greetings in a formal presentation

52 Phrases for Better Flowing English Presentations

/ Steven Hobson / Business English , English Presentations , Vocabulary

Do you give English presentations at work, but feel that you could communicate your message in a more objective, fluid way?

Maybe you have an English presentation coming up and want to make sure that your speech is clear and structured so that your audience doesn’t lose concentration and stays with you all the way to the end.

A technique that can help you achieve objective, clear, and structured English presentations, is to use linking phrases that join the separate parts of your presentation together.

English presentations normally consist of an introduction, the main body, individual parts of the main body, and the ending or conclusion.

To help maintain your audience’s attention, you need to signal when you are going from one part to another.

In this article, I teach you 52 phrases that do exactly this – linking the different parts together, and therefore, making your presentation flow better. You’ll find that these phrases will act as ‘signposts’ for the audience when you finish one part and start another.

52 Phrases to Improve the Flow of Your English Presentations

The introduction.

All good presentations start with a strong introduction.

There are a number of different ways you can begin your English presentation. Here’s a simple, but effective introduction structure which works for most types of business presentations:

Introduce – Introduce yourself and greet your audience. Introduce the presentation topic – Explain the reasons for listening. Outline – Describe the main parts of the presentation. Question policy – Make it clear to your audience when they can ask questions: during or at the end?

Here are some phrases which you can use to structure the introduction in this way:

1. Good morning/afternoon (everyone) (ladies and gentlemen). 2. It’s a pleasure to welcome (the President) here. 3. I’m … (the Director of …)

Introduce the presentation topic

4. By the end of the talk/presentation/session, you’ll know how to… / …you will have learned about… / 5. I plan to say a few words about… 6. I’m going to talk about… 7. The subject of my talk is…

8. My talk will be in (three parts). 9. In the first part… 10. Then in the second part… 11. Finally, I’ll go on to talk about…

Question Policy

12. Please interrupt if you have any questions. 13. After my talk, there will be time for a discussion and any questions.

 Main Body

Now that you have finished the introduction, we now need to transition to the main body, and its individual parts in a smooth way.

There are three parts of the main body of a presentation where linking phrases can be used:

Beginning the Main Body Ending Parts within the Main Body Beginning a New Part

Here are some phrases which you can use for these parts:

Beginning the Main Body

14. Now let’s move to / turn to the first part of my talk which is about… 15. So, first… 16. To begin with…

Ending Parts within the Main Body

17. That completes/concludes… 18. That’s all (I want to say for now) on… 19. Ok, I’ve explained how…

Beginning a New Part

20. Let’s move to (the next part which is)… 21. So now we come to the next point, which is… 22. Now I want to describe… 23. Let’s turn to the next issue… 24. I’d now like to change direction and talk about…

Listing and Sequencing

If you need to talk about goals, challenges, and strategies in your English presentation, listing phrases can help link these together and improve the flow of your speech. If you have to explain processes, sequencing phrases are helpful:

25. There are three things to consider. First… Second… Third… 26. There are two kinds of… The first is… The second is… 27. We can see four advantages and two disadvantages. First, advantages… 28. One is… Another is… A third advantage is… Finally…

29. There are (four) different stages to the process. 30. First / then / next / after that / then (x) / after x there’s y. 31. There are two steps involved. The first step is… The second step is… 32. There are four stages to the project. 33. At the beginning, later, then, finally… 34. I’ll describe the development of the idea. First the background, then the present situation, and then the prospect for the future.

After you have presented the main body of your English presentation, you will want to end it smoothly.

Here are typical sections transitioning from the main body to the ending of the presentation, and then inviting the audience to ask questions:

Ending the Main Body Beginning the Summary and/or Conclusion Concluding An Ending Phrase Inviting Questions and/or Introducing Discussion Thanking the Audience

Ending the Main Body

35. Okay, that ends (the third part of) my talk. 36. That’s all I want to say for now on (the 2017 results).

Beginning the Summary and/or Conclusion

37. To sum up… 38. Ok, in brief, there are several advantages and disadvantages. 39. To conclude… 40. I’d like to end by emphasizing the main points. 41. I’d like to end with a summary of the main points.

42. I think we have seen that we should… 43. In my opinion, we should… 44. I recommend/suggest that we… 45. There are three reasons why I recommend this. First, … / Second, … / Finally,…

An Ending Phrase

46. Well, I’ve covered the points that I needed to present today. 47. That sums up (my description of the new model). 48. That concludes my talk for today.

Inviting Questions and/or Introducing Discussion

49. Now we have (half an hour) for questions and discussion. 50. So, now I’d be very interested to hear your comments.

Thanking the Audience

51. I’d like to thank you for listening to my presentation. 52. Thank you for listening / your attention. / Many thanks for coming.

Linking phrases are like the skeleton which holds your presentation together.

Not only do they improve the flow and help guide the audience, but by memorizing them they can also help you remember the general structure of your presentation, giving you increased confidence.

To help you memorize, I recommend saying the linking phrases on their own from the beginning to the end of your presentation while you practice.

I also suggest memorizing the introduction word for word. By doing this, you will get off to a great start, which will settle your nerves and transmit a positive first impression.

Author: Steven Hobson

Steven is a business English coach, a certified life coach, writer, and entrepreneur. He helps international professionals build confidence and improve fluency speaking English in a business environment.

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35 Powerful Presentation Phrases in English for Engaging Your Audience

Your palms are sweating. 

For a moment, your mind goes blank. 

All eyes are on you.

That moment right before you start presenting – as you take in your audience – is usually the scariest. The nervousness lessens with practice, but even the most frequent public speakers still get butterflies in their stomach sometimes. Whether you’re facing an entire room of people or looking at everyone through your laptop screen, giving a presentation can still be intimidating – or exciting, once you move beyond the fear. 

There’s an extra layer of challenge too if you have to speak in your non-native language. For a more professional-sounding and engaging presentation, we’ve compiled some of the most useful English presentation phrases below.

We’ll also explore what else you can do to make even more of an impact on your audience. With the right intonation, body language, and gestures, you’ll really be able to catch their attention and emphasize your points. 

If this sounds interesting to you, you should check out the Creativa business meeting mastery course . There’s an entire video episode about giving a stunning presentation. You’ll learn about how to structure your ideas, deliver a report, and conclude a discussion. It covers not only fluent native phrases but also body language demonstrations that you can apply to your work right away. 

On top of this, the course has plenty of other engaging, high-quality video episodes that help you present your best self in English. Curious about it? You can access a free video here . 

Delivering a Powerful Presentation 

To lay the groundwork for your presentation in English, here’s what you’ll have to do first:

Consider the audience  

You’re probably always going to need slides, but every presentation will be different – and the audience that you’ll be presenting to won’t always find the same points interesting. Because of this, you’ll have to tailor your message to them. What style of presentation would be a good fit? For example, some audiences would want to see a lot of number-crunching, while others might be looking for more personal storytelling .

Prepare a structure 

Structure is key in presentations. People have short attention spans, and they can be forgetful. At the end of the day, your goal is for them to remember at least the main points in your presentation. What message do you want to convey? Since you might be discussing a lot of information, you can make it more digestible by ensuring that there’s a logical progression and then ending with a summary. 

Whatever your topic is, it’ll benefit from having a well-defined structure to guide your audience from start to finish. For a cheat sheet on this, scroll down here to download a free PDF worksheet with exercises about structuring your presentation so you can be clear and convincing. This way, you can have a presentation that’s strong in all sections – beginning, middle, and end. 

Key Business Phrases

Once you’ve decided on the style and message of your presentation, you can take it up a notch by including certain English presentation phrases all throughout. Let’s break it down from start to finish: 

Introduction

This is when you’ll be warming up your audience before you proceed to your main points. 

Greeting the audience

If you’re presenting to people who aren’t too familiar with you, you can quickly introduce yourself and mention your role or company. 

• Good morning, everyone. I’m glad to be able to present to all of you. 
• Hello, everyone! It’s nice to see all of you today. I’m [name], the [position] from [company].

Describing your topic

After greeting the audience, you’ll be explaining to them what your presentation is all about. To set their expectations, you might show them an outline of the talk and mention if there’ll be any activities such as breakout discussions.

• I’ll be talking about…
• I’ll be talking about our financial metrics over the past year.
• The topic of this presentation will be…
• The topic of this presentation will be major trends in the logistics industry.
• I’ll be discussing first the [first topic], next [second topic], and finally [third topic].
• I’ll be discussing first the project’s ideation process, next our initial trial, and finally, presenting our results.

Addressing questions and technical concerns

People might be wondering if they can ask questions during your presentation, so you can clarify this at the start. If you’re providing handouts or presenting online, it’s useful to ask people to alert you about any technical concerns. 

• Please feel free to ask any questions during the talk.
• For questions, there will be a Q&A section at the end.
• Can all of you see and hear me properly? Please let me know if you have any technical difficulties during the presentation.  

The body will make up the bulk of your presentation. Ideally, you would go through each of your points logically while letting your audience know when you’re moving on to the next section. 

The longer your presentation, the more important it is to use sequencing phrases. These act as cues that let your audience know where you are in the presentation. You can think of these as similar to detour signals that make the audience much more likely to get your meaning. 

• First, let’s discuss the…
• First, let’s discuss the initial spark for this idea.
• Moving into [the next item / point] …
• Moving into item 4, we can see that this is a major pain point for our target market.
• This leads us to the next…
• This leads us to the next section, where we’ll be looking at the facts and figures.

Linking is closely related to sequencing. Similar to writing, you can have a smoother presentation by connecting your ideas rather than suddenly jumping from one point to another. You can also refer back to points that you’ve mentioned before to make your presentation more cohesive. 

• In connection to what I said earlier…
• In connection to what I said earlier about growing our online presence, we can now look into potential social media campaigns.
• What this means is…
• What this means is that most of our growth is coming from a certain sector. Let’s analyze the data for this in the next section.
• This ties in with…
• This ties in with our survey findings about user reactions. I’ll go into detail about changes we’ve made to the app as a result.

Giving examples

To fully convey your point, you can bring up specific examples and case studies. These are much more memorable as well as engaging because you can tell these in the form of a story.

• For example…
• For example, costs were reduced significantly when we switched to the following materials.
• To demonstrate this point…
• To demonstrate this point, I’ll be showing you a video of a business that used this problem-solving method.
• Here’s an example of…
• Here’s an example of a seasonal product that our customers loved.

Showing visuals 

Visuals naturally attract people’s attention. If you’re using slides for your presentation, take the opportunity to include images, diagrams, infographics, or even charts. 

• As you can see from this…
• As you can see from this photo, we’ve redesigned our office space.
• Here’s a diagram / picture / chart that shows…
• Here’s a diagram that shows a high percentage of people are comfortable with online shopping.
• If you look at this…
• If you look at this infographic, you can see that the new color palette comes off as fun and casual.

Citing data

Citing data from research makes your presentation more persuasive. When you’re talking about results that you’ve achieved, try to bring up actual numbers – this can go a long way towards impressing your audience. 

• According to this study…
• According to this study from [journal], 65% of eCommerce companies are looking for more efficient payment methods.
• Based on our research…
• Based on our research, the most enthusiastic buyers of wellness products in this city are in the 20 to 30 age range.
• Looking at the data…
• Looking at the data, you’ll notice that there’s been an 18% spike in sales since we migrated our platform.

Restating an idea

Sometimes you’ll want to restate an idea so it’s easier to understand. This also serves to emphasize it. Because of the repetition, people are more likely to remember it compared to if you’d only mentioned it once. 

• In other words…
• In other words, partnering up with this client can make our operations more efficient and seamless.
• Another way of saying this is…
• Another way of saying this is that there might actually be more demand than supply by next year.
• What I mean is…
• What I mean is we’re already more than halfway to our business objective.

Handling technical issues

When you’re presenting on video call, all kinds of glitches can happen. Someone might have connection issues, you might have to figure out an app feature you’ve never used before, or background noises might keep interrupting your call. The phrases below can be very handy in these kinds of situations.

• If you can’t hear me, can you type in the chat, please?
• Could everyone mute their mic? There’s a lot of background noise.
• Sorry. The call dropped. I’m back through.

Concluding the Presentation 

By this time, the hardest part is already over! Still, you’ll have to wrap up your presentation nicely by going over the key takeaways during the conclusion. Your audience might also have questions that they’ll want you to address.

Summarizing the presentation

Out of everything that you’ve discussed, what would you like people to get out of it? A short summary towards the end serves to highlight your main ideas. 

• To wrap up…
• To wrap up, I’d like to point out three major takeaways.
• As a summary…
• As a summary of this report update, I would say we have seen a positive uptick in our workflow and productivity.
• All in all…
• All in all, we believe we’ve seen good results for this stage of our progress.

Thanking the audience

Similar to your greeting at the start, it’s common to address your audience again towards the end by thanking them for their time. 

• Thank you for listening!
• Thank you to everyone for being here. 
• I’d like to thank you all for coming here.

Addressing questions

If you’re open to questions from your audience, you can have a short question-and-answer session after your presentation. 

• Do you have any questions or clarifications?
• Feel free to ask me about any of the points I made during the presentation.
• Let me know if you have any questions. 

Practice is Crucial

When you’re all set with the content of your presentation, the next step is to practice your delivery. Regardless of how well you know the topic of your presentation, practicing it at least once will help you be more confident. You’ll discover potential issues that you can fix too before you go live. 

Do a run-through

The most basic way to practice is to do a run-through of your entire presentation . Set a timer on your phone, open up your slides, then start talking – all while imagining that you’re already presenting to your audience. Since you’re acting as if it’s in real-time, this means avoiding any pauses where you have to look up information. 

A run-through can pinpoint any weaknesses in your presentation, and you’ll notice any parts where you might be uncomfortable talking. You’ll also be able to see how much time you’ve spent so you can pace yourself accordingly.  

Record yourself

A more intensive version of the run-through basic would be to record yourself presenting. You can either record your voice or take a full video of yourself. People often notice that they use filler words a lot such as “um” or “uh.” You’ll also be able to check your pronunciation and whether you sound confident and natural all throughout.

Since body language can make or break your delivery, watching a video of yourself presenting is an incredibly effective way to improve your performance. Do your facial expressions match what you’re saying? Are you maintaining good posture throughout and making efforts to connect with the audience?   

When you combine a confident, approachable body language with the right business vocabulary, your ideas shine through better than ever. You can get a play-by-play of how exactly to do this with the Creativa business meeting mastery course . It features video sections that are all about making powerful transitions and expressing your points clearly during presentations. You’ll learn about specific native English phrases and gestures so you can move fluidly from one idea to the next. 

Together with the other episodes, the course dives deep into how you can be a strong communicator during professional meetings. For a preview, check out this free episode .  

Presenting on Video Call

Technical issues happen often enough in face-to-face presentations, but they’re even more frequent during video calls. To avoid any awkward delays when you’re presenting, get comfortable with the platform that you’ll be using. 

If it’s a face-to-face presentation, double-check your slides and make sure any images or videos are showing properly. For video calls, try doing a test call on the app or even call up a friend to practice. You can also get familiar with the app’s basic features, such as screen-sharing or inviting people to breakout rooms. 

But sometimes, even when you’ve practiced your presentation perfectly on video call, the unexpected can still happen. Scroll down here to download a free worksheet that we made precisely for dealing with technical issues in presentations. You’ll get an extensive list of English phrases to use for all sorts of video call glitches, along with practical tips for handling them in the moment. With enough preparation, you’ll be able to roll with surprises and conquer even video call presentations. 

Let’s explore some of the most common glitches (and how you can deal with them gracefully!):

Situation 1: You’re having a hard time hearing other people because of their laggy connection. 

For a presentation to work, everyone needs to have a decent internet connection. If someone’s connection drops, they won’t be able to see or hear you properly, and you won’t understand what they’re trying to say, either. In this case, let them know right away that you can’t hear them. You can also ask them to talk to you over chat instead. 

Example Phrases:

• [Name], you’re cutting in and out. Would you mind reconnecting?
• Audio problems – can you type it on chat instead?

Situation 2: You get disconnected from the call. 

In the case that it’s your connection that’s faulty, you might have to disconnect then reconnect your call. This can be awkward because it interrupts the flow of your presentation. Alerting your audience using certain English phrases can reassure them while getting you back on track with what you were saying.

• Sorry, guys, dropped call. But I’m back.
• Connection problems, everyone. Gonna log out and back in. 

Situation 3: People are having a hard time figuring out how to turn on their audio or video.

