Lectures and

Presentations in Business
(oral and written)
 TOPICS OF THE LECTURE

• Written presentation of your ideas (e-mails v memos)

• Rules for making an oral presentation

• Presentation types (interesting facts e.g. Pecha Kucha,

TED, pitch)
WRITTEN PRESENTATION OF
YOUR IDEAS

E-mails v Memos
You will learn about writing formal e-mails on week
8, now we are focusing on memos. However, you
can find some examples and templates of formal e-
mails here:
https://sparkmailapp.com/formal-email-template
 WRITING INTEROFFICE MEMOS
In addition to e-mail, you should be familiar with another
workplace document type, the interoffice memorandum.
Although e-mail has largely replaced memos, you may still
be called on to use the memo format in specific instances.
Memos are necessary for important internal messages
that
(a) are too long for e-mail,
(b) require a permanent record
(c) demand formality, or
(d) inform employees who may not have access to e-mail.
 WRITING INTEROFFICE MEMOS
Within organizations, memos deliver changes in procedures,
official instructions, and reports. The memo format is particularly
necessary for complex, lengthy internal messages.
Prepared as memos, long messages are then delivered as
attachments to e-mail cover messages. Memos seem to function
better as permanent records than e-mail messages because the
latter may be difficult to locate and may contain a trail of
confusing replies. E-mails also may change the origination date
whenever the file is accessed, thus making it impossible to know
the original date of the message.
 WRITING INTEROFFICE MEMOS
When preparing e-mail attachments, be sure that
they carry sufficient identifying information.
Because the cover e-mail message may become
separated from the attachment, the attachment
must be fully identified.
Preparing the e-mail attachment as a memo
provides a handy format that identifies the date,
sender, receiver, and subject.
 COMPARING MEMOS AND E-
MAILS
• Memos have much in common with e-mails. Both
usually carry nonsensitive information that may
be organized directly with the main idea first.

• Both have guide words calling for a subject line,

a dateline, and the identification of the sender
and receiver. To enhance readability, both should
be organized with headings, bulleted lists, and
enumerated items whenever possible.
 SIMILARITIES
E-mails and memos both generally close with

(a) action information, dates, or deadlines

(b) a summary of the message or
(c) a closing thought.

An effective memo or e-mail closing might be,

Please submit your written report to me by June 15 so that we can
review your data before our July planning session. In more detailed
messages, a summary of main points may be an appropriate closing. If
no action request is made and a closing summary is unnecessary, you
might end with a simple concluding thought (I’m glad to answer your
questions or This sounds like a useful project).
 DIFFERENCES
You need not close messages to coworkers with goodwill
statements such as those found in letters to customers or
clients. However, some closing thought is often necessary to
avoid sounding abrupt. Closings can show gratitude or
encourage feedback with remarks such as
I sincerely appreciate your help or What are your ideas on
this proposal?
Other closings look forward to what’s next, such as
How would you like to proceed?
Avoid closing with overused expressions such as Please let
me know if I may be of further assistance. This ending sounds
mechanical and insincere.
MAKING AN ORAL PRESENTATION

TASK: Work in pairs or small groups and

discuss
• What makes an effective presentation
regarding structure, content, ppt etc?
• What makes an effective presenter (with
special attention to verbal and non-verbal
comm.)?
 2 MAJOR FACTORS OF A
PRESENTATION

THE CONTENT THE

AND THE FORM PRESENTER
ETC OF THE ’S
PRESENTATION PERSONALI
TY
 BOTTOM LINE

• People do not want to

think and make a special
effort.
• What’s more...
They often don't even
care about your lecture…
• Entertain your audience.
HOW TO MAKE A PRESENTATION

KEY STEPS
 1. FIND YOUR
TARGET

• Before you start

preparing, let this
be your first step
• Present your
target clearly to
your audience
• Make it relevant
to the audience
 2. MAP YOUR AUDIENCE and
prepare to receive different
questions
• Are they FAST and
DYNAMIC? They will ask
questions with WHEN.
• SLOW? –They will ask qs
with WHAT
• PHILOSOPHERS-Qs: WHY
• EXPERTS
• INSTINCTIVE-they will ask
creative questions
3. THE STRUCTURE
OF THE
PRESENTATION
• PLAN AHEAD
• WHEN PRESENTING THESE
3 STEPS ARE CRUCIAL:
1. Talk about the content
of your presentation
2. Present it
3. Summarize what it was
about
+ SOURCES!
4. WRITE NOTES AND
SKETCHES

