How to Open, Build, and Close a Presentation
Grammar: Discourse markers and signposting language for presentations
A Level 3 English lesson exploring work.
What's in this lesson
A Level 3 (intermediate) ESL lesson on work, practising discourse markers and signposting language for presentations. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary and discussion questions.
From the reading: How to Open, Build, and Close a Presentation
In 2022, a marketing manager named Sara Blakely — not the Spanx founder, but a different Sara with the same name — stood up in front of sixty colleagues and said nothing for ten seconds. The silence was deliberate. She had learned a simple rule: the first thirty seconds of any presentation are the most important. If you start too quickly or apologise before you begin, you lose your audience. Her talk that day was about a new product launch, but people remembered the opening long after they forgot the data.
Vocabulary
- deliberate
- develop
- guide
- signal
- keep
- move on
- start with
- sum up
- tell
Discussion questions
- How do you feel when you have to speak in front of a group?
- What makes a presentation boring or difficult to follow?
- Have you ever had to present something at work or school?
How to Open, Build, and Close a Presentation
Grammar: Discourse markers and signposting language for presentations
What's in this lesson:
Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.
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