Another reason why you’d want to be really familiar with the video platform is you might have to coach people when they experience glitches. It’s almost expected that a few people might accidentally forget to turn on their mic while speaking. Alternatively, they might have issues with turning on their camera.

• I can’t see you, [name]. [Give instructions on how to turn on their video.]
• I can’t see you, Fatima. Look for the camera icon and make sure there’s no red line through it.
• Typing in chat: “Make sure your mic’s unmuted.” [Clarify how they’ll know if they’re unmuted.]
• Typing in chat: “ Make sure your mic’s unmuted. There should be no red lines through it.

The best presentations excel in all three areas: content, structure, and delivery. 

Including some of the key English phrases above will upgrade your performance. Aside from setting a professional tone, these English presentation phrases set the pace for your audience so they’re aware of where you are in the discussion. Your message will sound clearer, and your audience will be able to follow your ideas better.

The basic rules for presentations are the same, whether you’re on a video call or stepping in front of a stage. With the tips above, you’re all set to prepare an amazing presentation in English.

Blog > English Presentation Structure (Introduction, Closing) & useful Phrases

English Presentation Structure (Introduction, Closing) & useful Phrases

02.21.20   •  #powerpoint #presentation #english.

When giving a presentation in english, there are certain guidelines you should follow. Maybe you haven't got a lot of experience presenting - or you would simply like to refresh your already existing knowledge - we're here to teach you the basics about presenting and provide you with a free list of useful phrases and the basic structure you can in your presentation!

1. Structure

The general structure of a presentation is the following:

• Introduction

It is up to you to design these three parts. Using videos or everyday-examples can be a great way to introduce the audience to the topic. The important thing is that you capture the audience's attention from the beginning by making an interesting introduction. The main part is where you present your topic, ideally divided into sections. You can be creative with it - incorporate images, videos, stories or interactive polls . We generally recommend using different kinds of elements, as that makes the presentation more lively. Make sure your main part is well structured, so your audience can follow. In the conclusion, you should give a short summary of the points you made without adding any new information. You can also make an appeal to your audience in the end.

2. Useful Phrases

Here you'll find several phrases that you'll need in every presentation. Of course, you should adapt them and use them in a context that is suitable for your setting. The phrases are divided into subcategories so you can find what you're looking for more easily.

Starting your Presentation

In your introduction, you should:

Welcome your audience

Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone!

Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to my presentation about...

Introduce yourself

I am ... (from company ...) and today I would like to introduce you to the topic of ...

My name is ... and I am going to talk about ... today.

Icebreakers (for audience engagement)

Icebreaker polls are an amazing way to engage your audience instantly. They function as a fun and playful element at the beginning, giving you the perfect start you need to give a successful presentation. Click here to read our detailed post about icebreaker polls!

Mention the presentation topic and the reason for giving the presentation

I am grateful to be here today and tell you you about...

I would like to take this opportunity to talk about ...

I am here today to talk to you about ...

The reason why I am here today to talk about ... is ...

The purpose of this presentation is to ...

My goal today is to ...

Hopefully, by the end of the presentation, you will all know more about ...

Give a short overview of the content

To make it as understandable as possible, I divided my presentation into ... parts. In the first part, I will concentrate on ..., the second part will be about ..., ...

First of all, I will give you a short introduction, then we will move on to ...

... and finally, I will give you some insights to ...

Here are a few phrases that you could use during the whole presentation, but especially in the main part.

Engage your audience

In order to raise the audience's attention and improve their engagement, it is extremely important to make contact with them. A great way to do so is by adding interactive elements such as polls. If you would like to know more about this topic, read our article on How To Boost Audience Engagement . You can also use a software like SlideLizard , which allows you to conduct live polls, do Q&A sessions with your audience, share your resources and many more benefits that take your presentation to the next level.

Please raise your hand if you ...

Have you ever thought about ... ?

I would like to do a poll about ...

Please ask any questions as soon as they arrive.

On one hand, … on the other hand…

Comparing … with …, we can see that…

Clearly, … makes more sense than …

Whereas Option A is …, Option B is …

Making new points

Firstly,… Secondly,…

What also has to be mentioned is…

Next, I would like to bring up the topic of…

That being said, now we are going to take a look at…

Let's move on to the next topic.

On the next slide,…

The last thing I would like to mention is…

We made a whole blog post about how to pose questions in your presentation: The Right Way to do a Question Slide .

Talking about images or videos

In this image you can clearly see that ...

We are now going to take a look at a picture/video of ...

I'm going to show you a video by ... about ... now.

I've prepared a video about ...

Talking about statistics and charts

I am now addressing this graph that refers to the results of study XY.

In the graph on this slide, you can see that ...

The average is at ...

This graph clearly shows that the majority ...

According to this graph, the focus should be on ...

What that study tells us for practice is that we should ...

Emphasizing

I would like to emphasize the importance of ...

Moreover, it has to be said that ...

I want to stress the importance of ...

We always have to remember that ...

This is of high significance because ...

That part is especially important because ...

When something goes wrong

I am sorry, but it seems like the projector isn't working.

Could someone please help me with ...?

Is anybody here who knows how to ...?

Could someone give me a hand with ...

I would like to apologize for ...

I apologize for the technical problems, we are going to continue in a minute.

I am sorry for the inconvenience.

End of Presentation

In the conclusion, you should...

Sum up the main points

In conclusion I can say that…

To sum up the main points,…

With all mentioned aspects taken into consideration, I can say that…

Make an appeal

So please, in the future, try to be conscious about...

Please take a moment to think about...

I would like to encourage you to...

Thank your audience and say goodbye

It was a pleasure being here today.

Thank you for listening and goodbye.

Thank you for being such a great, engaged audience. Goodbye.

Thank you so much for listening, see you next time.

What is the structure of a presentation?

Your presentations should always have an Introduction, a Main part and a Conclusion.

What is a good way to begin a presentation?

You can start by introducing yourself, giving an overview of your topic, telling a little story or showing the audience an introductory video or image.

What are good phrases to use in English presentations?

There are many phrases that will make your presentation a lot more professional. Our blog post gives you a detailed overview.

Related articles

About the author.

Pia Lehner-Mittermaier

Pia works in Marketing as a graphic designer and writer at SlideLizard. She uses her vivid imagination and creativity to produce good content.

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How to Say Greetings Before Presentation: Formal and Informal Ways

When it comes to giving a presentation, it’s essential to start off on the right foot by greeting your audience. The greeting sets the tone for the entire presentation and helps establish a connection with your listeners. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore both formal and informal ways to say greetings before a presentation. We’ll also provide tips, examples, and even discuss regional variations if necessary. So let’s dive right in!

Formal Greetings

Formal greetings are suitable for professional settings, such as business meetings, conferences, or academic presentations. These greetings project a sense of professionalism and respect for your audience. Here are some formal greetings you can use:

“Good morning/afternoon/evening, ladies and gentlemen.”

This is a classic and widely used formal greeting that works well for any time of the day. It addresses your audience in a polite and respectful manner, acknowledging their presence and setting a positive tone.

“Distinguished guests, esteemed colleagues, and respected members of the audience.”

This greeting is particularly useful when addressing a highly esteemed audience, such as senior executives, industry experts, or renowned professionals. It conveys a sense of honor and respect, recognizing their importance and expertise.

“Thank you all for being here today.”

Expressing gratitude is always a great way to start a presentation. By thanking your audience for their time and presence, you establish a positive rapport and show that you value their participation.

Informal Greetings

Informal greetings, on the other hand, are suitable for less formal or casual presentations. They create a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, which can help put your audience at ease. Let’s take a look at some examples of informal greetings:

“Hello everyone!”

Keeping it simple and straightforward, this informal greeting works well for most situations. It instantly creates a friendly vibe and shows your enthusiasm to engage with your audience.

“Hey folks!”

This informal greeting is more energetic and casual. It is particularly suitable for presentations that involve a younger or more informal audience, such as workshops, student gatherings, or team meetings.

“Good to see you all!”

This greeting conveys a warm and welcoming tone. By expressing how pleased you are to see your audience, you create an immediate connection that can greatly enhance audience engagement throughout your presentation.

Tips for Effective Greetings

No matter if you choose a formal or informal greeting, there are some tips you should keep in mind to ensure that your greeting has the desired impact:

1. Be confident

Confidence is key when giving a presentation. Make sure to deliver your greeting with a clear, strong voice and maintain eye contact with your audience. This will help you establish credibility and gain the attention of your listeners.

2. Consider the audience

Tailor your greeting to your specific audience and the context of your presentation. Gauge their level of formality and adjust your greeting accordingly. Understanding your audience will allow you to connect with them more effectively.

3. Smile and be genuine

A warm and genuine smile can go a long way in making your audience feel comfortable and welcomed. It shows that you are approachable and creates a positive first impression.

4. Practice and rehearse

Rehearsing your greeting beforehand will help ensure that it flows smoothly and confidently. Practice in front of a mirror or with a trusted friend to receive feedback and make any necessary improvements.

Examples of Regional Variations

While greetings before presentations generally follow similar patterns across different regions, it’s interesting to note a few variations influenced by local culture. Here are a couple of examples:

In Japan, it is customary to begin a presentation with a formal greeting, usually by saying “Konnichiwa” followed by a bow. This reflects the Japanese culture of politeness and respect for others.

Middle East

In some Middle Eastern countries, it is customary to start a presentation with an exchange of pleasantries and greetings, often accompanied by handshakes. This reflects the importance placed on building personal relationships and creating a warm atmosphere.

In conclusion, the way you say greetings before a presentation can significantly impact how your audience perceives you and your message. Whether opting for a formal or informal approach, choose a greeting that suits the context and audience. Remember to be confident, genuine, and considerate of cultural variations when applicable. By starting your presentation with a positive greeting, you establish a strong foundation for a successful and engaging presentation. Good luck!

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101 Must-Know Transition Phrases for Engaging Presentations Online

By Paola Pascual on Jan 17, 2024 1:43:00 PM

Giving presentations is often feared by many professionals, but if the presentation is online  and you're not a native speaker, things get even trickier. One tip to make things easier? Learn useful phrases to help you navigate your presentation. In this article, you will find lots of helpful resources to give remarkable presentations . Listen to the episode above, download the checklist below, and learn some of the phrases we present. If we missed any, tell us in the comments below.

General vocabulary for presentations

Sometimes, the smallest changes in your presentations can make the biggest differences. One of them is to learn a few phrases that give you confidence during your speech. Here are some important verbs to get you started:

• To highlight
• To emphasize
• To walk you through (*very common in business presentations!)
• To send around
• To carry on (similar to  continue)
• To get carried away
• To sum up (similar to  summarize )
• To focus on

Vocabulary to start your presentation

Learn how to powerfully start your presentation with these 4 simple steps. Here's some vocabulary you can use:

Welcome your audience

• Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone. Thank you for joining us today, and welcome to today's webinar.
• Hello everyone, I’m very happy to be speaking with you today.

Introduce yourself

• My name is Susan, and I’m part of the design team here at Globex Corporation.
• First of all, a little bit about my background - I am the Team Lead  at [Company], and I've been in charge of [your main responsibility] for [X] years.
• I'd like to tell you a bit about myself - my name is  Eve  I'm the Operations Manager here at [Company].

Introduce the topic and goal of the presentation

• Today, I'd like to talk about…
• This presentation will take about [X] minutes, and we will discuss...
• We've allocated [X] minutes to this presentation. and I'll talk about...
• I'd like to give you a brief breakdown of...
• I'd like to take this opportunity to talk about...
• The main goal of this presentation is…
• The purpose of this presentation is...
• My objective today is...

Read these 5 tricks the best public speakers use to  captivate their audience .

Addressing questions from the audience

• If you have any questions about anything, feel free to interrupt.
• If anything isn't clear, please click on the 'raise hand' button and I'll do my best to answer your question.
• I'd be happy to answer your questions at the end of the presentation.
• If you have any questions, please kindly wait until the end to ask them. We will have [X] minutes for a Q&A session at the end.
• Since today's audience is considerably large, we will not have time for questions, but please email me at [email protected]

Learning new English words is not easy, but you can achieve effective communication through practice and repetition. If you are a Talaera student, visit the Library to practice your vocabulary for presentations. If are not part of the Talaera community yet, learn how we can help you here .

Clear out technical issues

• Can everyone hear me well? Let me know if you encounter any technical difficulties throughout the presentation.
• If you are not speaking, please put yourselves on mute.
• If you feel that the sound quality is poor throughout the presentation, please let me know.

Transition to the main topic of the presentation

• Hi everyone, I think we might still be missing a few people but I’m going to kick things off now so we have time to get through everything.
• All right, let’s dive right in!
• All right, let’s jump right in!
• Let’s get started.
• Let’s kick things off.
• I’m going to talk about
• The purpose/subject of this presentation is
• I’ve divided the presentation into 3 parts: In the first part, ... / Then in the second part, ... / Finally, I’ll go on to talk about...
• Let me begin by looking at...
• Let me start with some general information on...

Vocabulary for the main body of your presentation

Introduce a topic or section.

• Now let’s move to the first part of the presentation,
• We can see 4 advantages and two disadvantages. First,
• On the one hand… On the other hand…
• There are two steps involved. The first step is… The second step is…
• There are four stages to the project.

Transition to a new section

• All right, let’s turn to...
• Now we come to the next point, which is
• Okay so that’s [topic 1], but what about [topic 2]?
• There’s a lot more to talk about, but since we’re pushed for time , let’s move on to [topic 2].
• This leads me to my next point, which is...

Give examples and details

• For example...
• A good example of this is...
• To illustrate this point...
• This reminds me of...
• To give you an example...
• Let me elaborate further on...

Describe visual aids

• As you can see [from this infographic]
• This chart shows
• If you look at this graph, you will see
• From this chart, we can understand how
• Let me show you this [image, graph, diagram]
• On the right/left
• In the middle of
• At the top/bottom of the picture

Emphasize an idea

• This is important because
• I’d like to emphasize that
• We have to remember that

Repeat the same message with different words

• In other words
• To put it more simply
• So, what I’m saying is that
• Let me say that again.

It's easy to get stuck in the middle of a presentation, especially if English is not your mother tongue. Here are +20 Top Tips You Need To Know if you're learning business English .

Finish your presentation and summarize

The end of a presentation, together with the opening, is one of the most important parts of your speech. Read these 5 effective strategies to close your presentation and use the vocabulary below.

• That’s all I want to say for now about [topic].
• To sum up, ...
• This sums up [topic].
• So in a nutshell, ...
• So to recap, ...
• In brief, ...
• To conclude, ...
• I’d like to conclude by emphasizing the main points...
• That's it on [topic] for today. In short, we've covered...
• So, now I’d be very interested to hear your comments.
• And this brings us to the end of this presentation. I hope [topic] is a little clear after today.
• So to draw all that together, ...

Start and navigate the Q&A session

• Thank you for your attention. I hope you found this presentation useful, and I'd be happy to answer any questions.
• Thank you for listening. We now have [X] minutes left. Do you have any questions?
• Thank you for your question, [Name].
• I'm glad you asked.
• That's an interesting question.
• That's a great question, I must say. I'm not 100% sure, but off the top of my head, I can tell you that...
• Are you asking about [topic 1] or [topic 2]?
• Can you please clarify what exactly you mean by [question]? I'm not sure I fully understand.
• I'm afraid I don't have the exact figures at hand, but if you give me your email address at the end, I can follow up with you later.
• Does that answer your question?
• I hope that makes sense. Is that the kind of answer you were looking for?

Take your presentation skills to the next level. 

Keep reading about presentation skills:

• 21 Helpful Tips For Remarkable and Outstanding Presentation Skills
• How To Start a Presentation: Follow These 4 Easy Steps
• How To Bring Across Your Main Idea In A Presentation Effectively
• 5 Effective Strategies To End A Presentation
• 6 Public Speaking Tricks To Captivate Your Audience
• How To Do Effective Business Storytelling According To Former Prosecutor
• 8 Little Changes That'll Make A Big Difference With Your Presentations
• 3 Quick Public Speaking Tips For Your Next Presentation
• Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are [TED Talk Lesson]

Talaera Talks - Transcript Episode 5

• Topic : Deliver impactful presentations
• Listen : Spotify , Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts
• Duration : 22 min.

Intro Welcome to Talaera Talks , the business English communication podcast for non-native professionals. My name is Paola and I am co-hosting this show with Simon. In this podcast, we're going to be covering communication advice and tips to help express yourself with confidence in English in professional settings. So we hope you enjoy the show!