• Highlight the
keywords

• Do not make it a
reading event
 5. VISUALISE IT

• Make it visible and legible

• Only a few words per slide

• Conscious use of colours

(contrast)

• Use pictures-help
memorizing

• Insert videos
Watch the following
video and collect at
least 5 suggestions
on how to make a
good presentation
How to avoid death By P
owerPoint | David JP Phil
lips |
TEDxStockholmSalon
– YouTube 21 mts
 KEY
The video presents several suggestions for making a good
presentation, focusing on effective use of PowerPoint. Here are the
key points:
1.One Message Per Slide: Each slide should convey a single
message to avoid splitting the audience's attention, ensuring
they focus on the main point you want to make.
2.Avoid Text Overload: Use minimal text on slides. Instead of
filling the slide with sentences, move detailed information to the
speaker's notes and use the slides for short, impactful text and
relevant images.
3.Optimize Slide Design for Working Memory: The human
brain has limited working memory, so overloading slides with
text and speaking simultaneously will result in the audience
retaining almost nothing. Keep slides simple and easy to process.
4. Use Size and Contrast Effectively: The most important
information on your slide should be the largest and most visually
prominent. Use contrast to direct the audience’s focus to key points,
rather than overwhelming them with too much information at once.
5. Limit the Number of Objects on a Slide: Avoid clutter. The ideal
number of objects (such as bullet points, images, etc.) on a slide is
six. This is based on cognitive science, showing that the brain can
process up to six objects at a glance without needing to count them.
6. Avoid White Backgrounds: White backgrounds on slides often
outshine the presenter, making it harder to maintain audience focus.
A darker background can help the presenter stand out as the focal
point of the presentation.
• These principles, grounded in cognitive psychology, are aimed at
enhancing audience engagement and retention during
presentations.
 Let’s play 

Do the Kahoot test on the video

6.
REHEARSAL
 7. CHECK THE
VENUE
• Tools
• Space: Am I visible
for everyone?
• Pitfalls (wires)
• Space to move
• Shading, lights
8. THE PRESENTERS
THEMSELVES

• Voice, audibility, pace of

speech
• Posture, eye contact, smile
• Water
• Technical devices-laptop,
pendrive,
• Laser pointer
• Self-confidence
MODERN PRESENTATION
TECHNIQUES
• Szerteágazó rövid meggyőző beszéd
• Short persuasive speech
• Persuading and influencing an audience
• Contains facts and figures

• Tényeket és adatokat tartalmaz

 WHAT MAKES A PITCH SUCCESSFUL?

• Generating interest

• Communication+(focus)

• Coping skills

• Clarity of structure

• Relevance, benefits for the investor

TYPES OF BUSINESS PITCHES

• Sales pitch

• Interrogative pitch

• Pitch deck
 TYPES OF BUSINESS PITCHES

Sales pitch: A sales or elevator pitch is usually a brief

message to attract the audience's attention, outlining

the business plan or the company's products or services.

This pitch aims to encourage the public to make a

purchase or potential investors to invest in a company.

 TYPES OF BUSINESS PITCHES

Interrogative pitch: In discussion with customers,

you can ask questions to learn about common

challenges and how to solve them. These questions

aim to engage, pique curiosity, and inspire them to

learn about the company's products and services.

 TYPES OF BUSINESS PITCHES

Pitch deck: A pitch deck refers to a slide

presentation that highlights a business plan to

potential investors. This pitch typically includes

product research, marketing plans, competition, and

the company's finances.

