English Communication Skills: Time of day tips for presentations–Lunch

As human beings, we like to combine business with pleasure.  Thus, presenters are asked to do the noon meal.  Here are some tips for you so that this occasion for presentation can indeed combine work with pleasure.

Presentations during lunch:

• Lunch presents problems for listeners, who, of course, want to eat.  Never talk when your listeners are trying to enjoy the main part of their meal.  If you must talk during dessert, that’s doable. But be prepared for the sounds of clinking forks and rattling coffee cups.
• Lunch also presents a double problem for speakers.  Ah yes, you need food for energy.  But you can’t eat a big meal right before you speak because it will just sit there in your stomach as a big lump.  Then there is the added danger of getting food stuck in your teeth.  Distracting? Yes!  It is distracting for listeners to watch the  spinach stuck between your front teeth flapping in the breeze of your “s” and “z”.  Best option?  Consider doing a light snack before you arrive.  Then skip the served meal.  Use your table time to relax and find out what other people are thinking.
• Participants want to talk with their friends.  Do make your luncheon talk as informal and conversational as possible – so listeners feel like you’re at the table conversing with them.
• Luncheon groups want to have fun.  Give them fun—real life examples, anecdotes, clever quotes.  Remember: Lunch is meant to be a relaxing break in their day

Presentations Immediately after lunch

• Listeners may be drowsy after eating a big meal.  Make the opening of your speech attention-grabbing.
• Post-lunch attendees may not be able to arrive on time.  If you don’t want your opening to be interrupted, consider starting a few minutes late.  You could even usher late arrivals into the room personally.
• Listeners may have a difficult time switching from an “entertainment mode” to a “learning mode.”  Consider opening with something lighthearted to make that transition easier for them

Next time:  Pitfalls in afternoon and evening presentations

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Be sure to watch our English Speech Tips videos and Accent Reduction Tip videos  for more English pronunciation and accent reduction exercises.

Tips for Teleconferences

Pause so another person can speak.

Save complex questions for e-mail unless you need an immediate answer.

English Communication Skills: Presentation Time of Day Pitfalls

What time of day will you be speaking or doing a presentation?  Will it make a difference? Absolutely.

Here are some pitfalls.   Know these, and you can prevent problems.  For today’s blog, we will discuss  pitfalls for morning presentations.

Breakfast/early morning

• Listeners may be groggy.  Choose a stimulating issue  or anecdote to open with. Get audience involvement by having them raise their hand in agreement or disagreement.
• People may be in a rush.  So this is not the time for leisurely humor or drawn-out details.  At breakfast, more than any other time of day, it’s wise to heed the great US president Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s advice: “Be sincere, be brief, be seated.”
• Listeners may be preoccupied with work tasks of the day.  This, of course, will affect their receptivity.  Draw them into the topic with quick anecdotes or thought provoking quotations.
• People attending may be irritable. Why? Because they had to change their morning commute to attend the meeting.

Mid-morning

• Listeners may need a coffee break.  If at all possible, provide coffee and tea.  Otherwise listeners may head to the nearest cafeteria and miss a chunk of your presentation.
• Attendees may need to use the restrooms.  A good rule of thumb: If your listeners have been sitting for more than an hour, give them a quick three-minute break before you talk.  Otherwise, they’ll just leave in the middle anyway—interrupting other people  in the audience and distracting you.
• People may need to check in to their office for messages.  Again, a three minute break is a good remedy—it gives them a chance to make a quick call without bothering the whole room.  But don’t give them too long, or they may get bogged down with expanded work details

Immediately before lunch

• Listeners are hungry and probably can’t concentrate well.  Don’t be surprised if no one asks any questions before lunch.  It doesn’t mean they are bored.  It only means they’d rather go eat.  Here’s a good alternative: Invite people to ask questions throughout your presentation.  Be sure to keep questions and answers in check so you don’t run overtime.  Audiences are very forgiving – except for making them late for lunch.
• Listeners have been sitting all morning and may need to stretch.  What’s an easy solution? Invite them to stand up and take a thirty-second “stretch break” right at their seats.
• Listeners may get “information overload.”  Supplement your speaking with handouts so people can review material later.

Next time: What about lunch presentations?

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Be sure to watch our English Speech Tips videos and Accent Reduction Tip videos  for more English pronunciation and accent reduction exercises.

Practice Makes Perfect

Rehearse out loud. The only way you can tell how your speech will sound is to do it and listen to it. That means you have to say it out loud. Doing the speech in your head and listening to it doesn’t work – that is not the voice your audience will hear.

English Communication: Greetings and Goodbyes, part 1

 ‘What’s up?’

 ‘How’s it going?’

 ‘Good evening, sir.’

 When it comes to greetings and words of parting, it is important to know that in the culture of the United States, these are usually ritual greetings.  That means that if someone asks you “How are you ?”  or “How is it going?” it is meant to be the same thing as saying a simple “hello.”   That person is expecting a short reply, one or a few words.

 This is different than many other countries, such as Romania, where such a greeting is an opener to discussion about the well-being of each person.

In the United States, there are many ritual greetings and words of parting.  But with so many ways to say ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ comes a lot to know about which vocabulary and phrases are typically used in what circumstances.  Who? When? How? In what context?  Knowing the answers to these question will help you feel more comfortable and confident in many situations.

Here are some good options for expanding your ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ vocabulary, with some of those questions answered.

Formal Greetings

Use these in a business setting, in public speaking, or in the service professions, such as restaurants and retail.  

• Good morning/afternoon/evening (Answer: ‘Hi’)
• Nice to meet you – Used when meeting someone for the first time. Can be used in informal settings with new acquaintances. (Answer: ‘Nice to meet you too’)
• It’s good to see you again – Used with someone you have met before. (Answer: ‘You too’)

Formal Goodbyes

Use in a business setting, public speaking, or in the service professions

• It was nice to see you again (Answer: ‘You too’)
• Take care  – This is also often used with friends and  used especially by females. (Answer: ‘Thanks, you too!’)
• Have a good day/week/weekend/trip – This can also be used with friends. (Answer: ‘Thanks! You too.’)

Informal Greetings

Use with friends

•  Hey! (Answer: ‘Hey’)
• What’s up?  (Answer: ‘Not much’ or ‘hey’)
• Hey! Long time no see (Answer: ‘Yeah, it’s been a while.’)
• How’s it going? (Answer: ‘Hey!’ or ‘Pretty good. You?’ or ‘Not bad. What about you?’)
• Hey! How are you? (Answer: ‘Pretty good. You?’)

Informal Goodbyes

Use with friends

• See you later (Answer: ‘Yeah!’ or ‘Later.’)
• Later (Answer: ‘See ya.’ or ‘Take care.’)
• So long. (Answer: ‘ Catch you later.)

Later, more on avoiding confusion with that little phrase you’ve probably heard over and over again: ‘How are you?’  

Click here: www.cleartalkmastery.com/scheduler to sign up for a Free Sample Lesson with us! 

Be sure to watch our English Speech Tips videos and Accent Reduction Tip videos  for more English pronunciation and accent reduction exercises.

 Contributing editor: Amber McKinney