Okay, welcome back for our third episode of Talaera Talks. This is Simon, and I'm joined with Paola. Paola, how are you doing? 0:37 Hi, Simon. I'm great. Happy to do another episode. 0:41 Yeah, absolutely. And Happy Friday. 0:44 Happy Friday! 0:49 So today, our topic: Presenting in English. I'd like to start this episode with a quote I found on Harvard Business Review that I thought was really interesting. It says, "Even native English speakers often anticipate disaster when making presentations. By but for non-native speakers, the anticipatory and situational anxiety associated with their unique challenges (these challenges - being understandable, choosing the right words, speaking spontaneously), can be overwhelming. Moreover, if these concerns interfere with your willingness or ability to make business presentations, the impact can be career-limiting." So yeah, that's a pretty kind of heavy quote to start. But it is something that we see from a lot of our clients, right? 1:52 Yeah, it's super interesting. It was super interesting to read. It's something we know, but it's important to remind it that it is presentations, the topic we have today is something that is not pleasurable for anyone, not for non-native speakers, but also for native speakers. So that's something to point out. And today, we talked about that... We said that we wanted to start with those challenges or fears that we see from our clients, our learners. 2:25 Yeah, and it's usually around the same things, you know, we, at least for me, I come into contact with so many of these, so many of our students who are so competent in their, in their daily lives, what they're doing in their professional lives. And they come to me with these with these fears, like this just general lack of confidence, or imposter syndrome, right? This I don't know if I really deserve to be speaking and, you know, kind of explaining this concept to all these people. 3:05 Mm-hmm. Yes. And also the fear of not being understood, well, they know what I'm saying, well, they understand my accent. There's a lot of worries and concern around accent and our pronunciation expert, Lisa hosted a webinar, actually last week, where she explained that accent matters. But as long as people understand you, it's fine. You don't need to be perfect. Everyone has an accent. So that's also totally fine. 3:37 And this being Yeah, this being one of I think, at least for me, in my experience, one of the most frequently asked for aspects from students. So you know, and just to like, again, just say that this is a challenge for everyone, not just, you know, non-native English speakers. You know, I think all of us have a tough experience or somebody that we think of when we think about public speaking, it's, it's like this, yeah, really anxiety-riddled thing. I mean, I don't have any, you know, funny personal stories, but uh, do you, Paola? 4:20 You want me to tell my embarrassing story, don't you? 4:22 Please, you must. 4:25 So I used to teach at a university in Vietnam when I lived there, and the classes where it rains, you know, from perhaps 50 students to up to what 300 there's was a class with, you know, 2-300 students and there was a little stage it wasn't too high, but there was a little stage and I fell off. 4:46 You fell off the stage. This was during or after the presentation, or...? 4:56 It was around the beginning of the presentation. So... 5:01 During! Oh, I thought it was it was like after like you were walking off? 5:06 No, I move a lot. I use my body language quite a lot. And that was one of the moments where I overdid it, probably, and fell off. 5:17 Wow. Well, I'm glad that you're still here with us. 5:21 Yeah, you know, but that's the story that I sometimes not always tell it. But I sometimes tell it when my students say, Oh, I'm nervous, and I assume that it can happen, you know, I thought it was going to be a disaster. And then I actually ended up making friends with the students that turned out okay. 5:39 Right. Well, yeah, I mean, today, we're not necessarily going to go into the physical dimensions of how to avoid falling off the stage. But we do have some, some good tips, right? 5:54 Yes. And to provide some advice on how to deliver presentations, and lose that fear, we've divided it into three main blocks. And those are what to do before the presentation, tips for during the presentation. And then even after there's things you can do to, to get better. 6:18 Right, let's start with the first, right, what can we do before the presentation in terms of getting ready, preparing? 6:30 So preparing, it's a very general term, but one of the tips that we like to give is, think of the WHAT, WHY and NEXT. So WHAT is your presentation about? WHY should they listen to you and not look it up online (or listen to a podcast, like ours)? And in what NEXT means - what is supposed to happen next? Do they need to do anything, go on a website, send you feedback? Are you going to send them the materials? So what why our next is so straightforward and simple. But when I asked this question to our clients that are so thrown off, and they don't know what to answer sometimes, 7:10 Yeah, I think that's one of those things. And I struggle with this all the time is, when I get an idea or something like that. It's so easy to just jump over those most basic things of, you know, what, why and index, those are so, so basic, but it's such it's, they're so foundational, right? And in terms of creating something that people will understand and be able to, to really attach to. 7:41 Yep. And do you have any tips around how much you should learn? Should you write the whole thing? Or should you memorize? 7:52 Yeah, that, you know, this is a good question as well, that a lot of our learners ask in terms of, yeah, you know, I'm just going to go and write it all out. And then I'll have an idea. And I'll feel better because I can write it and change it so that it sounds more professional. It sounds like I know what I'm talking about. And I always tell people, please don't try to prepare a presentation where you're reading a script, it is just the most unnatural thing ever. And, and it, you won't end up sounding more professional, if anything, your audience is going to detach, because they're going to sense that something's not really right here, it doesn't seem genuine, right doesn't seem real, it just seems like this person is doing what he's doing, which is reading off of a script. And even still a lot of times with a lot of our learners where they know that, okay, I know this material. But I'm going to put all of my effort into making this perfect slide this perfect presentation. So I would say, focus on actually knowing the material itself really well. More than focusing on how the presentation looks, you know, these kinds of things. Because once you're in that situation where you're on the stage, and people are looking at you, at least you'll be able to Windows like kind of red Sirens of you know, panic and anxiety show up. You'll have learned the material itself so well that you can roll with that. 9:29 Yes. And you also have room for improvisation because your brain is so used to the content and you know, so well what you want to say that that's when your brain starts to come up with anecdotes and that's the fun thing that gets you hooked. And that's the main Why should people listen to you instead of reading an article online? 9:49 Exactly. Because for most of our students, you know what you're talking about. That's why you're up there. That's why you have the opportunities to speak there is because someone thinks you're qualified enough to speak to all these people. So trust in that and go with that. So yeah, so we have right not, not over learning. Don't script it right? What else can we do? 10:14 Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice in your mind, but more importantly verbalize it, say it out loud. And recording yourself is uncomfortable for everyone. But it works. I have never tried it. I always told my students should record yourself, you should record yourself and they were like, Huh. And just a few of them did it. And when we started with the webinars, I haven't done something like it before. And I said, Okay, I'll use my own tip. And it was one I'm comfortable. And two, super helpful. So if you get to go over the sound of your own voice, I would say do it. 10:54 Yeah. You know, this is one thing that I have to be totally honest here. Doing these podcasts is the first time I've actually recorded myself for a long time. And I've learned a lot about, you know, not saying the word Absolutely. 500 times, yeah, within the span of 20 minutes. So those are good learning lessons. Definitely. Okay, and then so we have that. And then the last little tip is, I would say get an English mindset before 30 minutes to an hour before the presentation. And that could be listening to a podcast, you know, like Talaera Talks, or, you know, watching a show on Netflix that's, that's in English, whatever you can do to get your kind of English mind, you know, in the zone before you go up and actually speak English. So So those are all of our kind of pre presentation tips, what you can do before, so what about during, 11:58 so for during, there's a lot of things that you can you can do to improve your presentations. But the first tip is to learn how to start to have a mind map of what am I going to do at the beginning. So you start confident already. So welcome, everyone, introduce the people introduce the topic and go to the main point, those four parts will help you have a nice start. Welcome, everyone. For example. Hi, everyone. Welcome to today's presentation. Today, we'll be talking about business events, introduce the people, you can introduce yourself , like, Hi, my name is Paula and I'm a business English instructor at Telstra, and perhaps even the audience. Today we have with us students from all different nationalities and levels, or, you know, whatever the audiences, that's also helpful for everyone to understand, introduce the topic, or give you some best practices for business emails , and a few templates, and then go to the main point. So a simple sentence like Alright, let's get down to business. So having those welcome introducing people introducing the topic and going to the main point will help you have a nice start. 13:16 Yeah, and I like that concept of that the mind map is so good. Because it's it's not the scripting, like we were talking about before, it's having a kind of a little mental checklist. So that when those first few minutes, were you're up there on the on stage, and you're like, oh god, oh, god, here we go. Here we go. You have that little checklist that I created. Okay, so I welcomed introduced the people the topic, and now to the main point, and that can get you in the zone and going I really liked that. Yeah, so so having that, that starting template. And then another thing would be, I would say slowing down, slowing it down. And this is really I think it touches on a lot of aspects. The first would be just the general anxiety, we tend to speak a lot faster when we're really anxious, you know, but by slowing down, it really helps with non native English speakers because it helps with the accent. And it helps with giving you some time to really think through your next thoughts. Now, I'm not saying that you should, while you're speaking, try to think steps three, four or five ahead of you. But giving yourself a little bit of time to Okay, I'm going through this pattern now. Now I can go to the next one, right. And doing that, you know, another with the slowing down a tip if you're really nervous to go in is prefacing your speech. So before you really get into everything, maybe after the welcome part is just to say, Hey, you know, I'm going to try to speak as clearly as possible, as English as myself. first language and really smile and maybe make a little joke about that. And I think that's a good way to open it out for the audience to show some vulnerability and and help. I mean, what do you think about that? 15:13 Yeah, I mean, we see that with, sometimes with celebrities, when they're not native speakers, and they admitted, and they, they kind of put yourself put themselves, as you said, in that vulnerable position, and that makes them even cuter. 15:28 Mm hmm. 15:29 So it's making yourself human, I think it's always a good tip. And you were saying that slowing down helps with your accent and also for yourself to gain time to really know what you're going to say. But also for the for the audience. We don't mind people making some little pulses, so that they also have time to collect their thoughts. 15:50 Right, right. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Those are, those are two really good aspects, starting, you know, the template and then slowing down, right. Yeah, kind of diffusing the anxiety by saying, Hey, you know, this isn't my first language. And that really gets the audience on your side, right. And then another would be not reading off of your slides. I mean, this is kind of the basic, you know, what you learn in school, but it's also something that a lot of people get, yeah, get, get hooked on, just because it's like a safety net. And I would say that's where the overlearning the material that we talked about beforehand comes into play. Anything else in this? 16:42 Oh, recap for sure. After every section, do a little recap, and at the end to recap where you summarize the main points of the whole presentation? 16:54 Yeah, yeah. Good. Good. So So summarize. Yeah, yeah. And that's a that's a good, you know, I would say three aspects, four aspects that during the presentation, if you keep these in, in your mind, it's, it's, I would say, it's going to help a lot. And so now we're going to move to what can we do after the presentation? We've done it, we've walked off the stage. Whoo, I'm so glad that's over. Now, is all of our work done? No. 17:27 No, not really. That's now it's your chance to actually learn from, from everything you did. So one of the tips we suggest is try to ask for feedback. But that's not so easy, right, Simon? 17:42 Yeah, it's, I think, a big question. And that is, who do you get the feedback from? Right?

17:50 So we, we would always suggest to try and find someone you can trust someone who is honest, and who can give you objective feedback. So in some cases, that can be your manager, but sometimes it's a colleague that understands the topic, and can really provide some feedback on how you did. 18:13 Yeah. And that's, I think, in terms of learning, this is one of the most crucial thing is reflecting back on what you did, and seeing what worked, what didn't work, and how can I take that and move forward? Because especially with presenting, it's a skill, and it takes practice, practice, practice. And, and I think, for a lot of people, you should jump at the chance to do this. So that you can continue to learn and continue to grow. But be sure to reflect by Yeah, by asking for feedback and seeing what worked, 18:47 for sure. And ideally, that would be someone, perhaps from work that can see how you did and like the actual show, if not Talaera teachers also do that. So you can present your own presentation, pretending it's the actual one. And that's how we can provide feedback on the structure, the vocabulary, the language in general. 19:08 Yeah, absolutely. I do that. Oh, there you go. Absolutely. Definitely. See, I'm reflecting back and learning as we go. I'm working. I'm learning that. Yeah. But I've done that recently with a couple of students where we've gone through their deck and looked at what are their plans in terms of presenting and we've kind of gone through in detail that together. So So yeah, so that was kind of I would say the biggest thing in terms of afterward. 19:40 So we have the pre-presentation, just as a quick recap for the pre-presentation and before your presentation, always remember the what why next, what is your presentation about? Why should people listen to you and what should happen next overnight Learn the content. be super confident about what you want to talk about. But don't script it. Don't write everything down. Otherwise, it would sound like you're just reading. 20:11 Write and practice through verbalization. record yourself, even though it may be awkward, but it's a great learning technique. And then get in that English mindset beforehand by Yeah, listening to a podcast or what have you. And then during the presentation, right, starting with the template, Paolo was discussing the welcome introducing the people the topic, and then going to the main point, 20:37 slowing down a little bit. It's not necessary to go super fast. It's not only not necessary, but people will understand you better if you take your time and make some pauses. Of course, don't read off their slides. Tell them the story. 20:54 Right, right. And remember 20:56 to recap, just like we're doing now. Send them or tell them a quick summary and the main points, 21:03 right, and don't fall off the stage as well. That's ideally we forgot. Ideally, it's final for then, as the final point, right, asking for feedback, finding that person that can get you that feedback that's so important to you. Finding what worked and moving forward. 21:21 That's right. All right. Do we have it for today? 21:25 I think that is it for today. Yeah. I had a lot of Thanks. Yeah, I had a blast. And thanks for meeting up. And we have a lot of good stuff coming up with Talaera. Right. 21:38 We have webinars, our blog is busier than ever. So go on the http://blog.talaera.com/ , check out the resources. And what else? 21:51 Find us on LinkedIn. And yeah, please ask any questions, we'd be glad to get back to you. So that is it for today. And thank you to all of our listeners. So far, we're excited to keep growing this. And as always, keep learning! 22:11 And that's all we have for you today. We hope you enjoyed it, and remember to  subscribe to Talaera Talks . We'll be back soon with more! And visit our website at  https://talaera.com  for more valuable content on business English. You can also  request a free consultation  on the best ways for you and your team to improve your communication skills. So have a great day and keep learning!

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How to Start a Presentation (+ Useful Phrases)

Table of Contents

Knowing how to start a presentation is a crucial skill in today’s professional landscape.

After all, many office workers are called on to prepare a presentation at some point during their careers.

And, of course, many people are looking to share their expertise through workshops and lectures.

With that in mind, we wanted to dedicate an article to learning about the best ways to deliver an impactful presentation opening.

So, whether you’re currently struggling to come up with introductory lines for a presentation, or you have a more passive interest in this subject — you’ve come to the right place.

In this article, we’ll:

• Share expert tips for preparing the best opening lines for any type of professional presentation ,
• Offer some valuable examples and specific phrases you can use, and even
• Analyze the way professional speakers approach their presentations.

But first, let’s talk about why having a good introduction is such a crucial part of any presentation.

Why does having a good introduction to a presentation matter?

If you’ve ever had to prepare an address, you probably understand the importance of having an impactful introduction to a presentation.

If the body of a speech contains most of the information you want to share with the audience and the conclusion allows you to invite the audience to take action — the introduction is how you get them to listen to you in the first place.

In other words, a presentation is a motivated sequence — a method of persuasion with 5 distinct steps:

• Attention — wherein the speaker introduces the problem the listeners are having in an interesting manner. In the format of a presentation, this step is the introduction .
• Need — the speaker explains how the problem affects the listeners and backs up their claims. This step corresponds with the body of a presentation , along with the following two.
• Satisfaction — the speaker offers a solution and shows how it will alleviate the concern they have previously identified.
• Visualization — the speaker describes precisely what will happen if the listeners choose to implement their solution. Sometimes, they also describe what will happen if their solution is not implemented. This concludes the body of the presentation.
• Action — the speaker directs the listeners with a call to action, explaining what they can do in response to their presentation. This step represents the conclusion of a presentation.

Even though this framework was developed in the 1930s, it’s still a useful tool for people who want to improve their presenting skills.

What do professional speakers have to say about the importance of opening a presentation effectively?

For more insight into the importance of starting a presentation with a bang, we turned to professional speakers and communication experts.

We put the question to Mark Beal , Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, Communication, at Rutgers University School of Communication and Information. Here’s what he had to say:

“It is critically important to engage your audience immediately at the start of a presentation in a high-energy manner, or you could lose them to their mobile phone or laptop and you may never get them back.”

