Episode 0271

My name is Marco.

My name is Catherine and today we have the beginning of a very long series on giving a presentation. So this series is at the intermediate level, right, Marco?

That's right. It's part of our business series. We previously took a look at how to go upon an interview. Now we're going to talk about presentation. So everything about a presentation, how to give a presentation, language you can use in a presentation and a lot of other things like this.

That's right. So today we're going to talk about the very beginning of a presentation. Let's take a listen to this dialogue and we'll be back in a moment.

Hi everyone. Can everyone hear me? Can you guys at the back hear everything?

I think all of you know why we are here this afternoon. As most of you are aware, 2010 marks an important moment for Alpha Computers.

We have bounced back from the recession and now we are set to launch our new line of laptop and desktop computers.

Thank you, Jonathan.

I'd like to start by outlining the key points of my presentation this afternoon and giving you an idea of the topics that will be discussed.

The presentation today is divided into five main parts.

First of all, I'd like to briefly touch on the background of the new X420 line. How the whole concept has come about and how the new product fits into our existing brand line.

Secondly, I'd like to present data on projected sales for the X420.

We will then go on to discuss our key rivals in this sector.

Then I'd like to go on to outline the campaign concept for the X420.

All right, we're back. So as you can see, it's the very beginning of a presentation. We're kind of starting to give people an idea what we're going to talk about.

So, let's take a look at some of the language Mr. Ford used on language takeaway.

Language Takeaway.

So the reason Mr. Ford is giving a presentation is because he wants to talk about their the company's new line of computers, right? And so he says that they're going to launch a new line of desktop and laptop computers.

That's right. So they want to launch a new line of laptop. So this verb to launch means to

bring out to the market.

That's right. So instead of the word to start, which you could use in many different ways, like to start eating or to start swimming.

In this case, to launch means you're going to introduce a new product to the market, like you said, Marco.

That's right. We are going to start selling to the market a new product. We're going to launch a new line of laptop and desktop computers.

For example, this spring, Steve Jobs launched the iPad, which is a new product.

That's right. So he launched the iPad and the iPhone 4.

They're always launching new things at at at Apple.

That's right.

All right. So since they're launching this new line of laptop and desktop computers, Mr. Ford first wanted to give a brief overview of the marketing campaign.

Okay, so first of all, we're going to talk about how this product is being marketed, so you want to give a general picture or a very simple picture of what's going to happen.

So, at the beginning this will happen, then this will happen, at the end this will happen and that's what we call an overview.

That's right. So it's a it's a brief or general idea of what we're talking about, an overview.

Nothing too specific, we just want to give you a general idea.

That's right.

After that, Mr. Ford starts talking and he he's talking about the presentation which has many parts, and he wants to talk about what each part will contain, so he says, "I'd like to briefly touch on the background of the new X420 line."

So this verb to touch on.

What does it mean?

Okay. So when he says he wants to touch on the background of this new computer, he's basically saying I want to talk about.

All right, so this is this is potentially very confusing because we know the word to touch means to put your hand on something.

But to touch on, this is a phrasal verb. This means to talk about or to address.

That's right. So, for example, a teacher at a university will touch on many topics during his lecture.

Okay. So basically it's a nice way of saying I want to talk about this.

That's right. Topic.

Okay. And then apart from touching on the background of the new computer, he said he also wants to talk about projected sales for this new computer.

Okay. So projected sales, this phrase includes two words, sales means how much of something you sell, obviously, but projected means what you expect to sell.

So the projected sales have not happened yet. They will happen in the future, and so they're basically my guess about sales.

That's right.

So basically we are giving an estimate of what we think we will sell. Those are projected sales. We think we will sell a thousand computers. Those are our projected sales.

Right.

And after that, we have one more keyword. This word comes at the very end of the speech. Mr. Ford says, "We will then go on to discuss our key rivals." Now, who is a rival, Marco?

Okay. So a rival is basically your competitor or maybe kind of your enemy.

All right, so in computers, who is Apple's rival?

Uh, maybe HP or IBM, or Dell.

Very good. So, a rival is someone you compete with.

That's right. So, he's going to talk about his key rivals, so basically the word key is your most important rivals.

All right, so, for example, who is one of Batman's key rivals because we have rivals not just in business, but also in life.

That's right. So for example, I think maybe Batman's key rival might be the Joker.

Or the Penguin.

Or the Penguin. All right, so let's take another listen to today's dialogue and we'll be back in a moment with some very important phrases.

Hi everyone. Can everyone hear me? Can you guys at the back hear everything?

I think all of you know why we are here this afternoon. As most of you are aware, 2010 marks an important moment for Alpha Computers.

We have bounced back from the recession and now we are set to launch our new line of laptop and desktop computers.

Thank you, Jonathan.

I'd like to start by outlining the key points of my presentation this afternoon and giving you an idea of the topics that will be discussed.

The presentation today is divided into five main parts.

