Presentations- Formality
A LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS
How to start formal and informal presentations review, including a jigsaw task.
Lesson Plan Content:
Starting formal and informal presentations jigsaw
Instructions for teachers
You need one cut-up copy of the worksheets per group, with the medium-level phrases in a different pack from the others. Also make one un-cut-up copy per student for them to check their answers with and keep for reference.
Give out just the mixed formal and informal phrases and ask students to pair them by function, divide them into formal and informal and put them in the order of a typical presentation to make a table with matching formal and informal phrases, with the informal versions on the left each time. If they get stuck, you could tell them or give out the names of each category of phrases.
Let them check with a worksheet without the medium-level phrases, then ask them to write suitable phrases in the blank boxes in the middle, from their own knowledge or changing the (very) informal and formal ones to make them more suitable.
Students then match the cut up medium-level ones to those gaps, writing any phrases that they particularly like in those gaps if they want to.
Give out the full un-cut-up worksheet, then compare other phrases they wrote and/ or brainstorm more.
They can then test each other in pairs or small groups by:
- Reading out pairs of phrases with different levels of formality for their partners to identify the formality of
- Reading out medium-level phrases from one section for their partner to identify the function of
- Reading out formal and/ or informal phrases for their partner to convert to medium-level ones
- Reading out a heading and helping their partner make suitable medium-level phrases
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Cards to cut up/ Suggested answers
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1: Getting people’s attention/ Getting started
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(cough cough) Hello! Hi! Hello! Right, settle down, please. |
Okay, shall we get started? So, can I make a start? Well then, let’s make a start, shall we? I’d like to get started, if that’s okay.
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I’d like to start, if I may. If I may have your attention, I’m afraid we really must get underway. If everyone is ready, I’d like to get started, if at all possible.
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2: Greeting
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Hi guys Hi! Hiya! Alright? Hey guys and gals! Hey! What’s up?
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Hi everyone. Hello. Good morning (everybody).
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Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Greetings to you all. A very good morning to you all.
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3: Connecting personally with the audience/ Showing awareness of the audience/
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Wow! So many people! At least the important people came! I think lots of you still have hangovers, so… I’m impressed you got up so early – I nearly didn’t! I can hear a few stomach rumbling, so…
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Thanks for coming so early in the morning. It’s nice to see so many familiar faces. You must be tired after such a long day, so… I’m sure you are a little sleepy after lunch, so… It’ll be really hard to follow that great presentation! |
I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedules to attend this presentation. I’m flattered that you would choose to spend time in this lecture theatre on such a nice sunny day.
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4: Sharing personal information/ Introducing yourself
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I guess most of you know this, but I’m Alex You all know me, right? You have probably seen me around campus…ing… Shocking I know, but I’m really into…
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For those who don’t know me already,… I think some/ most/ almost all of you already know that I…, but it might surprise you to hear that… I… but I’m really interested in…, which is my presentation topic today.
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Firstly, please allow me to introduce myself to you. I’ll begin with a brief personal introduction, if I may. I believe not many of you are aware that I have…
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5: Giving the title/ topic
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This here is the topic. The only thing I could think of to talk about is… I’m gonna talk for a few minutes about… I’m not sure if this is a good topic, but… |
In my presentation I’d like to talk about… I’ve decided to speak about… The topic/ subject of my presentation is… What I’d like to explain in my presentation is… What I’d like to present to you today is… My presentation is about…
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I’ve invited you here today in order to explain in some detail…. I’ve been invited here today so that I can share with you…
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6: Hooking the audience
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Hands up if you own fewer than five pairs of underpants. It’s a bit of a dirty joke, but… I bet you ten dollars you can’t guess… Have a look at this picture. Shocking, right?
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I think it’s an important subject because… Have you ever wondered…? Few people know… There’s an interesting quote/ amazing statistic that… Please raise your hand if… Just yesterday this was in the news because…
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I’d like to start with a quotation, if I may. To pique your interest, I would like to begin with a couple of intriguing facts on this topic. If it’s okay, I’d like to begin with some data of particular interest, specifically…
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7: Outlining your presentation |
I’ll jump straight in with the heavy stuff by… After getting that boring stuff out of the way, I’ll be able to get to the juicier topic of… Then at last… We’ll have a look at this, this and this. If I really rush, should get through it five minutes. |
I’ve divided my presentation into… First(ly), I’ll explain… First of all, I’ll look at… I’ll begin by showing… Second(ly), I’ll share… In the second part,… Then/ Next/ After that, I’ll focus on… Last (ly/of all),… I’m going to speak for about…
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My presentation consists of three parts. I’ll commence my presentation by… In the penultimate part of this presentation,… My presentation will conclude with… This presentation will last for approximately… |
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8: Explaining your policy on the audience asking questions
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Ask me your questions at the end. If I rush through anything too quickly, just jump right in and tell me. No interrupting please – plenty of time for questions later! |
If anything isn’t clear, please feel free to interrupt at any time. Please feel free to ask questions at any time. There will time for questions at the end. There will be a Q&A session at the end.
