Give a convincing talk
At some stage in our school, university or working life, we may need to present our ideas to an audience. A good talk is a reflection of our thoughts to others and a great presentation can inspire people to listen, persuade others and or even motivate a team or colleagues to work together. But standing up in front of others, speaking out and conveying our ideas clearly and persuasively can be difficult.
Giving a talk
The most important thing to remember when giving a talk is knowing your topic and audience - this involves doing your homework first.
Think about what you are going to talk about and spend some time making notes, planning and organising what you want to say. Make sure your talk has an introduction, a main body and conclusion. You may also want to provide some examples to illustrate or explain your topic or main idea.
Organisation and cohesion will help with your talk's overall comprehension and understanding. A good talk should be well-structured and signposted as well, and ideas should flow clearly from one point or idea to another.
Lastly, one thing to always keep in mind when giving a talk is that you are verbally presenting your ideas to others and that people will be listening to you. Maintaining eye contact and talking to your audience, rather than talking at them, will not only arouse their interest but will also get them to listen to every word you say.
Here is an outline of how to organise your talk
Opening: Simple introduction of topic and ideas
A brief explanation of how you will explain your ideas
Body:
1) Main point/example or idea
2) Main point/example or idea
3) Main point/example or idea
Conclusion: Summary of ideas or message
Concluding remark or point
Language and vocabulary
In a talk, you have to be able to express yourself clearly, from your opening or introduction, body, right down to your conclusion.
Introductions
General
Good morning/afternoon/evening, today I'd like to talk to you about a hot topic in Hong Kong, air pollution ...
Example
I'm sure most of you have taken a bus or MTR train at some point, maybe even to come here today. I'm going to ask you to consider the advantages of taking public transport and ...
Question
How many of you were driven to school today? Have you thought about the amount of air pollution cars, buses and even ferries create every day and the damage they cause to our environment?
Main body
Point 1: Air pollution is caused by two main factors: natural and manmade.
Example
Smoke from wild fires and volcanic activities cause major air pollution and environmental problems.
Point 2: Air pollution affects us in Hong Kong physically ...
Example
The level of air pollution in Hong Kong is directly related to deaths and diseases, including asthma and heart disease ...
Signpost words
Firstly, secondly, thirdly ...
First, next, then ...
Finally, lastly ...
Conclusion
Concluding point: As I've explained, air pollution is a silent killer in many ways ..
Your opinion: As I see it/To my mind/To sum up ..
It's my opinion that/It is my belief that ...
I think that not much is being done to reduce the causes
of ...
Activity
Choose one of the topics below, then organise your talk in a clear way.
1. The best things in life are free
2. How to manage your time efficiently
3. Why exercise is good for you
Introduction
Main Body
Point 1
Example
Point 2
Example
Point 3
Example
Conclusion