First of all, I'd like to briefly touch on the background of the new X420 line. How the whole concept has come about and how the new product fits into our existing brand line.

Secondly, I'd like to present data on projected sales for the X420.

We will then go on to discuss our key rivals in this sector.

Then I'd like to go on to outline the campaign concept for the X420.

All right, so we've prepared three phrases for you. Let's take a look at those now on fluency builder.

Fluency Builder.

So this first phrase is really important because it's about the part of the speech that happens before the speech begins. You know, usually you have a person who's going to talk about something.

But you also have someone who introduces that person.

You know, this is John. He's going to talk about computers. He's very smart. Listen to everything he says.

So we usually hear the phrase, let's give a warm welcome to.

So obviously this person is talking to a group of people and he's introducing Mr. Ford, so he says, "Let's give a warm welcome to Mr. Ford." So that's saying, let's clap, let's let's uh, let's say hello to him.

That's right. So like you said, this is an invitation to clap. You have to clap when you hear this.

Warm welcome means, let's be nice to him. Let's all smile and encourage him.

You know, you think about it. Someone who's going to give a speech is probably nervous.

And so this helps them feel comfortable.

That's right. So it's a very nice way if you're maybe presenting someone who's going to talk, you can say, "Let's give a warm welcome to" whoever you're presenting.

Okay, now when Mr. Ford was talking, he mentioned this very interesting phrase about operations. He said, "It's clear to me that operations here are obviously going from strength to strength."

Okay, so that means things are going well.

You do one thing, you do it well, you move on to another thing, you do that well as well.

Okay, so that's what it means from strength to strength.

So we're saying that things are going from good to better.

Getting better.

And what about our last phrase?

Our last phrase is kind of similar to the last one. The Alpha brand continues to grow in leaps and bounds.

All right, so you can you can have a company that grows, it grows a little. You can have a company that grows quite a bit, then you have a company that grows in leaps and bounds. That means a lot.

Okay. So to leap is to jump, right?

That's right.

And so this is what we're saying, we're just jumping higher and higher. We're getting bigger and bigger, we're better and better.

That's right. So this is an exaggeration, it's like saying that um, it's not going quickly, it's going the speed of light. You know, it's just so fast, all of a sudden, just really growing.

Okay. A lot of interesting phrases there, a lot of key vocab. I think we can listen to this dialogue again and we'll be back in a bit.

Thank you, Jonathan.

I'd like to start by outlining the key points of my presentation this afternoon and giving you an idea of the topics that will be discussed.

The presentation today is divided into five main parts.

First of all, I'd like to briefly touch on the background of the new X420 line. How the whole concept has come about and how the new product fits into our existing brand line.

Secondly, I'd like to present data on projected sales for the X420.

We will then go on to discuss our key rivals in this sector.

Then I'd like to go on to outline the campaign concept for the X420.

All right, so as we mentioned, this is the first part of a 10-part series all about public speaking, giving a presentation.

We're going to talk about many aspects of a presentation like charts and graphs and using PowerPoint, all these uh really modern ways of of giving a presentation.

That's right, and we're going to try and talk to you about some of the places in presentations that English learners tend to struggle with. You know, it's it's sometimes very hard to know what to say, especially like in today's lesson, how do you introduce someone in a presentation? It's not very common to learn how to say that.

That's right. And of course, if you have any questions about these lessons or any of our lessons, you can always find us at Englishpod.com or you can send us also your suggestions about any lesson topics you may have.

That's right. So we hope to hear from you. Please let us know what you're thinking and until next time everyone.

The English part audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

A quality or feature that makes someone or something.

Strength.

Phrase used to introduce a series of ideas, starting with the first one.

First of all.

Continue, go forward.

Go on.

At last.

Finally.

To begin with.

Launch.

A general explanation.

Overview.

More and more successful.

Strength to strength.

Let's try that faster.

A quality or feature that makes someone or something.

Strength.

At last.

Finally.

Continue, go forward.

Go on.

More and more successful.

Strength to strength.

To begin with.

Launch.

A general explanation.

Overview.

Phrase used to introduce a series of ideas, starting with the first one.

First of all.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

I'm sorry you've been so sick. I'm sure you'll bounce back in no time.

Our sales in quarter three were disappointing, but we hope to bounce back by the end of the year.

We were unable to bounce back from the global recession like we'd hoped.

Strength to strength.

Strength to strength.

The new office we opened in Sydney just goes to show how our company is moving from strength to strength.

Strength to strength.

Frank's presentation was awful. It really demonstrated the importance of signposting.

You should begin almost every presentation by signposting the major points to discuss.

If you don't signpost in your introduction, your audience may feel lost as the presentation moves on.

First of all.

First of all.

Thanks for the kind introduction, Sherry. First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for attending.

First of all.

There are three points I'd like to make. First of all,

Launch.

NASA scheduled the rocket launch at 3 p.m.

Launch.

We're going to launch a series of changes to the Q&A procedure this September.

Launch.

Texon has just launched a new sales platform.

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