Single Speaker Legal Presentations
If you give me six hours to cut down a tree, I will spend 4 hours sharpening the ax.
— Abraham Lincoln
Some statistics
Over 75% of adults state to be afraid of public speaking.
Around 90% of anxiety comes from lack of preparation.
About 90% of people feel more confident with a well-prepared presentation.
On average, 45% of people find it difficult to design their own slides.
Less than 35% of people choose bright colors.
Let’s take a look at the second of three different styles.
Now that you feel comfortable introducing yourself, your topic and getting the ball rolling, now let’s start preparing. The more you prepare, the less you will run into trouble. Then we will wrap up with partner style presentation styles, standard phrases and more.
Single-speaker Style
A single-speaker style speech is when you’re put in the situation to speak in public, but with prior notice. As impromptu style, it may be one of the most horrifying speeches you will ever do; standing up in front of a group and having to talk about something for a few minutes, even with preparation, it is difficult even for the most veteran speakers. It’s may happen often, so when it does, you don’t want to be caught completely blind-sided.
Idioms
to be caught off guard
to be confronted and not be expecting it
vs.
to be blind-sided
to be confronted and not be expecting it
Phrasal Verbs to Learn
To set up
To sum up
To find out
To come up with
To wrap up
To figure out
To run into
To hand out
Every presentation starts the same …
Remember from the impromptu style, having a strong start makes getting into the swing of things that much easier.
Accept the Mission
Your boss, supervisor or other co-worker may be the person to put you in the position the deliver the presentation. Sounding confident is the key to starting strong and staying strong. Being confident comes from preparation.
Accept the Mission
Introduce Yourself
Give an Overview
Mention the Timing
Address Questions Asking
… but the venue can always change.
Where can you be asked to take charge and deliver a top-level presentation?
in a classroom
in an interview
in court
in a lecture room
in a meeting
in a cross examination
in a conference
in a negotiation
The Place
It is important to have as much advance information as possible about the place where you are going to speak.
If you can set up a visit to the venue beforehand, that will be the best, however if you cannot, you need to visualize the site. So, close your eyes and take a deep breath and think about the following questions.
-
How big the is the room? What is the seating arrangement? How many seats? How many tables?
-
What type of equipment is available? Do you have a microphone? Do you need a computer?
-
What kind of power is available? Where are the light switches? Do you need A/V help
-
How is the natural light? Are there blinds or curtains?
-
How possible are background distractions? Are there other events near?
-
Is there parking or storage close by for unloading/loading?
If this information is not available ahead of time, show up early to give you time to set up and avoid running into any problems.
What is a venue?
Idioms
to get into the swing of things
to start getting used to things
vs.
to get the ball rolling
to get something started
Visual Aids
Is a screen necessary? If you can avoid using a powerpoint, keynote, or any other type of software that takes away from the speaker, you can engage and connect with the audience much easier.
In 2018 Jeff Bezos famously set out a policy.
NO POWERPOINT in his companies’ presentations.
Why?
we are hardwired for narrative
stories are persuasive
bullet points are boring
The best presentation software that you should not use:
Prezi
Vyond
Zoho Show
Beautiful.ai
Soapbox
Canva
Google Slides
Keynote
SlideDog
Ludus
FlowVella
Visme
Wordpress
Expressions to manage a screen.
Directing the Audience
you & we
“As you can see on the left/right side of …”
“As we can see on the left/right side of …”
“If you look on the left/right side of …”
“If we look on the left/right side of …”
“On the top/bottom of the slide you have …”
“On the top/bottom of the slide we have …”
Directing the Slide
I & we
“So, I would like move on to …”
“So, let’s move on to …”
“Now, I would like to keep the ball rolling …”
“Now, let’s keep the ball rolling …”
“If I can go back to the last slide …”
“If we can go back to the last slide …”
Expressing Basic Data
“In the first quarter …”
“In the first half …”
“There was an increase of 5% …”
“The numbers increased by 5% …”
To go up
to increase
to rise
to grow
to soar
to double
to climb
to spike
“There was a decrease of 4% …”
“The numbers decreased by 4% …”
To go down
to decrease
to fall
to shrink
to drop
to decline
to plunge
to halve
“There was a stable trend in …”
“The numbers remained stable for …”
To remain stable
to flatten
to level off
to stabilize
Ball Idioms
to get the ball rolling
to get something started
vs.
to keep the ball rolling
to continue something
to be on the ball
to be focused
vs.
to keep your eye on the ball
to stay focused
Filler words are ok, just never start with a filler sound.
And what is a filler by the way?
A filler is a sound, word, or phrase that buys you some time, but does not provide any real content, and usually only produces a distraction for the listener and audience. Try to avoid filler sounds and fill phrases, and use filler words only when you must.
Everyone gets nervous, and especially in impromptu style, it is easy to stumble, mumble and use fillers. Try to replace your fillers with silent pauses while you come up with your next idea. No sound at all. This is very difficult to do, but it will increase your professionalism and style immediately.
Filler Sounds
um
eh
ah
Filler Words
again
well
so
Filler Phrases
I mean
you know
let’s see
I am not your friend, I am your teacher: stop the muletillas now.
Idioms
to buy some time
to purposefully cause a delay to something, in order to think
vs.
to kill some time
to intentionally wasting time while waiting for something
Learn more with HBR & Amazon
Need help with Word, Excel or Powerpoint?
Silent letter words.
Definition of syncope
NOUNS
A DEBT
A MORTGAGE
A FACTORY
A RECEIPT
A DOUBT
VERBS
TO LEND
TO GUARANTEE
TO MONITOR
TO RESIGN
TO DOUBT
ADJECTIVES
SUBTLE
DANGEROUS
GENERAL
GUILTY
PROBABLY
Designing a presentation without an audience in mind is like writing a love letter and addressing it: to whom it may concern.
Free Evaluations
Excellent services. Impartial results.
Contact us for free evaluations and testing services. Risk free. Quality guaranteed.
<- Shop on Amazon