Speaker, author, communication skills trainer, and editorial producer at CNN, Nadia Bilchik , added:

“The beginning of your presentation is your prime real estate. It’s when your audience decides if you are worth paying attention to or not.”

So, in addition to capturing the audience’s attention , your introduction also needs to establish your authority .

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Having said that, let’s talk about the specific steps you need to take before you begin presenting to make your presentation opening as memorable as it can be.

How to prepare the best opening for a presentation

Before we tell you how to start a presentation speech, let’s take a moment to consider the best preparation practices .

Naturally, preparing the introductory lines for your presentation should take place well before the speech itself.

Even so, many novice speakers are still unaware of the different factors that should influence and inform their decisions in this regard.

Luckily, we have managed to boil the results of our extensive research down to the following 3 tips:

• Take note of the way other people start their presentations ,
• Understand the goals of an introduction , and
• Know your audience .

Having said that, let’s see what each of those tips entails.

Tip #1: Watch other speakers’ openers

As Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich , puts it:

“Experience has taught me that the next best thing to being truly great is to emulate the great, by feeling and action, as nearly as possible.”

With that in mind, the best thing you can do before drafting your speech is observe the way others have made theirs.

In this case, you’ll want to focus on the way professional speakers introduce themselves and the subjects of their presentations .

The goal of this exercise is to determine:

• What makes a good opening statement ,
• Which openers are generally effective with audiences, and
• What kinds of introductions you resonate with .

Somewhere in the middle of those categories is where you’ll find the opening lines of your presentation.

For their part, the experts we have contacted seem to agree with this tip.

Nadia Bilchik said:

“I have been speaking and training speaking skills for three decades and I still do a tremendous amount of research and customize each and every presentation. If I am speaking […] about the hybrid workplace, I will Google [the] latest statistics. I will also go onto YouTube to see what other speakers and thought leaders are saying about the subject.”

And Mark Beal mirrored her thoughts:

“I am consistently studying presentations in a quest to be a student who is always learning, evolving, transforming, and innovating my approach to presenting. I closely watch all types of presentations, from TEDx Talks to my former students who return to guest lecture in my university courses.”

Tip #2: Understand the goals of an introduction

According to the other authors of Communicating at Work , an introduction has 5 distinct objectives . It should:

• Capture the listener’s attention (or, as professional speakers might say, “hook” them),
• Give them a reason to listen (offer a solution to a personal or professional problem they have),
• Set the proper tone for the topic and setting (let the audience know whether they’re in for an informative, emotional, or humorous speech),
• Establish your qualifications (explain why the audience should listen to you , specifically), and
• Introduce your thesis and preview your presentation (so that the audience knows what to expect in advance).

With those goals in mind, Nadia Bilchik would even say that:

“It’s always best to have someone else introduce you and confirm your credibility.”

That puts the onus of explaining why you deserve to be there on the host of the meeting and allows you to skip that part of the introduction.

However, these 5 objectives are not a checklist you have to follow at all costs.

Depending on the circumstances surrounding your presentation, some of them will matter more than others.

Speaking of, there’s one last thing to keep in mind when crafting your presentation opening.

Tip #3: Know your audience

The audience you end up presenting to will affect everything from the way you organize your presentation to your style of delivery — and even the supporting materials you use.

Your presentation’s opening lines are no exception.

In other words, the content and style of your introduction will depend on the size of the group you’re speaking to and its demographic breakdown .

However, perhaps the most important audience attribute you’ll have to keep in mind is its willingness to listen and engage with your message .

In Business Communication: Process & Product , authors Mary Guffey and Dana Loewy have identified 4 types of audiences based on that factor:

• Friendly — an audience that likes you and cares about your topic,
• Neutral — an audience that is calm and considers itself objective,
• Uninterested — an audience full of people with short attention spans (who may or may not be there against their will), and
• Hostile — an emotional or defensive audience whose goal is to take charge or ridicule the speaker.

Luckily, Guffey and Loewy have also provided some guidance for dealing with each of those kinds of audiences.

How to start a presentation effectively (tips + examples)

It’s the day of your big presentation — time to go big or go home.

Which of the following tips would you incorporate in your presentation opening lines?

• Exude confidence.
• Drop the pleasantries.
• Prove your expertise.
• Begin with a realistic promise (explain what the audience stands to gain from your presentation).
• Go for the drama.
• Fall back on an insightful quote or a pop culture reference.
• Share an interesting statistic.
• Ask questions.
• Relieve tension with a joke or a humorous statement.
• Use visual tools (like images, videos, or props).

If you haven’t thought about which one of these would help you get your point across effectively — don’t worry.

We’re about to explain each of those tips and provide some illuminating examples and specific phrases you can use when starting a presentation.

Tip #1: Exude confidence

One thing you need to know about starting a presentation is that your work begins the moment you set foot on that stage .

Alternatively, it begins the moment someone passes you the (literal or figurative) mic — if we’re taking into account the presentations that take place on video conferencing platforms.

In any case, you’ll want the audience to see you as someone who knows what they’re talking about . That includes:

• Making eye contact ,
• Moving with intention (not fidgeting),
• Wearing professional attire (or at least appropriate attire for the occasion),
• Projecting your words , and
• Showing your confidence through nonverbal cues . 

One of the experts we spoke to, Reesa Woolf , PhD, keynote speaker, bestselling author, and executive speaking coach, would even advise you to rehearse your opener and closer to the point of being able to “deliver them with 100% eye contact.”

For what it’s worth, overpreparing also allows you to appear more confident when presenting , as you’ll be less worried about forgetting parts of your speech.

Then again, a moment of forgetfulness can also be turned into a tool for establishing a commanding presence.

Namely, staying still or being quiet for a moment can make the audience pay closer attention to you.

But, if that’s something you’d like to try, make sure the technique doesn’t clash with the type of audience you’re presenting to .

Tip #2: Drop the pleasantries

Have you ever heard a professional public speaker use one of these phrases?

• “It’s a pleasure to be here.”
• “I’m honored to be asked to speak about…”
• “Today, I’m going to talk about…”

The chances of a professional using these phrases are pretty slim — so why would you?

Well, there’s nothing wrong with following a traditional format to introduce yourself . 

However, you’ll have to admit that the sentences we have listed above don’t pack the same punch as some of the other presentation opening lines we have included in this article.

Keynote speaker, Forbes contributor, career change consultant, and host of the Career Relaunch® podcast, Joseph Liu , recommends avoiding greetings altogether .

“While I do say hello, rather than starting with drawn-out greetings, I recommend diving right into the presentation with a hook so your audience immediately switches on to the content you’re about to present.”

Speaker, bestselling author, and award-winning accountant, Tatiana Tsoir , notes:

“People’s attention span is 20 minutes max, which is why TEDx is capped at 18 min. Also, people generally remember the beginning and the end, so make sure those are strong [and] get to the point fast.”

So, instead of wasting time on small talk, use an opener that will get your audience’s attention as quickly as possible.

💡 Pumble pro tip

Even though the examples we have listed would be considered a weak way to start a speech, some of them are ideal for starting a business meeting. If you want to know some other expressions that might come in handy in that kind of setting, check out this article:

• 120 Useful English phrases for business meetings

Tip #3: Prove your expertise

As we have established, starting a presentation with a traditional introduction may not be the best way to get the audience’s attention.

Still, you’ll have to establish your credibility at some point — so we might as well illustrate how to do so properly.

Of course, if you’re a teacher or an educator in broader terms, you probably won’t have to prove your expertise to your audience.

However, if you’re tasked with presenting in front of neutral or hostile audiences, you’ll want to establish your qualifications as soon as possible.

If you can’t get someone else to introduce you and establish your credibility before you start your presentation, we suggest hooking the audience first and then introducing yourself right before you head into the main part of the speech.

Phrases you can use to establish your credibility

We have come up with 3 imaginary presentation scenarios to help illustrate our points throughout this guide.

Here’s how our speakers might introduce themselves:

“Hello, everyone. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Nick Mulder, the head of the security department. I’m here to talk to you about phishing.”

“My name is Joan Miller. As someone with over four decades of experience in marketing, I’m uniquely qualified to talk to you about how artificial intelligence is changing the future of the industry.”

“I’m Milo Green — you probably know me as being the founder of Green & Co. As someone who’s had a hand in running a successful business for over two decades, I’m here to explain how my company’s employee retention rate has never fallen below 85% in a single year.”

If these speakers started with a hook rather than an introduction, the sentences introducing the subject of their presentations would be excessive.

Tip #4: Begin with a realistic promise

So far, there’s been a lot of discussion about “hooks” in this article and not many specific examples of phrases that might hook an audience — let’s change that.

The first type of hook you might want to master, especially for professional presentations, is the “promise.”

One of the experts we have spoken to, Reesa Wolf, uses that very method:

“Begin with a brief statement about the benefits of listening to [your] message. You can give an example of a company or person like them that had the issue they have and how these ideas solved it, but it still must be brief.”

In other words, start by giving them a preview of the knowledge they’ll have by the time you finish your presentation.

This method of starting a presentation is a great way to:

• Show that you’re in tune with the listeners’ needs, concerns, and interests ,
• Offer a solution to a problem the audience might have , or
• Keep the audience interested throughout your presentation .

Ultimately, audiences are self-interested — they will listen to you if you explain what’s in it for them.

Usually, that will require you to point out a problem they are having or an opportunity they’re not taking advantage of.

Phrases you can use to offer a realistic promise

To put this tip in perspective, let’s hear from our imaginary presenters:

“By the end of my talk, you’ll be able to spot phishing emails and understand the steps you need to take when you do.”

“My presentation will alleviate any worries you might have about the ways the marketing sector will need to adapt to the AI revolution.”

“During this talk, you’ll learn how your company can improve its relationship with its employees and boost its retention rate.”

Tip #5: Go for the drama

One thing you should note as you are writing your presentation opening is that the first words you say will set the tone for the rest of your speech .

If offering a realistic promise to your audience suits your presentation subject — by all means, do so.

However, if you’d like to induce excitement and keep your audience’s mood elevated throughout your presentation, you might want to go for a more dramatic entrance instead.

Namely, you could start with:

• A fun fact,
• A startling statement, or
• An emotionally moving story.

Many speakers rely on these kinds of openers to establish the central theme of their presentation naturally .

After all, this method can make the speaker look more approachable and relatable , particularly if their opening line references other people (e.g. “the other day, I met someone/a coworker told me…” ).

One example of this technique comes from author, entrepreneur, and certified fraud examiner, Pamela Meyer, who famously started her TED Talk by pointing to an audience member and saying:

“Okay, now, I don’t want to alarm anybody in this room, but it’s just come to my attention that the person to your right is a liar. Also, the person to your left is a liar! Also, the person sitting in your very seat is a liar.”

The combination of starting her speech with such a shocking statement and pointing out a specific audience member makes Meyer’s TED Talk an iconic one in our books!

Phrases you can use for a dramatic opening

Now, let’s see how our imaginary speakers would apply this tip:

“1,270,883! What do you think that number signifies? If you guessed ‘the number of phishing attacks recorded in the third quarter of 2022’ — you’d be right! We have the Anti-Phishing Working Group to thank for that disturbing piece of trivia.”

“Artificial intelligence is coming for our jobs! At least, according to Chat GPT and Business Insider , people working in tech, media, law, and many other industries might want to look elsewhere for employment in the coming years.”

“When I first started my company, I did it with about 20 of my most trusted friends and advisers. I’m happy to report that all but two are still working for Green & Co. — and those two are only absent because they’ve started their own successful ventures! In any case, my wish to surround myself with high-quality people has manifested itself in the company’s high employee retention rates. Today, I’m going to tell you about how I created an environment that makes employees want to stick around.”

Tip #6: Fall back on a quote or a pop culture reference

When in doubt, you could always start the introduction to your presentation with a quote.

As long as you don’t overuse other peoples’ words in your speeches, quotations are a completely legitimate and convenient tool for introducing the topic you’ll be discussing.

Aside from being a tried and true method of getting people’s attention without having to string together a perfect sentence on your own, quoting a particularly impressive individual is a good way to “borrow” their authority .

However, that can also be a double-edged sword , since it can also give you the individual’s notoriety. So, make sure you know whose words you’re echoing.

Of course, some people would advise you to avoid quotes altogether.

Assistant Professor of Rhetorical Communication at the State University of New York, Dr. Lee M. Pierce , cautions against starting your presentation “with quotes or long personal stories.”

Doing so might bore the audience.

Then again, Dr. Pierce also enjoys using pop culture references as openers, saying:

“By choosing a pop culture reference that most of your audience gets, you build instant rapport and have something you can use to ease them into your presentation material.”

So, perhaps there’s still a way to work a quote into your presentation, as long as it fits the mood you’re trying to establish.

If your presentation happens to be about team communication or collaboration, you may find the perfect quote to use in your introduction in one of these articles:

• 45+ Best team communication quotes  
• 80+ Best teamwork quotes that will inspire team collaboration

Phrases you can use when you’re opening with a quote

So, how would our three fictional speakers incorporate quotations in their opening lines? Let’s find out.

“According to Harper Reed, entrepreneur and Chief Technology Officer for Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, ‘Very smart people are often tricked by hackers, by phishing.’ So it’s not about being smart. It’s about being smarter than a hacker.’ And I’m here to help you get there.”

“Stephen Hawking once said that ‘Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately,’ he said, ‘it might also be the last, unless we know how to avoid the risks.’ I’m here to alleviate your concerns about those risks.”

“When I was developing my management style, I often referred back to one particular quote by Max DePree, founder of Herman Miller. He said, ‘The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.’ That sentiment clarified my function for me — even though I was the CEO of my company, I was primarily there to help my employees.”

If you want to make sure your audience understands what you’re talking about, you could also show the quote on the first slide of your presentation.

Tip #7: Share an interesting statistic

Using relevant, interesting statistics is another great way to introduce the topic of your presentation.

This tip could also be an excellent tool for establishing your qualifications, if you decide to share a statistic that proves the efficacy of the solution you’re presenting.

Just keep in mind that people tend to trust third-party sources more than a potentially unverifiable statistic coming from your organization’s internal research.

Phrases you can use to introduce your presentation with a statistic

Let’s see how our three presenters might incorporate this tip.

“According to APWG, the number of wire transfer Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks increased by 59% in the third quarter of 2022.”

“Netflix took 3.5 years to reach a million users. Facebook took 10 months. ChatGPT, which has been dubbed the best AI chatbot ever released by New York Times, reached its first million users in only 5 days. By January 2023, over 100 million people had used the service.”

“According to the 2022 Workplace Learning Report from LinkedIn Learning, companies that enable their employees to advance internally retain employees for an average of 5.4 years. That’s nearly twice as long as companies that struggle to provide opportunities for internal mobility, where the average retention span is 2.9 years.”

And, if you wanted to go the extra mile, you could also represent the statistics you’re talking about with a visual element.

Tip #8: Ask questions

Once you start researching public speakers, you’ll find that many of them engage their audience by asking questions .

It goes back to the concept of “hooking” your audience. According to Joseph Liu:

“The best way to start a presentation is with a hook. For example, ask a question. Invite people to do something. Have your audience imagine a situation. Or, surprise them with an interesting fact.”

Indeed, most of the experts we have spoken to would confirm that questions are the best tool for increasing audience participation . As Nadia Bilchik would say:

“ I like to ask my audience a question. […] the key is to invite participation from the start. ”

With that in mind, there are 2 types of questions you can use, depending on the situation:

• Direct questions require answers from the audience. Speakers might ask for a show of hands or use a polling tool that allows people to stay anonymous while also showing the results for everyone to see.
• Rhetorical questions are about asking the audience to envision a scenario that allows you to introduce the topic of the presentation. These sometimes have a “What if” construction.

Either way, the questions should prompt the audience to start thinking about the subject of your lecture. 

Questions you might use to open a presentation

Our resident phishing expert might ask his audience one of the following questions:

“How do you protect your company from phishing attacks?”

“Let’s see a show of hands — how many of you know what phishing is?”

“Has anyone here fallen prey to a phishing attack?”

Joan Miller, the digital marketer we have envisioned, might ask:

“Who here is already using AI to conduct their business?”

“Will your company survive the AI revolution?”

“Would you rather incorporate AI into your marketing strategy or continue doing business as usual? Think carefully about this question — and use the link I’m about to send you to tell me your answers. By the end of my presentation, I’ll run this question by you again, and we’ll see how the results of the poll have changed.”

Lastly, our imaginary CEO might ask his audience:

“Does your company’s employee retention rate matter?”

