Presentation Tips for English Learners

Last Updated on October 21, 2024 by Estrella

Presentation tips for ESL speakers
Presentation Tips for English Learners. Photo by Matthew Henry from Burst

I made my first presentation in third grade. It was in a school assembly of 2000 students from K-12 and college prep. That was not unusual to include students of such a wide age range in the same school in Hong Kong at that time. My English teacher selected me to represent the class. I memorized the entire speech because I did not understand all the English in the story. Since this was my first time, I did not know I was supposed to feel nervous. So I felt calm. I made eye contact with the audience, both those on the main floor as well as those in the balcony. Having zero knowledge about public speaking was a blessing that day. Fast forward to today. I eventually heard that there’s a lot of fear around making speeches. I see this in both my American and ESL students. In this article, I would like to share a few presentation tips for English learners. I hope this will help you feel more ease and confidence the next time you are asked to speak in front of a group. (This article was updated on October 21, 2024.)

How to feel relaxed when you make a presentation

Is it a good idea to memorize your presentation?

Recently, I worked with a client who felt she did not do a good job with presentations at work. She wanted to improve her presentation skills. As we spoke, I learned that in her own language, she is a really good presenter. It’s just that when it comes to a foreign language, she worries that she would not get her ideas across. So she memorized her speech. As we chat more, she shared that memorizing the presentation has its disadvantage. If she forgets one point, she would feel nervous that it would mess up the rest of her speech.

We talked about her American co-workers. She said they are relatively informal. I suggested that if she sees presenting as just sharing an idea with co-workers instead of a PRESENTATION, it would be more relaxing for her.

How this client improve her presentation skills

She reported that in her following presentation, she started with a joke. To make her points, she used a story. She only memorized the points she was going to make, not the whole speech. And she interacted with her teammates during her presentation. “I feel better about presenting this time. And I feel more confident.”

Why is it important to feel relaxed about your presentation?

Who’d knew that feeling relaxed is one of the keys to making a good presentation? But it does make sense. Think of the times when you have to make important decisions. Do you make better ones when you feel tense, or when you feel relaxed? Most likely, your answer is “relaxed.” Your mind works better when it’s relaxed than tense. That means, when someone in the audience asks a question, you can do a better job with the answer. And it also means that if there is any last minute change in the agenda, you’d be better able to adjust your presentation without feeling as flustered.

To relax, you can try this technique. Breathe slowly. Breathe deeply, and let out your breath slowly.

What is your attitude toward your presentation?

Next, attitude. Answer this question. Do you feel that making a presentation is a way for others to evaluate you? If so, tweak your thoughts a little bit so you take the element of being evaluated out of it. Put yourself in the shoes of your audience. If you were to come to your presentation, what do you want out of it? You want useful information, right? Your intention is not to evaluate the speaker. Unless your job is to recruit good presenters. Otherwise, you are spending that 30 minutes or one hour to get information that’s relevant to you.

If you would approach your presentation with this in mind, then you would have taken your thoughts off of yourself, and to the needs of the audience. This is a good thing. You would serve the audience better. You’ve switched your focus from feeling nervous to meeting the needs of those who came to listen to you. Which brings me to my next point.

Meeting your audience’s needs to present effectively

Another key to an effective presentation is knowing your audience. Let’s say you are an engineer. Is your audience technical? Or are they decision makers who know just enough technical language to do their job but not enough to do yours? If they have your technical background, you can speak as technically as you want. If they do not have your technical background, then think about why they need this information. And then package the information for them through examples that they can relate to.

For example, if you are in data analysis, and you are speaking to sales managers, translate the data for them in ways that are easy for them to understand implications for sales. Make your points completely relevant to their work. The better you know who you audience is, the more relevant you can make your presentation. And THAT’s effectiveness. Your audience would be glad that they have spent that time listening to you. And they’ll look forward to your future presentations.

Other people’s experience with these tips

So, feel relaxed, focus on the needs of your audience instead of how nervous you feel, know your audience, and make your information relevant to the audience. All these will contribute to your presentation being a success!

Over the years, I’ve helped many tweak their presentation to be more effective. When they come to the realization that the presentation is really not about them, but about the audience, all of them feel more relaxed almost immediately. And their interaction with the audience becomes more engaging. THIS is something an American audience appreciates.

I hope these presentation tips will help you as you prepare for your next speech. If you have questions that come up after reading this article, please email them to me at estrellachan@gmail.com. I will address your question by email or include the answer in another article.

If you find this article helpful, here is one on How to explain yourself clearly.

Estrella Chancoaches immigrants and international professionals in English fluency, interview skills, and public speaking.    To schedule a session with her, please email estrellachan@gmail.com

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