The introduction to a presentation is a very important - perhaps the most important part of the presentation. This is the first impression that your audience have of you. You should concentrate on getting your introduction right. You should use the introduction to:
- welcome your audience
- introduce your subject
- outline the structure of your presentation, and
- give instructions about questions
Let’s now look at some useful language you could use for the four parts of an introduction.
First, ‘Welcoming your audience’:
| Good morning, ladies and gentlemen Good morning, gentlemen Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman Good afternoon, everybody |
Next, ‘Introducing your subject’:
| I am going to talk today about... The purpose of my presentation is to introduce our new range of..... |
Then, ‘Outlining the structure of your presentation’:
| To start with, I'll describe the progress made this year. Then I'll mention some of the problems we've encountered and how we overcame them. After that I'll consider the possibilities for further growth next year. Finally, I'll summarize my presentation before concluding with some recommendations. |
Finally, ‘Give instructions about questions’:
| Do feel free to interrupt me if you have any questions. I'll try to answer all of your questions after the presentation. I plan to keep some time for questions after the presentation. |
SITUATION
You're now going to listen to Paula Robinson, of the Commission for New Towns, giving the introduction of a presentation. Paula is talking to representatives of a company who are interested in relocating their business to Bilton Oaks, a new town in central England. You're only going to hear the introduction to Paula's presentation.
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