“How are you making your company a desirable place to work?”

”Can anyone here tell me their company’s employee retention rate?”

Tip #9: Relieve tension with a humorous statement

If you sense that your audience isn’t in the mood to take in the kind of presentation you have prepared, you can prime them for it with humor.

Cracking a joke at the top of your presentation sets the scene for a lighthearted conversation and makes you appear confident (even if you’re not). Additionally, a well-placed joke can:

• Get the audience interested ,
• Make a point about the topic of your presentation , and
• Increase your likeability .

But, humor is an art form — and not everyone has the talent and skill to execute this tip effectively. If it doesn’t come naturally, there’s no need to force it.

When in doubt, take a page out of the comedian’s playbook and run your opening joke by a friend or, better yet, a more neutral acquaintance.

Of course, even if your joke works on them, you can’t always account for cultural or even professional differences that might prevent some people in the audience from getting it.

Jokes for opening a presentation

The 3 speakers we have imagined might use the following jokes to kick off their presentations:

“Can anyone tell me a hacker’s favorite season? Phishing season, of course! Unfortunately, in real life, phishing season is more of a year-round kind of thing.”

“Why are people so nice to AI? Because it’s self-conscious! Just kidding. For now… Actually, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that AI does seem to be gaining traction, particularly in the marketing industry. But, the good news is that I’m here to tell you how to navigate that situation.”

“Did you know that staff retention is more likely to be improved by offering better working conditions than by chaining employees to their desks? Much to think about!”

Most of these examples would pair wonderfully with a visual element — which brings us to our final tip!

Tip #10: Use visual tools

Different speakers have different approaches when it comes to the visual aspects of their presentations.

Some rely on their speech to get most of the information across. Yet, others prefer to make their presentation slides a more integral part of their presentation.

We imagine Joseph Liu would sort himself into the latter group:

“I tend to keep my presentations as visual as possible, relying less on quotes and more on imagery.”

If you decide to let visuals do some of the heavy lifting for your presentation, there are several ways to incorporate them. Namely, you could:

• Use images in your presentation slides,
• Invite the audience to watch a video before the presentation,
• Hand out printed materials ,
• Show data charts , and
• Bring out a physical prop .

The type of visuals you end up using will depend on the type of presentation you’re giving.

Either way, you’ll want to become familiar with different elements of visual communication (such as colors, shapes, fonts, and layouts) if you want to make your presentation truly memorable.

Visual communication is one of 4 types of communication. If you’re curious about what the other 3 types of communication are and how we use them in our everyday lives, check out the following article:

• Types of communication

Examples of visual tools opening a presentation

Going back to our 3 speakers, let’s see how they might incorporate visual elements into their presentation introductions.

“According to APWG, these are the most targeted industries for phishing scams in the third quarter of 2022.”

“The following demonstration of AI’s capabilities might change some of your outlooks on the future of marketing. I have shared my computer screen with you all, so let’s take a moment to see where this tech is at right now through a demonstration of the existing software.”

“Before I start my presentation, let’s look at a video showcasing the importance of having a high employee retention rate.”

You could also combine this tip with the others on our list , by saying something like:

• “Can anyone tell me what’s wrong with this picture?” thus, combining a visual opener with a question, or
• “What do you think the number on the screen behind me signifies? If you guessed ‘the number of phishing attacks recorded in the third quarter of 2022’ — you must be psychic!” as a spin on an example we used to illustrate tip #5.

Putting the tips into practice

Having concluded our list of tips, we wanted to see how the experts we have spoken to have put them into practice.

So, let’s start with the way they conceptualize and write their presentation starting lines.

Step #1: Draft your speech

Every memorable presentation starts with a written copy of everything you want to say.

According to Tatiana Tsoir:

“Developing a speech is a craft. I generally work first on who the audience is , then my core message I want them to walk away with, then the outline of the speech : how and when I introduce the main idea, and how I make a case for it and reiterate it throughout.”

Ultimately, the best time to write your presentation introduction would be once you have a clear idea of everything you want to say in the body and conclusion of your speech.

Even so, sticking to this advice won’t make you a better speaker immediately.

Instead, our experts have stressed that the only way to get better at presenting is through practice and repetition .

Take it from Tatiana:

“With public impactful speaking you don’t rise to the occasion, you fall back on training and practice.”

Step #2: Get right to the point

As you are drafting your presentation introduction, keep in mind that the audience is already waiting for you to get to the point.

When in doubt, follow Reesa Woolf’s formula for starting a presentation:

“Open with the attention-catching statement/story/quotation. Once they look at you, say your name and the parts of your experience and credentials that THEY would be most impressed by, at most 3 things about you.”

After delivering your opener and introducing yourself, you’ll want to quickly transition into the main part of your presentation.

Step #3: Invite audience participation

As we have previously mentioned, many of the experts we have contacted stressed the importance of increasing audience engagement.

Knowing your audience is a big part of that equation, as Dr. Lee M. Pierce would testify:

“Presentations should take advantage of what makes them unique — having an audience. Engage them, [and] introduce yourself. Just don’t start with a question right away — that’s asking too much too soon.”

Then again, many of the experts we have spoken to have said that asking questions is a good way to invite audience participation.

For example, Nadia Bilchik would even engage her audiences on a more physical level:

“I like to ask my audience a thought-provoking question. This gets them from passive to active mode. I also always get my audience to stand up and do a breathing exercise.”

Nadia also provided us with an example of an audience interaction she might use in the introduction of her speaking engagements. For example, she might ask the audience:

“ How do you rate your ability to present information in a concise, clear, and confident manner? High, medium, or low?”

After receiving her answers by a show of hands or even an online poll, she connects the response to the topic of her presentation by stating:

“Wherever you are on the spectrum, in the next X minutes, I will share tips and techniques to ensure you have a greater impact every time you communicate to an audience of one or 100!”

That’s a textbook opener you can use to introduce the topics of your own presentation, too!

Step #4: Put it all together

Remember, nothing is stopping you from combining the tips we have mentioned throughout this guide to create a presentation introduction that is wholly unique to you.

If you’re unsure how to do that, let’s analyze a professional speaker’s technique.

Mark Beal told us about a presentation opening he’s created for his lectures:

“I start each of my Gen Z keynote presentations by physically walking off the stage and into the audience and asking a series of Gen Z trivia questions. 

For those who answer the questions directly, I reward them with a copy of my latest Gen Z book. By taking this proactive approach, I physically engage the audience immediately not from the podium but in their seats. 

My presentation instantly transforms from a one-way monologue into a two-way conversation and the audience begins to learn about my topic, Gen Z, in a fun and informative way.”

Can you connect the strategies Mark has used with the tips we have discussed? Let’s list them:

• Walking off the stage adds an element of drama and establishes a commanding presence,
• Asking questions engages the audience right off the bat,
• Rewarding the audience with a book promotes engagement throughout the presentation, and
• The books themselves are both an interesting prop and proof of Beal’s qualifications.

When you start researching famous speakers to prepare for your presentation, try dissecting the strategies they’re using.

Start your presentations right — With Pumble!

As you have seen above, it is crucial to conceptualize and think of your presentation’s starting lines. 

To check if everything is fine, you can reach out to your colleagues via direct messages or dedicated channels and ask them for their opinions. 

Your colleagues might provide some useful tips that will help you further improve your presentation in threads , just below your message or post. 

As Dr Lee M. Pearce pinpoints, having the right audience for the presentation is important. Hence, we recommend scheduling a video call so your closest colleagues and invited guests can see your new presentation and its opening lines, and provide suggestions, if necessary. 

Of course, Pumble also comes in handy when it comes to holding presentations — thanks to its screen sharing feature that allows you to present to the entire meeting. 

Finally, Pumble has an unlimited message history , so every message or file you have sent will forever stay in your message history. That might come in handy if you ever have to work on a similar presentation in the future. 

Secure, real-time communication for professionals.

Olga Milicevic is a communication researcher and author dedicated to making your professional life a bit easier. She believes that everyone should have the tools necessary to respond to their coworkers’ requests and communicate their own professional needs clearly and kindly.

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Learning English with Oxford

The latest language learning tips, resources, and content from oxford university press., useful phrases for giving a presentation in english.

• by Oxford University Press ELT
• Posted on April 21, 2023 February 2, 2024

Giving a presentation in English can be challenging, but with these helpful phrases, you can feel confident and ready to make a good presentation in English. 

Starting your presentation

So how to start a presentation in English? Begin by saying hello and welcoming everyone. You can also thank the audience for being there with you. 

The beginning of the presentation is one of the most important parts because you need to make sure your audience is interested from the start. 

You could tell a short story, give a fact, or simply tell the audience a little bit about yourself, e.g. ‘ Let me start by telling you a little bit about myself …’ 

Then, introduce what your presentation is about by giving an opening statement or an overview of your session. For example, ‘Today, I am going to talk to you about …’ or, ‘Today, we’ll be looking at/focusing on …’. 

You can also tell the audience, ‘ If you have any questions, please raise your hand and I’ll be happy to answer them’ … or ‘ We’ll have time at the end for questions.’

Presenting the topic

When you get into the main part of giving your presentation in English, remember that what you’re saying to your audience is new information. Speak slowly, organise your ideas, and make sure your pronunciation is clear. You can learn more about boosting your pronunciation here . 

Use expressions to order your ideas and introduce new ones. You can use words and phrases to sequence like, firstly/first of all, secondly, then, next, following this, and lastly/finally. 

If you want to introduce the opposite point of view, you can use language like however, on the other hand, contrary to this and then again. 

It’s a good idea to link what you are saying back to previous things you have said. This shows you have a well-organised presentation and also helps keep people engaged. For example, ‘as I said previously/at the beginning …’, ‘as you may remember’ and ‘this relates to what I said about ….’

Highlighting information during your talk 

When you are giving a presentation in English, you might want to highlight a particular piece of information or something that’s important. You can use phrases such as ‘Let’s focus on …’, ‘I want to highlight …’,   ‘Pay attention to …’, ‘Let’s look at …’, ‘I want to briefly address …’, or ‘Now, let’s discuss ….’ You can use these phrases after your sequencing words to help you with your structure. 

You can also highlight information by asking your audience their opinion of what you are saying or having them engage with the presentation in some way. For example, you could ask a question and have the audience raise their hands if they agree, or disagree, or if you want to find out how many of them have experience with the situation you’re discussing. Asking questions is a good way to make sure you still have the audience’s attention after you’ve been speaking for a while.

You can also highlight information on your visuals if you’re using them. Use bright, impactful pictures and colours, and don’t include too much writing on your slides.  

Finalising the talk 

At the end of the presentation, you should summarise your talk and remind the audience of the things you have discussed, and the new information you have given them. You can say things like ‘In summary, we have looked at …’, ‘I’d like to finish by …’, and ‘We’re coming to the end of the presentation. We’ve discussed …’. 

You can then ask the audience for any questions you haven’t already answered. 

What are your experiences of giving a presentation in English? Do you have any other tips to add? Share below!

Billie Jago is an ELT writer and teacher trainer, specialising in digital & assessments. She is the founder of the professional development podcast ELTcpd and co-founder of the digital ELT content agency, otterelt .

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Author: Oxford University Press ELT

Every year we help millions of people around the world to learn English. As a department of the University of Oxford, we further the University’s objective of excellence in education by publishing proven and tested language learning books, eBooks, learning materials, and educational technologies. View all posts by Oxford University Press ELT

before You start your presentation ,try please to mention the time duration . sometimes people should be informed so that we can take a coffe break or cigarettes break in order to make evry one happy with the topics

Here is the tip I would add according to my experience :

end your presentation on a positive note, for example with a funny sentence /image /meme / an inspirational quote, in short something that will make your talk pleasant to remember.

Valentina T.

You need to chill out and show calmness and confidence. You should rehearse your presentation on the stage some time before its previously stated time.

Clear, cogent & commanding. Thanks.

I think to get better respond to presentation you can do some mistakes in it and then explain it the end or in the next presentation. Because if anyone would like to learn something also should show involvement.

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How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation [with Examples]

In this post, we are going to cover the best way, a very simple three-step process that will help you introduce yourself in a presentation. A summary of the steps is below.

• Start with your name and company (or organization or school).
• Tell your audience what problem you can solve for them.
• Share some type of proof (social proof works best) that you can solve this problem.

I will break down each step into a simple-to-follow process. But first… a little background.

First, Identify What Your Audience Wants from Your Presentation

So, before you design your introduction, think about what your audience wants from your presentation. Why do they want to spend their valuable time listening to you? Are going to waste their time? Or, are you going to provide them with something valuable?

For instance, I have expertise in a number of different areas. I’m a public speaking coach, a keynote speaker, a best-selling author, a search engine optimization specialist, and a popular podcaster. However, if I delivered that sentence to any audience, the most likely reaction would be, “So what?” That sentence doesn’t answer any of the above questions. The statement is also really “me-focused” not “audience-focused.”

So, when I start to design my self-introduction, I want to focus just on the area of expertise related to my topic. I’m then going to answer the questions above about that particular topic. Once you have these answers, set them aside for a second. They will be important later.

How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation in Class.

Instead, you probably want to add in a fun way to start a speech . For example, instead of introducing yourself in your class speech and starting in an awkward way, start with a startling statistic. Or start with a summary of your conclusion. Or, you could start the presentation with an inspirational quote.

Each of these presentation starters will help you lower your nervousness and decrease your awkwardness.

If you are delivering a speech in a speech competition or to an audience who doesn’t know you try this technique. Just introduce yourself by saying your name , the school you represent , and your topic . Make it easy. This way you get to your content more quickly and lower your nervousness.

Typically, after you get the first few sentences out of the way, your nervousness will drop dramatically. Since your name, school, and topic should be very easy to remember, this takes the pressure off you during the most nervous moments.

Obviously, follow the guidelines that your teacher or coach gives you. (The competition may have specific ways they want you to introduce yourself.)

How to Introduce Yourself in a Business Presentation — A Step-by-Step Guide.

In a professional setting, when new people walk into a meeting and don’t know what to expect, they will feel uncomfortable. The easiest way to ease some of that tension is to chat with your audience as they come into the room.

By the way, if you are looking for a template for an Elevator Speech , make sure to click this link.

Step #1: Start with your name and company name (or organization).

This one is easy. Just tell your audience your name and the organization that you are representing. If your organization is not a well-known brand name, you might add a short clarifying description. For instance, most people outside of the training industry have never heard of The Leader’s Institute ®. So, my step #1 might sound something like…

Hi, I’m Doug Staneart with The Leader’s Institute ®, an international leadership development company…

Still short and sweet, but a little more clear to someone who has never heard of my company.

Should you give your job title? Well… Maybe and sometimes. Add your title into the introduction only if your title adds to your credibility.

For example, if you are delivering a financial presentation and you are the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of your company, you might mention that. Your title adds to your credibility. However, if the CFO is delivering a presentation about the value of joining a trade association, the CFO title adds little credibility. So, there is very little value in adding the title.

Step #2: Tell your audience what problem you can solve for them.

For instance, if my topic is how to deliver presentations, I have to determine why the audience would care. What problem will they have that I can help them with? For my audiences, the problem that I most often help people with is how to eliminate public speaking fear. Once I have the problem, I add that to my introduction by using the words, “I help people…”

Hi, I’m Doug Staneart with The Leader’s Institute ®, an international leadership development company, and I help people eliminate public speaking fear.

However, if my topic is How to Close a Higher Percentage of Sales Presentations , I’d likely want to alter my introduction a little. I might say something like…

Hi, I’m Doug Staneart with The Leader’s Institute ®, an international leadership development company, and I help people design more persuasive sales presentations.

I have expertise in both areas. However, I focus my introduction on just the expertise that is applicable to this audience. If I gave the first introduction to the second audience, they will likely respond by thinking, well, I don’t really get nervous speaking, so I guess I can tune out of this speech .

So, create a problem statement starting with, “I help people…” Make the statement apply to what your audience really wants.

Step #3: Share some type of proof (social proof works best) that you can solve this problem.

By the way, if you just do steps #1 and #2, your introduction will be better than most that you will hear. However, if you add Step #3, you will gain more respect (and attention) from your audience. Without adding some type of proof that you can solve this problem, you are just giving your opinion that you are an expert. However, if you can prove it, you are also proving that you are an expert.

This is the tricky part. For some reason, most people who get to this part feel like they haven’t accomplished great things, so they diminish the great accomplishments that they do have.

For instance, an easy way to offer proof is with a personal story of how you have solved that problem in the past.

