Presentations in English: structure, phrases and tips

How is a presentation in English structured?

Presentations in English usually follow a clear three-step pattern: Tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you’ve told them. To some ears this sounds repetitive, but in English it is seen as audience-friendly, because listeners can follow even without slides or native-level English.

These proportions are guidelines from practice, not a rigid rule. What matters is that you mark the transitions clearly in words, and for that you need the phrases in this article. If you want to practise them in a safe setting with feedback, our business English courses offer presentation training one to one or in small groups.

Why presenting is so challenging

Many professionals read English documents easily but speak with much less confidence. We see this often in our courses. A well-prepared structure closes this gap because you can rely on familiar phrases.

Opening a presentation in English: greeting and overview

Open with a greeting (Good morning, everyone, and thank you for coming.), a brief introduction of yourself, the topic and the benefit for the audience (By the end of this talk, you’ll know how to …). Then give the outline and length and say when questions are welcome. The first minute decides whether people listen.

A strong start

Instead of starting with the table of contents, you can open with a question, a surprising figure or a short story: “How many of you have ever …?” or “Let me start with a figure that surprised me.” Make sure every figure comes from a reliable source.

Example: a complete introduction

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for making the time. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Katrin Lehmann and I head the customer service team in Augsburg. Today I’d like to show you how we cut our response times by a third last year, and what other teams can learn from it. I’ve divided my talk into three parts. First, I’ll briefly describe where we started. Then I’ll walk you through the three changes that made the biggest difference. Finally, I’ll suggest how we could roll them out across the company. I’ll speak for about fifteen minutes, and I’d be happy to take questions at the end.

This introduction (example) contains all the building blocks: thanks, introduction, topic, benefit, outline, length and a note on questions. Spoken aloud, it takes less than a minute. The figures in the example are fictitious and for illustration only.

Transitions in English: signposting in the main body

Signposting means guiding your audience with short sentences: you announce points (Let’s start with …), move on (Moving on to my next point …), close sections and return after a digression (Getting back to the main point …). These sentences sound simple, but they make a presentation in English easy to follow.

For lists, count with firstly, secondly, finally or first of all, then, lastly. Avoid “at first” to start a list: it means “in the beginning”, in contrast to later (“At first I was sceptical, but …”).

Describing charts and figures in English

Describe charts with precise trend verbs such as rise, fall, level off or peak, graded with adverbs such as slightly or sharply. In English a full stop marks decimals (2.5 %), a comma marks thousands (12,000), and a billion is a thousand million. Openers like As you can see … guide the eye.

Verbs and adverbs for trends

Grade the movement with adverbs: slightly, steadily, sharply, dramatically.

The number trap: comma, decimal point and billion

• In English, a decimal point separates decimals: 2.5 % (said: two point five per cent). The comma groups thousands: 12,000. In German, Austrian and many other European documents it is the other way round, so double-check slides you adapt from German material.
• Billion in English means a thousand million (German “Milliarde”). The German “Billion” is an English trillion. A mistake here changes your figure by a factor of 1,000.
• “Prozentpunkte” are percentage points, not “percent points”.
• Years are spoken in pairs: 2019 = twenty nineteen.

Helpful openers: “As you can see from this chart, …”, “This graph shows …”, “Let’s take a closer look at …”.

Mini exercise: how do you say this in English?

1. Revenue went up a little in the second quarter.
2. Costs have gone down a lot since March.
3. Our market share is 3,5 per cent (German notation).
4. The budget is 2 Milliarden euros.

Answers: 1. Revenue rose slightly in the second quarter. 2. Costs have fallen sharply since March. 3. Our market share is 3.5 % (three point five per cent). 4. The budget is two billion euros.

Closing a presentation in English: summary and recommendation

End by summarising your key messages (Let me briefly summarise the main points.), making a clear recommendation or request (Based on these findings, I’d recommend …), and only then thanking the audience. Your last sentence of content should carry your most important message, because that is what people remember best.

• That brings me to the end of my presentation.
• Let me briefly summarise the main points.
• To sum up, … / In short, …
• Based on these findings, I’d recommend …
• What I’d like you to take away is …
• Thank you for your attention.

Avoid an ending that simply stops at the last slide with a curt “That’s it”. Your last sentence should carry your key message, followed by your thanks. If you need a decision afterwards, you will find more phrases in our guide to leading meetings in English.

Handling questions after a presentation in English

A few standard sentences help you handle questions confidently: That’s a good question. Let me think about that for a second. buys time, and If I understand you correctly, you’re asking … checks understanding. If you have no answer, promise to follow up with I’ll get back to you on that. and keep your word.

Honesty is more convincing than an improvised answer. If you don’t know something, promise to follow up and do so. You can write a suitable follow-up email with the templates in our article on writing emails in English.

Common mistakes German speakers make in English presentations

Typical mistakes German speakers make are pseudo-anglicisms and false friends: foil instead of slide, beamer instead of projector, actual numbers instead of current figures. Add to that the missing present perfect with since and the th sound in three or growth, which often becomes s or f.

Pronunciation: small sounds, big impact

Words such as three, growth or thousand contain the th sound, which German speakers often pronounce as “s” or “f”. Word stress also shifts: deVElopment, caTAstrophe, ANalyse as a verb but aNAlysis as a noun. A more detailed overview of grammar and false friends is available in typical mistakes German speakers make in English (in German). Targeted pronunciation exercises are in improving your English pronunciation (in German).

How do you prepare a presentation in English?

Prepare a presentation in English in fixed steps: state your goal in one sentence, choose no more than three or four main points, reduce slides to keywords, write out the opening, transitions and close word for word, check your figures, rehearse out loud at least twice with a timer, and prepare short answers to five likely questions.

• Goal in one sentence: write down in English what your audience should know or do afterwards.
• Fix the structure: no more than three or four main points, each with a transition.
• Lighten your slides: keywords rather than full sentences. Your audience should listen, not read.
• Write out key sentences: prepare the opening, transitions and close word for word, and speak freely for the rest.
• Check your figures: decimal points, thousand separators and billion versus Milliarde.
• Rehearse out loud: at least twice with a timer, ideally recording yourself.
• Anticipate questions: note five possible questions and prepare short answers.

More confidence through training

In our English training for professionals and managers, you rehearse real presentations from your working life and get feedback on language, pronunciation and impact. Companies often book this training for sales and project management; find out more under language courses for companies. A language audit ensures the right level placement. If you read Polish, our sister site has more examples in Prezentacja po angielsku (in Polish). And if there is a chat over coffee before your talk, you will find suitable openers in small talk in English.

Sources

1. ef.de: germany
2. choices.com.pl: prezentacja po angielsku

Frequently asked questions