WHERE AND WHEN TO USE PITCHING
1. Pitching in the workplace

It incorporates some elements of pitches you might use for

customers and investors, such as pitch decks and elevator
pitches.
For instance, if you have an idea for a new work initiative or
project, you can outline your plan and highlight its potential
benefits with a pitch deck. You might use a personal elevator
pitch to emphasize your qualities and value as an employee
when proposing a salary increase or promotion. This may help
you advance your career.
 WHERE AND WHEN TO USE PITCHING

2. You can use a job proposal to develop your career.

When crafting a job proposal, you demonstrate the
requirement for creating a role to benefit a team or company.
Typically, you would present yourself as the candidate to fulfill
the position.
Consider highlighting the company's challenges and outline
how the new role can address them. Include details of the job
responsibilities and describe your relevant experience and
qualifications that can help you perform successfully.
WHERE AND WHEN TO USE PITCHING
3. Pitching when networking
You can use an elevator pitch to present yourself to a
new contact or potential investor when networking.
You can briefly summarize your unique skills and
qualifications that show you to be an asset. It's
important to make a memorable impression to help
you attract new opportunities. After making your pitch,
consider offering a business card to reinforce your
viability.
 EXAMPLES OF PITCHES

• The most MASTERFUL pitch in the Dragons' Den -

BBC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZsJjuo-QnU

• Best Pitches From Seasons 11 Shark Tank US

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpUR7-Oe1ss
 What is a talk?
(Technology, Entertainment, Design)

A TED talk is a recorded public-speaking

presentation that was originally given at the
main TED annual event or one of its many
satellite events around the world.
 TALKS
TED is a non-profit institution that partners with
individuals to assist in sharing ideas globally.
Today, TED boasts a collection of over 3,000 TED
talk videos from politicians to scientists to
comedians and actors.
They add new videos day in and day out, so
there’s never a shortage of engaging content.
Each TED talk is available on their website or
their YouTube channel for free.
KEY COMPONENTS OF TALKS

• Exploring and disseminating ideas: ’Ideas

worth spreading’
• Initiating change
• Food for thought: curiosity, intelligence,
desire to know
• Length: 18-20 minutes
• Round red carpet
• Personal story
 WHAT MAKES A POWERFUL
TALK?
• Make it personal: Talk about an idea that matters deeply to you
and transmit the idea and the passion you feel about it to your
audience. It has to be an idea worth sharing!
• Know the audience: Think of yourself as a tour guide taking the
audience on a journey to a new place. You need to begin where the
audience is and steer them clearly and compellingly along the way.
• Stick with your idea: Think of your talk as about an idea rather
than an issue. This is particularly important if you are tackling a
tough topic where compassion fatigue can easily set in. An issue-
based talk leads with morality. An idea based talk leads with
curiosity. It says, “isn’t this interesting?” rather than “isn’t this
terrible?”
For example, this is an issue: Education for all. An idea would be
framed as “Education’s potential is transformed if you focus on
the amazing (and hilarious) creativity of kids.
 WHAT MAKES A POWERFUL
TALK?
• Connect the dots: You need a connecting
theme, which ties together each narrative
element. It is the idea that you want to construct
in the minds of the audience. Can you put this in
no more than 15 words?
• Make it memorable: Think about the three
points/messages that you want the audience to
remember when they leave the room. Studies
show people rarely remember more than three
points and recall drops dramatically after the first
day.
 THE STRUCTURE OF A TALK
• Choose a structure that most powerfully develops your connecting theme. See
below some suggestions, which can be mixed and matched over the talk.
• Personal journey: If you are sharing your personal journey then you may want
to follow the classic “hero’s journey” structure where you have a goal but meet
challenges along the way which you overcome and resolve the best you can.
• Persuade: If you want to persuade an audience that the way they currently see
the world isn’t quite right, you will want to guide them through your argument
so that is it plausible. This means breaking down your argument logically into
small steps, perhaps even taking the counter position to show that it is flawed.
 THE STRUCTURE OF A TALK
• Detective: Another way to build a persuasive case is to play
detective. You start with a puzzle and then with the audience
search for solutions, ruling them out one by one. You invite
the audience on a process of discovery. This can work well if
you are a scientist or researcher talking about a discovery
you have made.
• Aspirational: You may want to speak of the world not as it
is, but as it might be. You paint a picture of the alternative
future you want and compare and contrast it with the
situation today. (Think Martin Luther King, “I have a dream”.)
 TECHNIQUES TO MAKE YOUR (NOT
ONLY) TALK MEMORABLE
• Open with impact. Within the first minute, you need to
get the audience’s attention, make them curious and
excited. Here are some ways to start.
• A surprising statement, fact or statistic
• A surprising rhetorical question
• Show a compelling slide, video or object
• A personal story or anecdote
• The PechaKucha 20x20 presentation format is a slide show of
20 images, each auto-advancing after 20 seconds.