A Few Examples of How to Introduce Yourself Before a Presentation.

For instance, one of my early clients was a young accountant. When I was working with him, he came up with the following introduction, “I’m Gary Gorman with Gorman and Associates CPA’s, and I help small businesses avoid IRS audits.” It was a great, audience-focused attention-getter. (No one wants to get audited.) However, as an accountant, it wasn’t like his company was getting a lot of five-star reviews on Yelp! So, he was kind of struggling with his social proof. So, I asked him a series of questions.

Me, “How many clients do you have?”

Gary, “Over 300.”

Me, “How many small business tax returns have you processed?”

Gary, “Well, at least a couple hundred a year for 15 years.”

Me, “So, at least 3000?” He nodded. “How many of your 300 clients have been audited since you have been representing them?”

He looked at me and said, “Well, none.”

So, we just added that piece of proof to his talk of introduction.

I’m Gary Gorman with Gorman and Associates CPA’s, and I help small businesses avoid IRS audits. In fact, in my career, I’ve helped clients complete over 3000 tax returns, and not a single one has ever been audited.

Here Is How I Adjust My Introduction Based on What I Want the Audience to Do.

For my proof, I have a number of options. Just like Gary, I have had a lot of clients who have had great successes. In addition, I have published two best-selling books about public speaking. I also have hundreds of thousands of people who listen to my podcast each week. So, I can pick my evidence based on what I want my audience to do.

For instance, if I’m speaking at a convention, and I want the audience to come by my booth to purchase my books, my introduction might sound like this.

Hi, I’m Doug Staneart with The Leader’s Institute ®, an international leadership development company, and I help people eliminate public speaking fear. One of the things that I’m most know for is being the author of two best-selling books, Fearless Presentations and Mastering Presentations.

However, if I’m leading a webinar, I may want the audience to purchase a seat in one of my classes. In that case, my introduction might sound like this.

Hi, I’m Doug Staneart with The Leader’s Institute ®, an international leadership development company, and I help people eliminate public speaking fear. For instance, for the last 20 years, I’ve taught public speaking classes to over 20,000 people, and I haven’t had a single person fail to reduce their nervousness significantly in just two days.

If my goal is to get the audience to subscribe to my podcast, my intro might sound like…

Hi, I’m Doug Staneart with The Leader’s Institute ®, an international leadership development company, and I help people eliminate public speaking fear. One of the ways that I do this is with my weekly podcast called, Fearless Presentations, which has over one million downloads, so far.

Use the Form Below to Organize How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation.

The point is that you want to design your introduction in a way that makes people pause and think, “Really? That sounds pretty good.” You want to avoid introductions that make your audience think, “So what?”

If you have a speech coming up and need a good introduction, complete the form below. We will send you your answers via email!

Can You Replace Your Introduction with a PowerPoint Slide?

Is it okay to make your first slide (or second slide) in your presentation slides an introduction? Sure. A good public speaker will often add an introduction slide with a biography, portrait, and maybe even contact information. I sometimes do this myself.

However, I NEVER read the slide to my audience. I often just have it showing while I deliver the short introduction using the guide above. This is a great way to share more of your work experience without sounding like you are bragging.

For tips about how many powerpoint slides to use in a presentation , click here.

Remember that There Is a Big Difference Between Your Introduction in a Presentation and Your Presentation Starter.

When you introduce yourself in a presentation, you will often just use a single sentence to tell the audience who you are. You only use this intro if the audience doesn’t know who you are. Your presentation starter, though, is quite different. Your presentation starter should be a brief introduction with relevant details about what you will cover in your presentation.

For details, see Great Ways to Start a Presentation . In that post, we show ways to get the attention of the audience. We also give examples of how to use an interesting hook, personal stories, and how to use humor to start a presentation.

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Learn Formal and Informal Phrases for Presentations

In this Business English lesson, you’re going to learn what Formal and Informal Means, the differences in Formal and Informal Presentations and examples of Formal and Informal Phrases to help ‘Start your Presentation.’

Watch the lesson and then read the article for definitions and examples.

It’s recommended to download the cheat sheet below.

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Understanding Formal Situations

A formal situation requires professionalism and follows certain rules of etiquette and protocol.

When do we use Formal Language?

We use formal language when we talk to:-

• people we don’t know.
• people in positions of authority.
• people who are older than we are.
• people we want to impress.

How do Formal Phrases differ in comparison to Informal Phrases?

When we use Formal Phrases, grammar is usually more complex, and sentences are generally longer. Normal, everyday phrases are used in informal presentations.

When will I use Formal Phrases in my Presentation?

• When you don’t know your audience, and you want to make a convincing first impression.
• When there’s an expectation that you prepare thoroughly beforehand.
• When the audience that you’re presenting to is a professional group of people.

What kind of Presentations would benefit from Formal Phrases?

• Training Presentations.
• Business Presentations.
• Academic Presentations.
• Public Speaking (speeches, lectures.)
• External Invitations to speak.

Examples of Formal Phrases to help Start your Presentation

“Good morning, everyone. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Martin Short, and I work in the Research Department.”

“Hello everybody. Before we start, let me introduce myself briefly: My name is Maria Kinsella, and I’m the Head of Research.”

“Good afternoon. On behalf of John Smith Industries, I’d like to welcome you.”

“My name is Teddy Shamrock and I am Senior Management of the Finance Department.”

“Good afternoon. My name is Jenny Mann and welcome to the fifth annual conference of Cosmic Industries.’

What clothes should I wear for a formal presentation?

You should dress at a professional level.

Should I use powerpoint/keynote slides for an formal presentation?

It’s the presenter’s decision. However, given that more preparation goes into a formal presentation, slides are more likely to be used.

Understanding Informal Situations

An informal situation is casual and laid back.

When do we use Informal Language?

We use informal language when we talk to:-

• family members.
• people we know well,
• people our own age.

Overall, to put it into perspective, you can talk with your audience like you talk to your friends in informal presentations.

When will I use Informal Phrases in my Presentation?

• When you are comfortable in the knowledge that you know your audience and that they will accept informal language and phrases.
• When there’s no real expectation that you should prepare thoroughly beforehand. (You do not have to be 100% prepared.)

What kind of Presentations would benefit from Informal Phrases?

• Mainly in-house presentations such as team meetings, 
• Group discussions, seminars.

Examples of Informal Phrases to help Start your Presentation

“Hey, guys! It’s great to be here today. If you don’t know me, I’m Marco, and I’m the Head of Public Relations.”

“Hi, there! It’s great to see so many new faces here today. Firstly, I’ll say hello: My name is Samantha, and I’m one of our Research Team Officers.”

“Hi everyone, I’m Barney, Senior Marketing Officer. Thanks for coming.”

“Hi folks, it’s great to see you all today. Just in case, I’m Tim, and I’m the company’s Media Officer.”

“It’s nice to see you all again, and thanks for coming to my talk about procurement. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Kylie, and I work in the Accounting Department as a clerk.”

What clothes should I wear for an informal presentation?

You can wear casual clothes.

Should I use powerpoint/keynote slides for an informal presentation?

It’s the presenter’s decision. However, given that less preparation goes into an informal presentation, slides are less likely to be used.

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How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

• Guy Kawasaki

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

• Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
• Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
• Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
• Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

• Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

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12+ Opening Speech Examples for Presentations & Quick Tips

Last updated on October 17th, 2023

These days, most of the audience prefers an informal approach in presentations, but at the same time, it must sound professional. When people prepare for any type of presentation, they often face this dilemma: how to start a presentation? What should be the opening speech? How much time should we take for the introduction part?

The first three minutes of your presentations are crucial to get to your audience with an engaging message and make the overall presentation effective. With the proper opening speech for your presentation, you can hook your audience, win the audience’s attention and get them audience interested in what you have to say. Check out some speech introduction examples to get familiar with this topic. Undoubtedly, if the beginning of your presentation is solid and exciting, the chances of success of your presentation increase. Opening your persuasive speech entirely depends upon your style and choice because when you are giving a presentation, you are required to be yourself and avoid putting artistic elements. So, choose something with which you are entirely comfortable.

If you are looking on how to start a speech then this article can help you to get some ideas. Here is a list of opening speech examples that you can use to prepare your presentations with a persuasive speech that convinces the audience. Find useful phrases and strategies to make your presentation a success:

1. Opening Speech with Greetings

This is the very basic, common and important step in which you need to greet your audience by wish them good morning/afternoon or evening (as per the time of session in which you are giving presentation). How to start a speech? Check out some of the examples below including a simple but effective speech introduction greeting example.

Example of Opening Greetings

Hello, everyone. I’d like, first of all, to thank the organizers of this meeting for inviting me here today.

Another example of opening Greeting speech.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am honored to have the opportunity to address such a distinguished audience.

2. Open the Speech by Giving Compliment & Show Gratitude towards your Audience

Secondly, just after wishing greeting to your audience give them compliment and choose some words which show that you are delighted to see them there.

Example: 

It’s great to see you all, Thank you for coming here today.

3. Give your introduction: Introduce Yourself

How you introduce yourself during a presentation is important. There are many ways to introduce yourself. Here we will see some examples on how to introduce yourself in a presentation. First of all, give your introduction start from telling your name. You can show some casual attitude by telling your short name or nick name, and then tell the audience more about your background and what you do.

For example, a good way to start introducing yourself could be:

My name is Louis Taylor, friends call me Lee sometimes.

Then introduce yourself professionally and give quite information about what you do and why are here today. For Example:

I am a software engineer by profession and working in ABC Corp. Today, I am here to provide you some exciting information about new technology, which is going to be very beneficial for you in future.

Another example of self-introduction speech:

For those of you who don’t know me already, my name is Louis Taylor, and I’m responsible for the software department at ABC Corp.

Using a self-introduction template and slide in your presentation, you can support your speech while presenting the information about you in the projection. You can also visit self introduction speech examples to find out some examples on how to introduce yourself and download self-introduction templates for PowerPoint & Google Slides.

4. Opening with the Topic of the Speech

Next is the part where you introduce the topic of your presentation or speech. Here are some examples of good opening speech for presentations examples on a specific topic.

What I’d like to present to you today is…

Or here is a simplified example of a good introduction for presentation in which we try to get the audience’s attention over the screen where you are presenting the content of your PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation.

As you can see on the screen, our topic today is…

5. Signpost

Put all your information in front of them and then put your proposal and its related information and key point by which you can implement and utilize that idea effectively. Now let collect these points to make a summary and concise illustration. Here is an example of presentation starting speech that you can use:

“Good afternoon every one, it’s great to see you all here, thank you for coming. My name is Louis Taylor, friends call me Lee sometimes. I am a software engineer by profession and working with ABC Ltd. Today we are here to know about new software so that we can take most of it. Firstly, we will look how it work, next we will discuss where can we use it, then we will learn what are its advantages and finally we will discuss what precautions are required to kept in mind while implementing it.”

6. Creating an Emotional Connection in Your Opening Speech

An effective opening speech is not just about presenting information or stating facts; it’s about forging an emotional connection with your audience. Building this connection can make your presentation more engaging, relatable, and memorable. Here are some strategies to achieve this:

Storytelling: One of the most powerful ways to establish an emotional connection is through storytelling. Sharing a personal anecdote or a relevant story can evoke emotions and draw your audience into your presentation. Make sure your story aligns with the overall theme of your presentation and adds value to your message.

Example of speech opening:

“Good morning, everyone. When I was a little boy, I used to watch my grandfather work tirelessly on his old typewriter. The clacking of the keys was a lullaby that lulled me into dreams of creating something impactful. Today, I am here to talk about the evolution of technology and its effect on communication, from typewriters of old to the smartphones of today.”

Relatability: Find common ground with your audience. This could be based on shared experiences, values, or aspirations. Doing so helps to humanize you, making it easier for your audience to relate to your message.

“Like many of you, I too struggle with maintaining a work-life balance in this fast-paced digital world. Today, I’ll share some strategies I’ve discovered that have significantly improved my quality of life.”

Utilizing Emotions: Use emotions like humor, surprise, curiosity, or inspiration to engage your audience. Different emotions can be used depending on the tone and purpose of your presentation.

“Did you know that the average person spends two weeks of their life waiting for traffic lights to change? That certainly puts our daily commute in a new light, doesn’t it?”

Remember, authenticity is crucial in building an emotional connection. Be yourself, share your experiences, and speak from the heart. This helps to gain your audience’s trust and keeps them engaged throughout your presentation.

7. Harnessing the Power of Visual Aids in Your Opening Speech

Visual aids are a potent tool in any presentation, particularly in your opening speech. They can grab your audience’s attention with a visually appealing cover slide, support your message, and make a lasting impression. Here are some ways you can utilize visual aids in your opening speech.

Images: An image is worth a thousand words, they say, and it’s true. An impactful or relevant image can pique the curiosity of your audience and set the tone for your presentation. Ensure the image aligns with your topic and contributes to your overall message.

“As you can see on the screen, this is an image of a barren desert. It may surprise you to learn that this was once a thriving forest. Today, I’ll be talking about climate change and its irreversible effects.”

Short Videos: A short video can be a great way to engage your audience. This could be a brief clip that illustrates your topic, a short animation, or even a quick introductory video about you or your organization.

Example of a presentation opening statement:

“Before we start, let’s watch this brief video about the incredible journey of a raindrop.”

Infographics and Charts: If you are sharing statistical data or complex information, infographic slides or charts can simplify and clarify your message. They are visually engaging and can help your audience understand and remember the information.

“Take a look at this chart. It shows the exponential increase in cybercrime over the last five years, a topic that we will delve into further today.”

Slides: A well-designed slide can provide a visual structure for your opening speech. It should be clean, easy to read, and should not distract from your speech. Avoid cluttering your slides with too much text or complex graphics.

“According to the infographic on the screen, we can see the three core areas we’ll be focusing on in today’s presentation.”

Remember, the goal of using visual slides is to enhance your message, not overshadow it. They should complement your speech and provide visual interest for your audience. Always test your visual aids beforehand to ensure they work properly during your presentation.

8. Engaging Your Audience with Rhetorical Questions

A rhetorical question is a powerful tool you can use in your opening speech to provoke thought and engage your audience. By posing a question that doesn’t require an answer, you can pique your audience’s interest, make them think, and steer their focus towards your presentation’s key points. Here’s how to use rhetorical questions effectively in your opening speech:

Spark Curiosity: Use a rhetorical question to spark curiosity about your topic. This question should be thought-provoking and relevant to your presentation.

“Have you ever stopped to wonder how much of your life is influenced by social media?”

Highlight Key Issues: A rhetorical question can help highlight the key issues or problems that your presentation aims to address. This will help your audience understand the importance of your topic.

“What would happen if our natural resources were to run out tomorrow?”

Encourage Reflection: Encourage your audience to reflect on their personal experiences or beliefs. This will make your presentation more relatable and engaging.

“How many of us truly understand the value of our mental health?”

Set the Tone: You can also use a rhetorical question to set the tone of your presentation, whether it’s serious, humorous, or contemplative.

“Is there anyone here who doesn’t love pizza?”

Remember, rhetorical questions are meant to stimulate thought, not to put anyone on the spot. Make sure your questions are relevant to your topic and are appropriate for your audience. With the right questions, you can grab your audience’s attention, keep them engaged, and guide their thinking throughout your presentation.

9. Leveraging Statistical Data in Your Opening Speech

Using statistical data in your opening speech is a powerful way to capture the audience’s attention and lend credibility to your message. Surprising or impactful statistics related to your presentation’s topic can instantly make your audience sit up and take notice. Here’s how you can incorporate statistical data effectively in your opening speech:

Relevant and Interesting Data: Choose statistics that are directly relevant to your topic and are likely to pique your audience’s interest. This data should enhance your message and provide valuable context for your presentation.

“Do you know that according to the World Health Organization, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting over 264 million people?”

Simplify Complex Data: If you’re presenting complex or dense data, make sure to simplify it for your audience. Use percentages, comparisons, or visual aids like infographics or charts to make the data easily understandable.

“Look at this chart. It represents the staggering 80% increase in cybercrime incidents over the past five years.”

Credible Sources: Always ensure your data comes from credible and reputable sources. This not only adds legitimacy to your presentation, but it also boosts your credibility as a speaker.

“According to a recent study published in the Journal of Environmental Science, air pollution contributes to 1 in 8 deaths worldwide.”

Shocking or Surprising Data: If you have statistics that are surprising or counter-intuitive, they can be an excellent way to grab your audience’s attention and spark curiosity about your presentation.

