Presentations- Offers and Commands

Please plus verb for offers and commands in presentations

Work together to mime suitable actions that the presenter or people organising the presentation could use to go together with the phrases below.

• Please come in and take a seat.
• Please continue./ Please don’t stop.
• Please hurry up./ Time is running out.
• Please raise your hand (if you have a question)./ If you have any questions, please put up your hand now.
• Please remember…/ Please don’t forget…
• Please take a break./ Time out.
• Please take one and pass the rest along.
• Please wait a minute while the PowerPoint opens./ Sorry the computer is so slow.
• Yes, the gentleman/ lady at the back. Please go ahead (and ask your question).

Mime one of the sentences and see if your partner can remember the phrase.

What two functions do the “Please + verb” phrases have above?

Are there any which would be better with other forms (not just “Please + verb”)?

Are the following sentences offers or commands (= orders)? Label them O for offers or C for commands. Some could be both.

• As I said earlier, please feel free to interrupt if anything isn’t clear.
• For more information, please use these links.
• I have ten minutes left, so please ask me questions!
• If anything (that) (I say) isn’t clear, please (feel free to) interrupt me at any time.
• If there are any further questions, please come up and ask me individually.
• If there’s anything else you’d like to know about this topic, please email me at this address.
• Please ask one question at a time.
• Please avoid further interruptions so we can finish on time.
• Please don’t ask me that question. It’s a secret.
• Please explain what your question means.
• Please have a look at this slide to see…
• Please leave any questions until the end.
• Please let me finish this section, and then you can ask your question.
• Please let me get back to the topic (at hand).
• Please let me know if anything (that) I say isn’t clear.
• Please let other people ask questions.
• Please listen carefully to my presentation.
• Please make sure your questions are on topic./ Please only ask questions about this topic.
• Please make yourself at home./ Please make yourself comfortable.
• Please pay attention.
• Please repeat your question.
• Please sit over there.
• Please stand up.
• Please stay awake for the next ten minutes.
• Please take a seat.
• Please take your time.
• Please tell me if that doesn’t answer your question.
• Please wait while I look in my notes.
• Please wait. I’m going to talk about that later.
• Sorry about that. Please don’t let it put you off asking more questions.
• There seem to be some doubts/ questions. Please don’t be shy!

Rewrite any above which aren’t polite enough, e.g. commands which should actually be requests.