An impromptu presentation is one where there has been little or no advance preparation – someone may have asked you to give a short talk without any warning. This is particularly common in team meetings. Due to the lack of preparation, there won’t usually be any visuals or handouts to support the presentation. The audience is likely to be smaller and the content will be less structured. There will be a lot of redundancy (um, er, repetition, etc.) and the aim is more likely to be related to informing or explaining, rather than being persuasive.
Key expressions
Setting the context
- Where we are at the moment is …
- What I can tell you is that …
- I’d like to be able to … but unfortunately I can’t …
- You’ll appreciate that I still need to …
Signalling intention
- Perhaps it would be a good idea if I just …
- I’d just like to sketch out …
- Let me just touch on …
- I think that’s covered everything.
Responding to questions and challenges
- I was coming to that.
- I have to admit that …
- You’re quite right, we need to address this.
- That’s a good point.
In-Company English Lessons with Native British Teachers
Highlighting key points
- So, the first point is …
- And I think you should be aware that …
- So that’s one key point right there.
- … and I think this is a really important point …
- So, the main thing to remember is …
Responding to requests for detail
- Let me check … and I’ll get back to you.
- I can’t remember exactly, but off the top of my head …
- I can double check if you like?
- I don’t have the exact figures, but what if I …?
Skype English Lessons with Native British Teachers