“Can you believe that, according to the United Nations, we waste approximately 1.3 billion tons of food every year, while one in nine people worldwide go hungry?”

Using statistical data in your opening speech can help to highlight the significance of your topic, draw your audience in, and lay a solid foundation for the rest of your presentation. Remember to present your data in a clear, accessible way, and always cite your sources to maintain credibility.

10. Creating a Powerful Hook with Anecdotes and Quotations

Anecdotes and quotations can be a powerful tool in your opening speech, serving as hooks that draw your audience into your presentation. They can provide a human element to your topic, connect with your audience on an emotional level, and add depth to your message. Here’s how you can effectively incorporate anecdotes and quotations in your opening speech:

Relevant Anecdotes: Sharing a relevant anecdote, whether personal or related to your topic, can make your presentation more relatable and engaging. Your anecdote should be brief, interesting, and serve to illustrate a point related to your topic.

“When I was a teenager, my family’s home was destroyed by a fire. That experience ignited in me a passion for safety measures and awareness, which brings us to today’s topic: fire safety in residential areas.”

Inspiring Quotations: A well-chosen quote can add depth and perspective to your topic. It can inspire, provoke thought, or set the tone for your presentation. Presenting it with a visually appealing quote slide increases the chances to make a lasting impression. Make sure the quote is relevant to your topic and from a credible source.

“Albert Einstein once said, ‘The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.’ This leads us into our discussion today on the importance of mindset in personal development.”

Humorous Anecdotes or Quotations: Depending on the formality of the setting and the topic of your presentation, a funny anecdote or quote can help to relax the audience, making them more receptive to your message.

“Mark Twain once said, ‘I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.’ As a fellow writer, I can relate to this sentiment, which brings us to our topic today: the art of concise writing.”

Remember, your anecdote or quote should serve to enhance your message, not distract from it. It should be interesting, relevant, and appropriately timed. With the right anecdote or quote, you can create a powerful hook that engages your audience from the outset.

11. Integrating Storytelling in your Opening Speech

Storytelling is a compelling method to make your opening speech memorable and engaging. A well-told story can create a strong emotional connection with your audience, making your presentation more impactful. Here’s how to effectively weave storytelling into your opening speech:

Choosing the Right Story: The story you tell should be relevant to your topic and capable of illustrating the point you’re trying to make. It could be a personal experience, a case study, or a historical event.

“Years ago, I worked on a project that, at the outset, seemed destined for success. But due to a lack of clear communication within the team, the project failed. Today, we will be discussing the importance of effective communication within teams.”

Creating Suspense: Build suspense in your story to hold your audience’s attention. You can do this by posing a problem or a conflict at the beginning of your story, which gets resolved by the end of your presentation.

“One day, as I was walking through a remote village in Africa, I came across a scene that profoundly changed my perspective. But before I reveal what it was, let’s discuss the issue of clean drinking water in underdeveloped countries.”

Showing, Not Telling: Make your story more vivid and engaging by showing, not telling. Use descriptive language and paint a picture with your words to make your audience feel like they’re part of the story.

“As the sun rose over the bustling city of Tokyo, I found myself in a small sushi shop tucked away in a quiet alley, experiencing what would become a pivotal moment in my culinary journey.”

Relatable Characters: If your story involves characters, make them relatable. Your audience should be able to see themselves in your characters, or at least understand their motivations and challenges.

“Meet Sarah, a single mother of two, working two jobs just to make ends meet. Her struggle is the reason we’re here today, to discuss the issue of minimum wage in our country.”

Storytelling is a powerful tool that can bring your presentation to life. A well-told story can captivate your audience, making your message more memorable and impactful. Be sure to select a story that aligns with your overall message and is appropriate for your audience.

12. Incorporating Interactive Elements in Your Opening Speech

Involving your audience from the get-go can make your presentation more engaging and memorable. By integrating interactive elements into your opening speech, you can foster a sense of participation and connection among your listeners. Here’s how you can do it:

Audience Polling: Modern presentation software often includes real-time polling features. You can ask your audience a question related to your topic and display the results instantly.

“To start, I’d like to ask you all a question. (Show poll on screen) How many of you think that Artificial Intelligence will significantly change our lives in the next ten years?”

Questions for Thought: Pose a thought-provoking question to your audience at the beginning of your speech. It can stimulate curiosity and get your listeners thinking about your topic.

“Before we delve into today’s topic, I want you to ponder this: what would you do if you had only 24 hours left to live? Keep that in mind as we discuss the importance of time management.”

Physical Engagement: Depending on the formality and size of your audience, you can incorporate physical engagement. This can range from a simple show of hands to engaging activities.

“By a show of hands, how many of you have ever felt overwhelmed by the amount of information available on the internet? That’s what we’ll be discussing today: information overload in the digital age.”

Interactive Quizzes: Quizzes can be a fun and interactive way to engage your audience and test their knowledge on your topic. It can also serve as a hook to introduce your topic. You can use a free Quiz PowerPoint template to ease the job of creating a quiz for your presentation.

“I have a quick quiz for you all (show quiz on screen). Let’s see who can guess the most common fear among adults. The answer will lead us into our topic of discussion today: overcoming fear.”

Remember, the goal of incorporating interactive elements is to engage your audience, so it should be relevant and add value to your presentation. Tailor your interactive elements to suit the needs and preferences of your audience, and you’ll have a winning opening speech.

What are the Objectives of Preparing a Good Introduction and Opening Speech?

As we mentioned earlier, the first minutes of your presentation are crucial to hook the audience and let them pay attention to the message you want to convey. This will depend on the type of presentation (if it is persuasive presentation, informative presentation or a presentation for entertaining the audience), but in general terms, when presenting we need to:

• Capture the audience’s attention
• Present information, opinions, ideas to the audience.
• Present important details about a specific topic.
• Sell an idea.
• Make the information memorable so it can persist over the time.
• Get your audience to take action, a Call to Action. E.g. purchase a product, enroll to something, fundraise, etc.

Real-Life Examples of Effective Opening Speeches

Barack Obama started his speech in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner saying: “You can’t say it, but you know it’s true.”

In same cases, humour can be a great companion for your speech. If you can use humour in a positive way, then getting a laugh in the first seconds of a presentation can get your audience hooked. It is a great way to open your speech.

Final Thoughts

Try to make habit of starting your presentation this way, it will sound great. You may come across several more opening speech examples for presentation but, once you implement this you yourself will realize that this is the best one. Alternatively you can learn more on quotes for presentations & speech topics  to use during your presentation in PowerPoint, learn how to close your presentation , or find other relevant speech introduction greeting examples.

49 comments on “ 12+ Opening Speech Examples for Presentations & Quick Tips ”

thank you very much

Hi Kavishki, we hope the article was useful for you. Will be great to learn more about how you have used the speech examples. If you need more speech ideas, I’d recommend you free Persuasive Speech topics .

hi,good morning all of you.i’m shadi.now i’m going to do a panel discussion.we want some informations from you we believe all will support us.

Hi Kavishki, good morning. Can please provide more information about the Panel Discussion needs and if it involves a PowerPoint presentation? We’d be happy to be of help!

This was very useful to me! But i need more speech ideas!

Being a content person myself,i’ve gotta be honest.Now this was assisting,you bet…great stuffow.

Thank you so much. It’s very helpful. Keep it up.. Good luck <3

plesae i would like u my pleasure to help me with some opening celebration word,s specially greeting to the audience

It would be appreciable if you share more speech about this.thank you.

thanks a lot for dis.. really its very helpful

I do thank you for the tips you provided me with on how to make speeches/presentations.

a very gud thanks for such tips

Thank you for the information. Very good tips.

thanks you for the great ideas. this can help me to improve my presentation skill.

this information very nice to me.i get many new thing after i read this article.this information can help me to make a good presentation later.thank you.

I think this article is very useful for me to make presentations. Thank.

I think it is true.Keep it up.

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i hope someone could teach me present more effectively. i would appreciate it

Thank you for the information.i can learn about the article/speech with simple and easy to understand..

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Good tips on how to start a presentation.

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This tips makes me more confident . Thank you very much and break a leg guys !

Hi, I’m Gayathiri. I would like to thank you for giving such a helpful tips. I will defenitely use this tips in my speech/presentation.So, I hope my friends also use this tips for their presentation.

it was a good tip for us newbie on how to make a speech without any worries.

Thank you for your note and tip… It can change me to be a good student..

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this all very useful tips…can boost my confident during the presentation.thank you so much….

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I need to view ths document

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Thank you for the information about the introduction during pesentation.Truely,i really need to study lot about how to start my presentation so that the audience are interesting to hear what i want to talk about and do not feel bored.

it’s is very usefull article that can use as our revision in upcoming for the next presentation.Thank you..

Thank you miss because of this article, it can help me on my next presentation.

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this article has many tips for prepare to our presentation.thank you for sharing this article.

Thanks for the useful information. Can I ask how can I improve my self-confidence so as not to be embarrassed when presenting? Any idea? Thank you.

thank you..i’ll try to use those information for my presentation so i’ll be the best presenter in my class

this information very nice and useful to me.i get many new thing and tips after i read this article.this information can help me to make a good and better presentation later.thank you for useful information and meaningful for me

first of all, thank you for the help. there are a lot of great idea for me to use for my next presentation

Hi please i would like you to help me write an introduction for a speech about myself to my teacher

It’s help my presentation

Thank you so so much I will tell this at the UNIVERSITY presentation

please i really love your speech but can you please throw more light on the introduction

Hi every body I have entretien to USA Ambassi.

I need good presentation.

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Signposts for Presentations

Signposts are words or phrases that guide the listener during a presentation. They let the listener know what has happened so far, and what is going to happen next. Below is a guide for using signposts during a presentation. It is divided into three sections: signposts for the introduction of a presentation, signposts for the middle of a presentation, and signposts for the conclusion of a presentation. The first column contains signposts for a formal presentation, and the second column contains signposts for an informal presentation.

Signposts for the Introduction of a Presentation

Signposts for the middle of a presentation, signposts for the conclusion of a presentation.

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Informal & Professional English Greetings for Every Situation

Dec 7, 2022 | Advanced Vocabulary

This lesson was originally posted in February 2016. It was updated in December 2022 with new content and a video lesson.

Have you ever heard someone you don’t know say, 

• Hey, what’s up?
• Hi, how’s it going?

Perhaps it was a stranger you walked past in your neighborhood. Or someone you’ve seen at work once or twice but you don’t really know.

What exactly are they asking? Do they want to know how your day is going?

And is it polite or respectful to say “Hey, how’s it going” even with people you don’t know very well, like your neighbors?

Well. Sometimes. 

In this Confident English lesson, you’ll learn other ways to say hello in English with greetings for professional situations, casual conversations, and encounters with strangers or people you don’t know well. 

You’ll understand the nuances of age, for example greeting peers vs. someone older than you.

And you’ll l earn a common structure of English greetings – most of the time, we don’t stop with a simple hello.  

Lastly, if you’re not sure what someone really wants to know when they say, “What’s up” or “How’s it going”, we’ll talk about that too. Including when someone truly wants to know how you’re doing.

English Greetings for Informal and Professional Situations — Other Ways to Say Hello

Common structure for english greetings.

Let’s start with a structure you’re likely to hear (and use) for spoken greetings in English. 

In an effort to be friendly and polite, it’s not uncommon for an English speaker to casually greet a friend, a neighbor, an acquaintance, or even a stranger with a greeting such as 

• Hey, how are ya?

To be clear, these are casual, friendly greetings that can be used in a variety of situations. 

And they all mean one thing: hello .

These are simple, polite greetings that acknowledge someone’s presence or take the first step in starting a conversation.

In this structure, you have a single greeting word (hi/hey) + a question. 

For example, How’s it going or what’s up?

However, this isn’t the same as asking: how are you? 

It’s not an invitation to talk about your day, how you’re feeling, or what’s happening at work right now.

In fact, the only response expected is a similar: “ Hey, how’s it going ?” or “ Hi. Good. You? ”

In other words, you exchange one greeting with a similar greeting. No one shares specific details about how they are feeling or what is happening in their life.

What this means is two strangers might politely pass each other on the street and say: 

A: Hey, what’s up?

B: Hey, how’s it going?

In this exchange, they are simply saying hello to each other.

If that’s the case, then how do you know when someone is REALLY asking: How are you?

That’s a great question. And I’ll be answering shortly but first, let’s look at other ways to say hello casually and professionally.

English Greetings for Informal Situations

Let’s start with casual greetings to use most of the time, whether you’re greeting a friend, a coworker on the elevator, a neighbor you’ve never spoken to, or a complete stranger on an early morning walk.

Because I’m an American and I currently live in the U.S., I’ll focus on greetings used in the United States.

There may be common greetings where you live that I haven’t included here. 

If you’re not sure what to say, I recommend listening to others around you, particularly those who consistently speak with politeness, kindness, and warmth. Which greetings to they typically use? 

This is a good way to identify the best ways to say hello to others where you live.

Now here are several you can use: 

Good Morning

This is the most formal way to say hello in casual conversation but it’s also very friendly and warm. With this combination of formality and warmth, it’s perfect to use when passing by a stranger on a morning walk, greeting a neighbor, or saying hello to coworkers.

Of course, because it includes the word ‘morning’ we stop using it around noon.

Hello / Hi / Hey / Hey there 

These are all common ways of saying “hello” in a casual, friendly way, and quite often, these are immediately followed by a question such as…

How’s it going? / What’s going on? / How’s everything? 

These questions are typically combined with hi, hey, or hey there. For example

• Hey, how’s everything? 
• Hey there. How’s it going?
• Hello. How’s it going?

When responding to these greetings, the expectation is that you use simple answers or simply respond with a similar greeting. For example

• Good, thanks. You?
• Fine thanks, you?
• Everything’s great, thanks. You?

What’s up? / What’s new?

Similar to how’s it going but more informal is what’s up or what’s new . 

For example:

Common responses include:

• Hey, what’s new?

Here is an example dialogue:

A: Hey Mina, what’s up?

B: Oh, hey. Not much. How’s it going?

While not as common as hi or hey, you may occasionally hear “yo.” It is typically only used with individuals who know each other well and is more common

“Howdy” is a regional greeting, which means it is only used in some areas of the United States. 

Good to see you. / It’s been ages! (since I’ve seen you.) / Where have you been hiding? / What have you been up to? 

These are common greetings when you have not seen someone you know for some time and often follow a hi or hey .

These expressions can be used as part of your greeting when you see someone unexpectedly, at a party, a family gathering, etc. 

The question “ where have you been hiding ” invites conversation. It is a way of saying, “ How have you been? ” Here is an example dialogue:

A: Hey! It’s good to see you! It’s been ages! Where have you been hiding?

B: Hi Sue, what’s up? I’ve just been busy, working a lot of long hours. What about you? How have you been?

A: Everything’s good. Nothing new really.

English Greetings for Professional Situations

Let’s transition to situations in which we may need more formal or business professional language in English. Some common examples include

• Business meetings & negotiations
• At a job interview
• Communicating with high-level management
• Saying hello to the company president or CEO
• Meeting new business colleagues
• Communicating with new clients, high-level clients, angry clients

Good morning / Good afternoon / Good Evening

Good morning is the only one on this list that is commonly used in place of “hello” when greeting an individual. 

To be particularly respectful, you can also include the person’s last name, for example: “ Good morning, Ms Jones .” If you know someone well, you can also use their first name.

  When you are greeting a group of people – for example at a meeting – you can also say something such as:

• Good morning, everyone. I hope you are doing well this morning .

In greeting an entire group, this is also when someone might use Good afternoon or Good evening. 

For example, at the start of a presentation or lecture.

How do you do?

How do you do is a bit old-fashioned and not often used. In fact, I’m not sure if I’ve ever used it. 

It is also quite formal and is used when meeting someone for the first time. 

It’s often confused with the question “How are you?” but it isn’t a question at all. How do you do is a statement. A greeting. It’s an alternative to “I’m pleased to meet you.”

Hello / Hi 

Similar to the casual greetings we discussed, we’ll often start a professional conversation with a simple hi or hello.

How have you been doing? / How have you been?

Similar to asking “how’s it going,” these questions will often be used after a hi or hello as a polite greeting.

The expectation is to receive a short, positive focused response such as:

• Great, thank you. And you?
• Very well. How are you?
• Good thanks. How about you?

When does “How are you” mean “How are you?”

With our casual and professional greetings, we’ve heard many alternatives to the question “How are you” including

• How’s it going?
• What’s new?
• How have you been?