• It’s non-stop and you've got 400 seconds to tell your story, with
visuals guiding the way.

• PechaKucha was created in Japan in 2003 by renowned

architects, Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham.

• The word “PechaKucha” is Japanese for “chit chat.”

 FEATURES
• Concise and short
• Creative, innovative
• Dynamic
• Focusing on the essence
• Slides are connected
• Maintaining the attention of the audience
• Difficult to prepare one (-)
WHEN TO CHOOSE
FORMAT?

• Selling a product

• Surprising your audience with sth creative

• Persuasion

• Initatiting a debate

• Maintating attention

• Developing your presentation skills

 HOW TO MAKE A GREAT
PRESENTATION

• https://www.pechakucha.com/presentat
ions/brian-scotts-presentation-260
 Homework or Extra Task
Watch the video and identify the
components that make it a great
presentation. Focus on the items previously
learnt.

Jamie Oliver: Teach every child about food

| TED Talk
DELIVERING A BAD AND GOOD PRESENTATION
(supplementary material)

VIDEO LINKS:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATfY8dvbuFg
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5utoLhjUuAI
 Appendix

SIGNPOSTS FOR PRESENTATIONS

Here you can find a collection of useful phrases

for formal and informal presentations:

• Formal and Informal Presentations Guide: How to use Si

gnposts (businessenglishresources.com)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION
 Source of images, videos
• https://pix4free.org/photo/868/presentation.html
• How to avoid death By PowerPoint | David JP Phillips | TEDxStockholmSalon
– YouTube
• How to Avoid Death By PowerPoint by David JP Phillips | Goodreads
• https://pixabay.com/hu/illustrations/ai-gener%C3%A1lt-t%C3%B6meg-emberek-kon
cert-8877704/
• https://pixabay.com/hu/vectors/c%C3%A9l-%C3%BCzleti-kereskedelem-v%C3%A1ll
alat-4694357/
• https://pixabay.com/hu/photos/emberek-csoport-sok-t%C3%B6meg-n%C5%91-325
5025/
• https://pixabay.com/hu/photos/koncepci%C3%B3-f%C3%A9rfi-pap%C3%ADrok-sze
m%C3%A9ly-1868728/
• https://pixabay.com/hu/photos/post-it-stickies-%C3%B6ntapad%C3%B3-jegyzet-25
02015/
• https://pixabay.com/hu/illustrations/gyakorlat-emoji-szavak-%C3%A9bers%C3%A9g
-615657/
• Formal and Informal Presentations Guide: How to use Signposts (businessenglishre
 Source of images, videos
• https://pixabay.com/hu/photos/rendezv%C3%A9ny-helysz%C3%ADne-el%C5
%91ad%C3%B3terem-1597531/
• https://pixabay.com/hu/photos/tan%C3%A1r-el%C5%91ad%C3%B3-%C3%A
Dr%C3%B3-tan%C3%A1csad%C3%B3-emberek-99741/
• Guffey, M.E., Loewy, D. (2016): Essentials of Business Communication.
Cengage Learning.
• Professional Letter Of Memorandum Template Excel Sample – Tacitproject
• What is a TED talk? (techtarget.com)
• What Is A TED Talk? The Fundamentals of TED Explained (speakerflow.com)
• What Makes a Powerful TED Talk? - Claire Doole Communications
• A pecha kucha prezentáció - Steiger Anita írása | Retorikaiskola
• Így alkoss tökéletes pitch-et, na de melyiket? – DrPrezi
• https://www.pechakucha.com/
• https://www.thebluediamondgallery.com/handwriting/p/pitch.html