SIGNPOSTING NOTES
Signposts for the Introduction of a Presentation
Formal | Informal | |
|---|---|---|
Introducing yourself: | •Good morning/afternoon/evening. On behalf of (company, department, etc.), I’d like to welcome you. | •Hi everyone, I’m (name and title). Thanks for coming. |
Introducing the topic: | •I’m going to give you an overview of... | •I’m going to talk to you about… |
Outlining your presentation: | •The presentation today is divided into three parts. First, I’ll... Following that I’ll... Finally, I’ll… | •I’m going to talk about three things today. I’ll start with… Then I’ll talk a little bit about… I’ll finish with… |
Inviting questions: | •Please don’t hesitate to interrupt me if you have any questions. | •If you have any questions during the presentation, please ask. |
Signposts for the Middle of a Presentation
Formal | Informal | |
|---|---|---|
Introducing the first section of your presentation: | •I’d like to start/begin by… | •Let’s start/begin by looking at… |
Finishing a section and starting a new one: | •Well, we’ve looked at... Now, I’d like to discuss… | •Well, I’ve told you about… Now I’ll move on to… |
Expanding or elaborating: | •I’d like to expand on… | •Let me tell you a little more about… |
Talking about earlier or later points in your presentation: | later: | later: |
Recognizing your listeners' prior knowledge: | •As you may be aware of… | •You might already know that… |
Focusing audience's attention on visuals: | •May I focus your attention on the…You will notice that… | •Take a look at this slide/chart/graphic etc. You can see that… |
Signposts for the Conclusion of a Presentation
Formal | Informal | |
|---|---|---|
Summarizing and concluding the presentation: | •Finally, let’s summarize some of the main points. | •Let’s summarize/recap what we looked at today. |
Inviting final questions: | •Does anyone have any questions or comments before we conclude today? | •Does anyone have any final questions? |
Responding to tough questions: | a question you don’t have the answer to: | a question you don’t have the answer to: |
Finishing and saying goodbye: | •If there are no further questions, I’d like to thank you very much for your attention. If you think of any additional questions, please feel free to contact me. | •Well, I think that’s about it. Thanks for listening. Please contact me later if you have any additional questions or want more information. |