EFFECTIVE

PRESENTATION SKILLS
CHAPTER 2: WRITING OUT
YOUR SPEECH IN ENGLISH

A good presentation of a paper can be a

delightful experience, an elegant
performance, a memorable show for its
audience. During the course of my
scientific career I have seen thousands
of presentations. Most go into oblivion
at once, but some stay in the memory
for a lifetime. Theres no doubt about it:
good speaking skills are more important
than dazzling PowerPoint slides.
(Osmo Pekonen, Finnish author and

mathematician)

You will learn how to

be concise and clear, and avoid

improvising
decide what style of language to use
assess when your use of English is
and is not crucial
use appropriate vocabulary and
grammar
identify which tenses to use at
various stages of the presentation

Why is this important?

At least 20% of the words and
phrases that inexperienced
presenters use tend to be redundant,
i.e., they give no information that is
useful for the audience. Thats 20%
less time for explaining and
emphasizing the key points. Also,
using the right style (personal rather
than impersonal) will considerably
increase the impact of your
presentation.

1.
2.
3.

Why should I write a speech?

Use your script to write notes to
accompany your slides;
Use your speech for future
presentations

4. One idea per sentence and

repeat key words
Split up long sentences
Each sentence-one idea
Repeat key words
Use active forms instead of
passive forms
ADVANTAGES:
Give you natural pauses
Emphasis and drama can be
created

5. Simplify sentences
In 2010, Kay proved that most
people speak at a speed of one
hundred and twenty to two
hundred words per minute, but
that the mind can absorb
information at six hundred words

6. Do not use synonyms for

technical/key words

For example, if the adjective

sustainable is a key word in
your field, then dont find
synonyms for it, do not use
words such as manageable,
steady, or persistent.

7 . Avoid details

If you leave out details you will not be

considered as superficial or
unprofessional provided you introduce
what you say with a qualification:
This is an extremely simplified view of
the situation, but it is enough to
illustrate that . . .
In reality this table should also include
other factors, but for the sake of
simplicity I have just chosen these two
key points:
Broadly speaking, this is . . ..

8. Avoid quasi-technical terms

Compare these two versions.

Which one sounds more natural
and is possibly easy to
understand? (handout 1
exercise 2)

9. Explain or paraphrase words

that may be unfamiliar to the
audience
10. Only use synonyms for
nontechnical words
11. Be concise-Only say things
that add value

12. Use verbs rather than

nouns
Using verbs rather than nouns (or verb +
noun constructions) makes your
sentences shorter, more dynamic, and
easier to understand for the audience.
X is meaningful for an understanding of
Y = X will help you to understand Y
When you take into consideration =
When you consider
This gives you the possibility to do X =
This means you can do X./This enables
you to do X.

13. Avoid abstract nouns

If you find that your speech is full
of words that end in -ability, -acy,
-age, -ance, -ation, -ence, -ism,
-ity, -ment, -ness, -ship, you
probably need to think about
deleting some of them or finding
concrete alternatives or examples.

14. Choose the right level of

formality
The style of language you adopt
in your presentation will have a
huge impact on whether the
audience will
want to listen to you, and their
level of enjoyment/interest
find you approachable and thus
someone they might like to
collaborate with

Three levels of formality:

formal
neutral/relatively informal
very informal

Ways to achieve informality

personal pronouns (e.g., I, we, you)

active forms rather than passive
forms (e.g., I found rather than it was
found)
verbs instead of nouns where
possible
concrete or specific nouns (e.g.,
cars) rather than technical or
abstract nouns (e.g., vehicular
transportation)
short simple sentences rather than
long complex ones