Pedagogical Sciences

Tatiana V. Khorkhordina

OKVNZ “Institute for Entrepreneurship ”Strategy”, Zhovti Vody

Helping Professionals Prepare Presentations in English

for International Conventions

For the last decade Ukraine has been experiencing dramatic changes in all spheres of life integrating in the world community and widely being involved in international business processes. That leads to the increasing demand on the professionals who are able to use English in their work especially for making presentations.

Much of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is carried out in schools and universities where students are required to give presentations within their curriculum in order to graduate. However, there is also a need for ESP among experienced professionals who are not attending classes but now need English to further their careers and business. Some of these individuals are strongly motivated to attend international conventions and present their work, including scientific research, by delivering papers in English. Several alternatives in this case as a way out:

- rely on specialized interpreters (supplied when professionals attend

international events);

- attend specialized language courses;

- ask a teacher to help for preparing a presentation.

Each of these options has its own pros and cons. But for many reasons the last one is the most popular among business people.

As preparing the presentation is quite a long process and requires hard work, three preliminary conditions have to be considered:

1. Professionals are not usually prepared to give talks in English unless they have

had sufficient language knowledge. Thus, they will need to have an

intermediate to upper – intermediate level of English proficiency.

2. They will have to master the jargon of their speciality in English. This is

accomplished through reading specialized literature, attending courses and

seminars and workshops.

3. Their experience in giving presentations in their mother tongue is also

important. It will help reduce their fear of public speaking. They also have to

be familiar with the equipment used in presentations, e.g., overhead

projectors, desktop/laptop computers.

When these conditions are met, the teacher and presenter can focus on the presentation itself.

There are six general guidelines which teachers should follow helping professionals prepare and deliver successful presentations in English.

1. Conference requirements.

The requirements for the conference must be studied and followed very carefully, especially if it is the first time the professional will be a speaker. Instructions concerning topics, abstracts, submission forms, schedules, deadlines, length of talks, and technical specifications for available equipment must be understood thoroughly. Every conference is different and so are the requirements, therefore the presenter must refer to them whenever there is a doubt.

2. Topic.

For most large conferences, the speakers are asked to send their topics and abstracts long before the date of the event. Generally, the professional has an appropriate idea already in mind, having taken into account the material he has or might be able to collect for a presentation. As the teachers are not experts in the business field, they should constantly encourage the presenter to think the way the audience will.

3. Collecting material.

The theoretical and background information for a presentation must always be taken from suitable specialized literature, such as reference books and journals in English of the specific field. In the field of business, presentations mostly concern different aspects of business activity. So the presenters usually support their work using their own visual aids, such as slides, photographs, posters, graphs of different kinds. These must be carefully selected by the professional according to the topic and goal of the presentation.

4. Organization.

To be successful, the presentation should be well – organized following the conventional schema. The structure includes introduction, body to develop ideas, conclusion, and question-and-answer period. The length of the presentation depends on the time limit which is available because conferences are tightly sequenced and strictly scheduled. The very time consuming step is outlining of the presentation which should be developed into a written script as a useful support for a non – native speaker. The introduction must grab the audience’s attention. It should clearly state the objectives of the presentation and how it will be presented.

The body of the presentation must develop ideas clearly and logically, and connect them by means of appropriate linking phrases. The supporting details or images presented must be relevant and easy to understand. Effective presenters recognize the need to keep their message much simpler than it is in a written presentation. They consider useful to summarize regularly, return to their main points, and say the same thing in different ways, so listeners have several opportunities to catch their message. Finally, the conclusion should be anticipated. It is very good to sum up the core ideas of the presentation using summing – up phrases. One more important factor of an effective presentation is the balanced and appropriate use of visual aids. Slides or inserted video segments should not have too much text. They should be rather brief and do not take too much time intended for speaking. Time for a question – and – answer period should also be included. However, the presenter has to decide whether he feels confident enough, in terms of language competence, to answer questions spontaneously.

5. Handout.

If a handout is required, it must reflect the key points of the presentation. It might be a written summary of the talk with clear subheadings

6. Rehearsal.

Ideally, the entire presentation should be rehearsed using the same kind of

equipment the speaker will use during the presentation at the conference. This

will help him feel comfortable and confident.

Хорхордина Татьяна Викторовна

ОКВНЗ «Институт предпринимательства «Стратегия»

ул. Гагарина, 38

г. Желтые Воды

Днепропетровская обл., 52201