How to maintain people’s interest when you speak in English
(Photo source: ‘Kirkenes Signpost’ – Wikimedia Commons)
How to maintain people’s interest when you speak in English is a good skill to develop. For example:
- How can you help other professionals not get lost when you speak in English in a meeting?
- How can you help other professionals reconnect with what you are saying in English?
- How can you maintain people’s interest when you speak in English?
Solution
Simple, use plenty of ‘signposting’ or ‘signpost language’ when speaking in English in professional situations.
How to maintain people’s interest when you speak in English is an essential skill to develop for meetings.
In meetings and presentations we all know that other professionals will disconnect at some point or get lost when we are speaking in English. So when they do ‘signpost language’ helps them to reconnect and follow what you are saying in English.
Signpost language includes the words and phrases that speakers use to tell other professionals “what has just happened”, “what is being said now?” and “what is going to happen next”.
Here are some key signpost language points and I´ve divided them into different areas to help you.
I hope this helps you in your job and professional career, Christopher!
Doubts and Questions:
Put your doubts and questions in the comments section or send me an email to info@englishtco.com or chris@englishtco.com.
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| Section | Signpost language |
| Introducing topic | The subject of my meeting talk/presentation is … I’m going to talk about … What´s the topic of my talk? —– |
| Introducing structure | I’m going to divide this talk into three parts. Briefly, I have three key things to say. My talk/presentation has three parts. —– |
| Starting a point | I´d like to begin/start by … Let’s begin/start by … My first point is… —– |
| Starting and finishing a point | Moving on now to …/ Turning to… The next issue/area I’d like to focus on is … I’d like to expand on … For my next point, I’d like now to discuss… Let’s look now at my second point… —– |
| Finishing a point | That’s all I have to say about… We’ve looked at… So much for… —– |
| Highlighting a key point | Where does that lead us? Let’s consider this point in more detail… What does this mean for…? Translated into real terms, this means… Why is this important? —– |
| Giving examples | For example,… A good example of this is… Let me give you an example,… —– |
| Paraphrasing, simplifying and clarifying a point | Simply put… In other words……. So what I’m saying is…. To put it more simply…. To put it another way… —– |
| Summarising and concluding | To summarise, my main points were What have we looked at? In conclusion … In short … Let me remind you of what I’ve covered, … —– |
My Top Tip Recommendation: Presenting in English – practice faking it, acting it and becoming it!
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Help a colleague
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See you soon! / ¡Hasta pronto!
Christopher
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For Business English classes and courses (face to face in Madrid and online), contact us via the website or by email info@englishtco.com or a chris@englishtco.com.
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