Eight Presentation Lines Mapped to Tonight's Slides

Tonight you rehearse one talk, not a phrasebook. Open your slides. Write eight English lines you will actually say. Each line sits on one slide title. Speak the line once, change one word, and speak it again. If you must read it, the line is still too long. This is not an email-tone page and not a course brochure.

A phrase earns a slot only if a slide needs it

• Open: one line that names the decision or update.
• Signpost: one line that tells the room what comes next.
• Show a figure: one line that says what the number means.
• Handle a pause: one line that buys ten seconds.
• Invite a question: one hold-and-return line.
• Close: one line that names the next action.

If tonight's talk has no figure, cut the figure line. Do not learn twenty unused openers. A borrowed TED sentence that does not match this audience fails before you stand up.

Write eight lines onto the slide titles

1. Write the slide title in the left column.
2. Write one English line you will say, under eighteen words.
3. Keep the register fit for the room: colleagues, clients, or mixed.
4. Cut any line that only repeats the bullet already on the slide.
5. Stop at eight. Extra lines become a script.

Do not paste a downloaded phrase pack onto every slide. "Without further ado" is not a line if your room never uses it. "The delay sits in week four, not in the budget" is a line if that is the news.

Speak each line once, then vary one word

Stand up. Say the line. Change one word and say it again. Fail the line if you cannot say it without looking, or if the variation changes the meaning.

Slide: "Q3 delay". First: "The delay sits in week four, not in the budget." Variation: "The delay sits in week four, not in headcount." That still means the same kind of news. A variation that turns a delay into a success fails.

Memorising a paragraph is not rehearsal. If you need the paragraph, the slide is doing the talking and you are not.

A class is optional after three collapsed rehearsals

If three run-throughs still stall on the same two moves, a small-group Business English class can host those moves. iWorld Learning's Business English page currently lists presentations among workplace tasks and small interactive classes. Confirm live class size and weekly frequency. Do not quote a fee or a campus. No course promises fluent presenting after one term.

FAQ

Should a Q&A line sit in the eight?

Yes, if the room takes questions. Use one hold-and-return line, such as "I will take that after the timeline." Do not memorise an answer to every possible question.

May I read the eight lines from the slides?

No. The slide shows the title. The line is spoken. If you must read it, cut the line until you can say it looking at the room.