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If anything at all isn’t 100% clear, please do not hesitate to interrupt and ask for clarification. I’ve scheduled 5 minutes at the end of the presentation for any questions you may have.
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9: Explaining the aim(s) of your presentation/ what you want to achieve
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What on earth could I achieve by presenting this? Well, I wanna… Why would I choose such a strange topic? Well, my goal is to… After my presentation you WILL, and I really mean WILL, agree with me.
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I aim to prove that… By the end of my presentation, I’d like to prove to you that… My goal is to change your mind about… By presenting this, I hope to convince … What I want to achieve by presenting this to you is…
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The primary purpose of this particular presentation is… My mission in presenting this to you is… To set out my goals in presenting this topic to you, they are…
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10. Ending the introduction and moving onto the body of the presentation
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Right! Everything clear? Great! Let’s go! First, look at this. |
If there are no questions so far, let’s have a look at… So, getting started with the first of those topics,… Okay, let’s really get started with… So, if everything is clear so far, let’s get going with part one, which is…
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Well then. If there are no questions at this stage, my presentation will commence with…
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Partial answers
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1: Getting people’s attention/ Getting started |
(cough cough) Hello! Hi! Hello! Right, settle down, please. |
|
I’d like to start, if I may. If I may have your attention, I’m afraid we really must get underway. If everyone is ready, I’d like to get started, if at all possible.
|
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2: Greeting
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Hi guys Hi! Hiya! Alright? Hey guys and gals! Hey! What’s up?
|
|
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Greetings to you all. A very good morning to you all.
|
|
3: Connecting personally with the audience/ Showing awareness of the audience |
Wow! So many people! At least the important people came! I think lots of you still have hangovers, so… I’m impressed you got up so early – I nearly didn’t! I can hear a few stomach rumbling, so…
|
|
I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedules to attend this presentation. I’m flattered that you would choose to spend time in this lecture theatre on such a nice sunny day.
|
|
4: Sharing personal information/ Introducing yourself
|
I guess most of you know this, but I’m Alex You all know me, right? You have probably seen me around campus…ing… Shocking I know, but I’m really into…
|
|
Firstly, please allow me to introduce myself to you. I’ll begin with a brief personal introduction, if I may. I believe not many of you are aware that I have…
|
|
5: Giving the title/ topic
|
This here is the topic. The only thing I could think of to talk about is… I’m gonna talk for a few minutes about… I’m not sure if this is a good topic, but…
|
|
I’ve invited you here today in order to explain in some detail…. I’ve been invited here today so that I can share with you…
|
|
6: Hooking the audience
|
Hands up if you own fewer than five pairs of underpants. It’s a bit of a dirty joke, but… I bet you ten dollars you can’t guess… Have a look at this picture. Shocking, right?
|
|
I’d like to start with a quotation, if I may. To pique your interest, I would like to begin with a couple of intriguing facts on this topic. If it’s okay, I’d like to begin with some data of particular interest, specifically…
|
|
7: Outlining your presentation
|
I’ll jump straight in with the heavy stuff by… After getting that boring stuff out of the way, I’ll be able to get to the juicier topic of… Then at last… We’ll have a look at this, this and this.
|
|
My presentation consists of three parts. I’ll commence my presentation by… In the penultimate part of this presentation,… My presentation will conclude with…
|
|
8: Explaining your policy on the audience asking questions
|
Ask me your questions at the end. If I rush through anything too quickly, just jump right in and tell me. No interrupting please – plenty of time for questions later! |
|
If anything at all isn’t 100% clear, please do not hesitate to interrupt and ask for clarification. I’ve scheduled 5 minutes at the end of the presentation for any questions you may have.
|
|
9: Explaining your aim(s) |
What on earth could I achieve by presenting this? Well, I wanna… Why would I choose such a strange topic? Well, my goal is to… After my presentation you WILL, and I really mean WILL, agree with me.
|
|
The primary purpose of this particular presentation is… My mission in presenting this to you is… To set out my goals in presenting this topic to you, they are…
|
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10: Ending the introduction and moving onto the body of the presentation
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Right! Everything clear? Great! Let’s go! First, look at this. |
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Well then. If there are no questions at this stage, my presentation will commence with…
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