Introducing
When beginning your talk you could use any of the following phrases:
- I would like to begin by …
- Let’s start by going through the key points we will cover in relation to …
- The purpose of my presentation is to …
- Today we would like to talk to you about …
- The focus of our presentation is …
Contextualizing your ideas
The following phrases can be used to help you add context to your presentation. You might choose to link your talk to other talks on the same topic or summarize what is already known about the topic.
- We have already heard how …
- I am assuming most of you have already heard of …
- Many of you are probably familiar with …
- Just prior to the extract I will be discussing …
- Everyone knows that … It is widely known that … It is common knowledge that …
- Most people agree that … A common perception/misconception about x is …
- Many people believe that …
- Recent studies have shown/suggested that … A number of recent reports have highlighted /
- identified …
Clarifying concepts or ideas
It is always important to clarify terms and explain concepts or ideas that are central to your talk.
- Let us take x to mean … . Let us assume for the purposes of this discussion that x is …
- For the purpose of this talk let us take x to mean y
- In simple terms, the concept of x is essentially …
- By x I am referring to all …
- In other words … ; To put it another way …
- To clarify …
- What I am trying to say is … ; The point I am trying to make is …
Organizing your ideas
The following phrases can be used to clarify the order of your points:
- My first point … ; Firstly … ; The first point to make is…
- A second key point or concern is…
- Moving on to the second key issue…
- The next point I would like to consider is…
- A further concern/idea/consideration is…
Adding information
The following conjunctions are a way to add:
- Furthermore, …
- In addition, …
- Moreover …
- Similarly …
- Likewise, …
- Another reason why … ; Another point, …
- A further problem with … ; A further point ….
Offering contrasting or opposing viewpoints
- Although…
- However, … There are, however, …
- On the other hand, …
- Despite this, …
- While some may argue, … others would say…
- Nevertheless, …
- Unlike x, y …
- In contrast, …
- Alternatively, … ; An alternative viewpoint would be …
Changing direction in your talk
The following phrases can be used to signal a change in direction:
- Moving on, …
- I now want to move on and talk about …
- I would now like to consider …
- Turning now to …
- Another important aspect to consider is …
Giving examples
Examples are critical in providing credibility to your ideas.
- One example of this is … ; A classic example is … ; A typical example of x is …
- To give you a clear example, … ; Let me give you an example …
- This is (no better) exemplified than by …
- Take x for example… ; Take, for example, …
Adding emphasis
When talking it is very important to add emphasis to points you are making. This can be done using pauses but also through your language. Below are some phrases you could use:
- A critical factor to take into account is … ; A key point to stress is …
- I want to stress … ; I want to emphasize (at this point) that …
- I want to underline the fact …
- It is important to emphasize/stress …
- The single most important factor is …
- One thing we must never forget is … ; A key point/crucial thing to remember is …
- One of the fundamental things to remember is… ; It is crucial to remember that …
Concluding
The following phrases can be used to signal the end of your talk:
- Finally, …
- In conclusion, … ; To conclude, …
- As a final thought, …
- In summary, … ; To sum up, …
- I would like to end by …
Source: https://ibpublishing.ibo.org/server2/rest/app/tsm.xql?doc=m_0_mypxx_tsm_1412_1_e&part=4&chapter=9