and Persuasive ( See Speech Topics at bottom ).

An informative speech tells the audience about something. It does not try to persuade. It’s only purpose is to give the facts. You can give an informative speech on just about anything.

A demonstrative speech tells or shows the audience how to do something. It gives clear steps from start to finish. Examples include how to cook a dish, how to build a house, or how to play a sport.

A persuasive speech tells the audience why they should do something. It gives clear reasons why the audience should change their mind and agree with the speaker.

Types of Delivery

There are four basic types of delivery: Impromptu, Outline, Manuscript, and Memorized.

Impromptu speeches are generally short and require little to no preparation. Usually there aren’t any written notes. The speaker must think on the spot. It’s common to be asked to give an impromptu speech at a special occasion like a wedding or to accept an award.

Using an outline is the most common type of speech delivery. The speaker prepares an outline which highlights key words and facts. Because there is something written, it is harder to maintain eye contact than an impromptu speech.

A speech with a manuscript has every word written down, so the speaker does not forget to say anything. It takes a lot of practice to sound natural with a manuscript because written English is slightly different from spoken English.

A memorized speech is the most difficult and takes a lot of preparation. The speaker must write a manuscript and then memorize every word. This is the popular route of the Speech Contests that I’ve experienced in Japan. The speaker can practice gestures and intonation, but memorized speeches usually sound lifeless and unnatural.

Speaking of Speech and Getting Ready for Speech are good resources for more ESL oral presentation activities.

Try Our ESL Oral Presentation Activities

Posture Practice

Eye contact.

Eye Contact Activity

Everyday Hand Gestures

Using Gestures In Presentations

Tongue Twisters To Practice Voice

Voice Inflection Activity

Debate Format: Final Debate

Debate: First Negative Constructive

Debate: Organizing The Opinion

Debate: Rebuttal Speech

Debate: Refuting An Argument

Giving Opinions

Giving Reasons

Activities by Topic

Being A Good Audience

Demonstration Speech Assignment

Informative Impromptu Speech

Persuasive Argument Activity

Persuasive Speech Assignment

Presentation Skills Final Exam

Speech Conclusion

Speech Introduction

Visual Aid Speech

Brainstorming ESL Writing Topics

GET UNLIMITED DOWNLOADS NOW!

Hi fellow EFL Sensei!

I'm Becki, the Co-Founder and the one who put up all these great speaking activities. We’re here to provide enjoyable lessons for teachers like you! Learn more

Popular Lessons

 SIGN UP

FOR OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

10 Best Icebreakers Packet,

Featured Lesson

Like us on Facebook

Featured Teacher

Carolyn Flores

ESL tips, tools and resources for teaching ESL in the classroom and one on one.

Submit a lesson

Write a blog

Featured teachers

Small Talk Topics

Chinese Whispers Sentences

Detectives: Past Modals

Disclosure       Privacy Policy       Terms of Use Copyright © 2011 - 2024 | All content appearing on this website is proprietary, copyrighted, and owned by EFLSensei.com. EFLSensei.com is owned and managed by Sunny Mangos, Inc. Website Services by Weldon Websites

Motivational Speaker Techniques To Encourage Students’ English Speaking Skills

As teachers, we’re always looking for ways to improve our students’ English speaking skills and build their confidence in speaking English. An effective way to do this is to integrate motivational speaking techniques into our teaching methods and teach our students some engaging speaking strategies to use. 

It is important to point out to students that speakers in public talks such as TED talks or other significant speeches sound confident because of the key components that make up a successful talk. By adopting some of these, students can begin their journey to confidence and enjoyment in speaking English.

Great motivational speaker techniques 

Knowledge and clarity.

Great motivational speakers possess a deep knowledge of their subject, which helps their audience trust in the speaker. 

• For students, this emphasises the importance of understanding the content they are speaking about. 
• Encourage students to research and fully understand the topics they discuss. This will ensure they can present information clearly and confidently. 
• This can be practised through classroom presentations or group discussions where the focus is on explaining concepts in simplified terms.

Confidence and purpose

Confidence often comes from speakers feeling well-prepared and passionate about their subject. 

• Teach students to define the purpose of their speeches and talks – whether to inform, persuade or entertain. This clarity helps them deliver their message with conviction and engage their audience more effectively. 
• Role-playing different scenarios in class can help students build confidence and define their speaking goals.

Storytelling

Whether it’s a personal anecdote or something else, stories can captivate an audience and make the speech memorable. 

• Remind students that by telling a story, the audience is instantly more engaged and likely to follow along throughout the talk. 
• Help students develop their storytelling skills by integrating stories into language lessons. They could start with narrating simple personal experiences and gradually move to more complex narratives as their skills improve.

Audience awareness

Understanding the audience is crucial for effective communication. 

• Have students think of a talk or presentation they’ve recently seen. Then, have them think about who the audience for the talk was. 
• Tell students that speakers tailor their content and delivery to match the audience’s knowledge level and background. This involves using appropriate language, examples and explanations that the audience understands and can relate to. 
• In class, students can practise audience awareness by presenting the same information in different ways to different groups and tailoring the language they are using and the way they are presenting the information. 

A strong conclusion

A strong finish is essential in great motivational speaking. It reinforces the message and often includes a call to action that leaves the audience inspired. 

• Teach students to summarise their key points effectively and end with a compelling conclusion that prompts further thought or action. 
• This could be practised through debates or persuasive speeches in class, where students are encouraged to conclude with strong statements and a call to action.

Practical exercises to enhance English speaking skills

• Focus on activities that enhance clarity in communication. For example, paraphrasing or connecting complex ideas with simpler concepts.
• Have students do exercises that improve non-verbal communication, such as maintaining eye contact, using gestures and controlling hesitations.
• Help students reflect on the purpose of their talk or presentation, and choose language that aligns with their goals, for example, to convince, inform, teach or entertain.
• Have students discuss how best to explain complex ideas. Remind them that any information should be appropriate and understandable to the audience without requiring much prior knowledge.
• Explore the use of extreme adjectives and the connotations of words with your students, emphasising how language choice can inspire and motivate an audience.

Incorporating motivational speaking techniques into your lessons can have a significant impact on students’ engagement and confidence in communicating their ideas. By having these skills, students will not only improve their English proficiency but also gain valuable life skills in speaking and presenting to audiences. 

You can read more about teaching your students presentation skills here. Or read our paper for in-depth advice on teaching English pronunciation.

You may also like

Helping advanced students overcome the language learning plateau, ‘play is for children’: myths about learning through play, differentiation strategies for challenging advanced learners, leave a reply cancel reply, recent posts, soft skills activities: ideas for your language classroom, keeping it human: four things every teacher should consider when using technology, how graded readers and engaging activities can ignite student interest in the magic of books, recent comments.

Copyright 2023 © Oxford University Press 2023

Read our Privacy Policy , Cookie Policy & Legal Notice .

This blog contains external links. OUP are not responsible for the content of external sites nor do we endorse any companies or organisations linked to. Any views or opinions expressed in the articles on these posts are those of the author(s).

Oxford University Press - ELT