But none of them really ask, how are you? When those questions get asked in a greeting, we don’t really expect a lengthy conversation about how you’re doing.

So when does someone what a real answer? When does someone truly want to know how you are?

The secret: they will ask you twice. 

Imagine you unexpectedly see a coworker at the grocery store. Here’s what that conversation might sound like:

• Your Coworker: Hey Sue! Good to see you. How’s it going?
• You: Good thanks. And you?
• Your Coworker. Everything’s fine. Just busy with the kids, of course. So how are you? It’s been a tough few weeks at work with the looming deadline, hasn’t it?

What do you notice?

In that dialogue, the coworker asked ‘how are you’ a second time, after the initial polite greeting. When that happens, someone really wants to know how you’re doing.

I’d love to hear from you! What is your favorite greeting in English? 

In your English life, do you use informal or professional greetings more often? What lessons have you learned about greetings in English from your own experiences?

Please be sure to share your experiences or ask questions in the comments section below.

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Hello Annmarie, I’ve got a question. My Japanese colleague told me that once I said “Good morning” to greet someone in the morning, then I couldn’t use “Good afternoon” to greet the same person later that day. I should use “Hello” or “Hi” instead. Is this correct?

Hi Calla, interesting question. I have never heard that advice before. The greetings ‘Good morning’ and ‘Good afternoon’ are perfectly appropriate at any time. They are both highly formal and polite. Using ‘hello’ or ‘hi’ are also okay. They are less formal and they suggest a level of closeness with the other person.

Thank you so much!💛

Hello Annmarie, Thank you dear, for your English lesson it was very helpful. 

You’re very welcome, Margaretha.

Hi Annmarie 🙋🏻‍♀️ I hope you and your husband are doing good in California. I‘m still constantly learning new things with you. Very easy and useful lesson. Thanks again! Deny

Hi Deny, it’s great to hear from you! I’m so glad you enjoyed this lesson. It’s surprising how much we can learn just about simple greetings.

Hi Anne!! What´s up? I found your video contents greatly informative and educational as well. I never miss any of your weekly presentations. I love the way U tell us about the latest as well as updated ways of communicating with others whoever the others are.

Thank you so much, Ana. I’m happy to know my lessons are so helpful to you!!

Good afternoon!! However, at time to say hello to someone you do not know just to gather his/her attention, in the USA people tend to keep distance. Days after I was told that it is a culture custom and was given a pice of advice that “never greet someone from behind”, depending on where I was, I could be in trouble.

Hi Annmarie, How is it going? How is life treating you? I’ve quite disconnected from your lessons. Basically, cos I passed my police force exam in Septemberand decided to have a small rest from English. My head was like a vase blender. Now, I feel a bit more relaxed and is high time to continue brushing my English with you. Thank you so much for how you teach everything to us.

Hi Victor, congrats on completing your police force exam! It’s totally normal to take breaks from time to time and I’m glad to have you back enjoying my lessons.

Thank you so much for this. İ praticed alot,thank you again,have a good day/night/evening/noon

İn our school,there will be a important english check up. Can İ make a greeting centence likd this?Greetings,İm glad to see you sir/ma’am.

Thank you for such an informative post. I have a question: could you greet a group of friends like Hello friends! Or it’s not common , and better to say Hey guys! thanks

Great question, Ann. Both are perfectly appropriate.

Interesting practical and useful. T/Y

Thanks so much Annemarie, it’s really educating

This article was so useful to me, similarly to other post of yours.

I’m glad to hear that, Sheila.

Thank you for this simple and very useful lesson. I am enjoying it so much

From my perspective, greeting goes hard for strangers because of being unaware of the native language in a certain ethnic group you are approaching but greeting senior or junior is much easy to distinguish by observing through appearance, job position, event on progress, the problem you are having to the person you are greeting.m e.g 1 you have gone the wrong way u need to ask u will use a very polite language. e.g 2 your lecturer is younger than but you will have to greet honorably .thank you

Thanks a lot for your help!!

Thank you. I am now in a position to distinguish types of greetings., because I will be teaching young learners who needs to be taught the righr thing at their age. That’s wonderful.

I want to in this course to speak English fluently without confusion and I want to improve my communication skills

Hi Saritha,

You can find out more about my available courses on my English courses page . Best, Annemarie

I got a clear picture of how to use the greetings. Thank you very much for such a wonderful way of describing how to use the various greetings.

thank you so much, this is very helpful

Hello Annemarie! This is the most exhaustive list of English greetings I have ever found. I’m writing a report on translating English greeting into Vietnamese or vice versa so I would like to cite your work in my report. Would you mind telling me how to cite it in the refference list of my report? I’m waiting for your answer. Thank you a lot.

Thank you for the comment and inquiring how to cite my work. I sincerely appreciate that and I’m thrilled to know this was helpful to you. Here is how you can site this page:

Fowler, Annemarie. “The Right Greeting for Every Situation in English.” Speak Confident English, 16 Feb. 2016, http://www.speakconfidentenglish.com/greetings-for-every-situation/ .

Didn’t find the answer for the questions that burns me a lot: two-three colleagues are chatting in the hall, you are approaching them and say “Good morning!” and …. is getting no sign of response: not a glance, not a wave, not a word…. Am I right to expect at least one of them? Do I need to ignore them at the first place ? Lastly, do I ignore someone’s greeting while conversing with somebody else?

Hi Vera, Thank you for sharing your question. That is a very frustrating situation and I have to say, I’m surprised. Can I ask what country this is in? I’m completely shocked that when you say “Good morning” you don’t get a glance or any responses. In my opinion, that is very rude of the others. I’ve always believed (and taught) that when someone says hello or greets you, you always greet them back. It’s the polite thing to do. Are these people you see every day? I think the decision about what to do is up to you. You …  Read more »

(Midwest American City perspective:) It could be contextual or non-verbal, or confusion, or just rudeness. If the conversation is critical (new emergency/imminent, high pressure meeting/personal correction) then, they may not spare the attention for those around them (still rude, if they’re in the hall). Probably not the case, if they’re just chatting in the hall. If they are in a conversation and you say “Good Morning” to the group, it would not be unusual for the person speaking to acknowledge the greeting non-verbally, typically by 1. Making eye contact, 2. slight smile, 3. slight lift of the chin for acknowledgement, …  Read more »

Hello Alex,

Thank you for sharing these helpful insights. You’re absolutely right that there are many reasons someone might not respond to a greeting.

In the end, it sounds to me like Vera has had this situation happen many times and that’s what I find shocking. It makes me sad to think people are being rude by not responding. I agree with your conclusion when you said, “I would continue to say ‘good morning’ and not think too much of it…” It’s always best to continue being polite, even if others aren’t.

Thanks for your comments.

this website is very inportant, i love it.

Thank you for your comment, Muktar. I’m happy it’s helpful to you.

Great! Your lesson like this opens the eyes of foreign language speakers like me. Please keep sharing.

Hello Mantegaftot,

Thank you for the comment. I’m happy to know you found it useful.

Thank you a lot, Annemarie! I appreciate your lessons, all are very helpful.

I’m so glad they’re helpful, Dildora! Thank you for your kind comment.

Hi How r u doing? Hopefully you are doing well.

Let me ask you: 1) Would you mind sending me conversation and dialogues between two friends how to overcome fear and shy short notice? 2) how can we speak with soneone confidently make him our friends ? 3) Could you send me such spoken English short and interesting congestion?

I am looking forward to seeing from you soon. Thank you very much for your help.

God bless you Abraham

Hello Abraham,

If you would like additional assistance in English, specifically with speaking, please review my Fluency School course. I offer it two times per year and that is the best place to get speaking practice and additional help from me. Thank you.

hello, do you have a YouTube channel so that i can follow your lesson there?

teacher annemarie, thank you very much for the time that you extended to me and i learnt a lot from you.

That’s great. I’m glad you’ve learned a lot, Aireen.

Interesting and useful indeed.Thank you very much,Annemarie.

I’m glad it was interesting and useful, Zou.

Thank you for your efforts us . We will done well

You’re very welcome.

Thank you so much. It’s so intresting and correct us a bit mistakes.

very interesting!this lesson helps improve more my knowledge when teaching english other fellows and co-workers.thanks a lot

Awesome, Iongin. I’m so glad this is useful to you and your English skills.

I am really glad, because I learn a lot from this lesson. and I am willing to join your class, thanks.

Hello Daji,

Wonderful! I’m very glad to know you liked it.

Good Afternoon

Thank you again your lessons really appropriate to me 🙂

best regards

Hi again, Alami,

You’re very welcome!

Good Day Dear AnneMarie as you see my greatest above , this is the way to great someone in professional life, I use the greatest when i wreat email and send them to some colleagues. apart that i used familial/slang greetting with family and friends like hi / hey or what’s up. also i want to thank you for the three familial greeting (how’s it going / how’s it going on / how’is everything) before when a heard these greeting i be confused what should do and say because i dont know what the meaning of them. now i wont …  Read more »

I’m thrilled to know this lesson helped you and you no longer feel confused by expressions such as how’s it going or how’s everything ! That’s great.

And for your emails, it looks like you have a great way to start them. Well done. Best, Annemarie

Thanking you very much

You’re very welcome, Naveen. 🙂

Thanks to my teacher, I am really love to join your bage or challenge ,because I want to learn this language fluently.

Thank you, I’m glad the lesson was useful to you.

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Work Wizardry

500+ ways to say hello formally and informally for different situations with examples, synonyms, phrases, alternative words and terms.

Updated on: July 16, 2023

Effective communication begins with a thoughtful greeting.

In personal or professional communication, the power of a simple “hello” should never be underestimated.

From formal to informal settings, finding how to say hello can set the tone for a successful interaction.

In this blog post, we explore an extensive list of over 500 formal ways to say hello, covering various contexts and styles.

Whether you’re aiming for a professional tone, a touch of humor, or a creative twist, in the workplace or any other personal or professional setting we’ve got you covered.

Let’s dive into this ultimate guide for enhancing your greeting repertoire!

Table of Contents

How to say hello in different ways ?

Saying hello in different ways allows you to add variety and personal touch to your greetings. Here are some tips to help you effectively express hello in different ways:

1. Consider the context:

Tailor your greeting based on the situation, whether it’s formal, informal, professional, or casual. Adjust your language accordingly to maintain appropriateness.

Example: In a formal setting, such as a business meeting, use a more professional greeting like “Good morning esteemed colleagues” rather than a casual “Hey, guys.”

2. Use alternative words:

Replace the word “hello” with synonyms or similar expressions to add variety and creativity to your greetings.

Example: Instead of saying “hello,” you can say “hi,” “hey,” “greetings,” “howdy,” “salutations,” or “good day.”

3. Infuse personality:

Let your own personality shine through in your greetings. Consider using words or phrases that reflect your unique style or interests.

Example: If you’re a fan of a particular hobby or interest, you can incorporate it into your greeting. For instance, “Greetings, fellow bookworm!” or “Hey there, gaming guru!”

4. Explore cultural greetings:

Discover greetings from different cultures and languages. It shows respect and an interest in diverse customs.

Example: Use greetings like “Namaste” (Indian), “Bonjour” (French), or “Kon’nichiwa” (Japanese) to add a multicultural touch to your greetings.

5. Add humor or creativity:

Incorporate humor or creative elements to make your greetings more memorable and engaging.

Example: “Ahoy, matey! Ready to set sail on this day of adventures?” or “Well, well, well… Look who decided to grace us with their presence. Greetings, oh great one!”

6. Consider the recipient:

Tailor your greeting to the person you’re addressing. Think about their personality, relationship, and preferences.

Example: If your friend loves a specific TV show, you can greet them with a reference to it, like “Hey, fellow Game of Thrones fanatic!”

7. Embrace technology:

Utilize the features and tools available through digital communication platforms to enhance your greetings. Include emojis, gifs, or stickers to add visual elements.

Example: Sending a waving hand emoji or a GIF of an animated character saying hello can make your greetings more animated and fun.

Remember, the key is to be genuine, respectful, and considerate when greeting others. Adapt your approach based on the situation and the person you’re addressing to create a warm and memorable greeting.

Also read: 100 Classy way to tell someone off

500+ Ways to say hello

The following is a huge list of ways to say hello for any situation:

1. Good morning!

2. Good day to you!

3. Greetings!

4. Salutations!

5. How do you do?

6. Nice to meet you.

7. Pleased to make your acquaintance.

8. Hello and welcome.

9. I hope this message finds you well.

10. Warmest greetings.

11. May I extend my regards?

12. I trust you are having a splendid day.

13. I bid you a good day.

14. I hope you are enjoying a fine morning/afternoon/evening.

15. Allow me to offer my respectful greetings.

16. I send my best wishes.

17. I am delighted to make your acquaintance.

18. How are you on this fine day?

19. I trust you are in good health and spirits.

20. It is a pleasure to see you.

Also read: What is the professional way to say stay in your lane? (30+ responses, meaning, and workplace communication tips)

Formal ways to say hello

If you are looking for formal ways to say hello, Here is a good list of polite and Formal way of saying hello:

1. Hoping this message finds you in good health and happiness.

2. I bid you a cheerful hello.

3. Sending my heartfelt greetings to you.

4. Wishing you a day filled with success and fulfillment.

5. I offer you my sincere salutations and best wishes.

6. May your day be blessed with abundance and positivity.

7. I send you my warmest regards and a friendly hello.

8. Hoping you are having a splendid day so far.

9. I extend my greetings and well wishes to you.

10. May your day be graced with happiness and prosperity.

11. Hoping this message finds you in good health and happiness.

12. I bid you a cheerful hello.

13. Sending my heartfelt greetings to you.

14. Wishing you a day filled with success and fulfillment.

15. I offer you my sincere salutations and best wishes.

16. May your day be blessed with abundance and positivity.

17. I send you my warmest regards and a friendly hello.

18. Hoping you are having a splendid day so far.

19. I extend my greetings and well wishes to you.

20. May your day be graced with happiness and prosperity.

Also read: How to professionally say that sounds like a you problem? (30 polite responses)

Professional synonyms for hello

These are some professional synonyms for hello:

1. Greetings

2. Salutations

3. Good day

4. Good morning

5. Good afternoon

6. Good evening

8. How do you do?

9. Pleased to meet you

10. Nice to see you

11. Good to see you

13. Blessings

14. Peace be with you

16. Respectful regards

17. Honorable salutations

18. Esteemed greetings

19. Well wishes

20. Cordial hello

Also read: How to say none of your business politely? 60+ professional and sarcastic responses

Other words for hello to say professionally

Here are a few other words for hello to say in a professional way:

1. Good day to you!

2. Greetings, sir/madam.

3. How do you do?

4. Good morrow!

5. Well met, kind soul.

6. I bid you a pleasant day.

7. Salutations, esteemed friend.

8. Pray, allow me to extend my greetings.

9. Hail, fair sir/madam!

10. I offer my respectful hello.

11. Good tidings to you!

12. Welcome, noble acquaintance.

13. I hope this missive finds you well.

14. I send my warm regards and salutations.

15. A hearty hello to you, good sir/madam.

16. I wish you a jolly good day!

17. I trust this message finds you in good spirits.

18. A polite hello to you, dear friend.

19. I extend my greetings and best wishes to you.

20. I humbly greet you with great respect.

Also read: How to professionally say that’s not my job, this is your job or do your job? (100+ example phrases)

Professional ways to say hello

Here are some professional ways to say hello:

1. Please allow me to offer my most sincere greetings and salutations. It is an honor to address you in a professional setting.

2. Esteemed colleague, I bid you good day and extend my most formal regards to you.

3. My greetings to you, and I must begin by acknowledging the immense respect and admiration I hold for your great personality.

4. May I humbly offer my greetings to you, and express my deep reverence for your esteemed reputation in the industry.

5. Greetings to you, esteemed business partner. May I convey my heartfelt respects to you in this formal setting.

6. It is an honor meeting you. Please allow me to convey my sincerest greetings to you. “Good Morning.”

7. Greetings and salutations. It is with utmost pleasure that I extend my formal regards to you.

8. With great reverence, I extend my formal greetings to you, esteemed colleague. Your reputation precedes you, and it is a privilege to address you in this professional setting.

9. Please accept my sincere greetings and formal regards, as I address you with the utmost respect and admiration for your professional accomplishments. It is an honor to correspond with such an esteemed colleague.

10. With the highest esteem and profound respect, I offer my formal greetings to you, esteemed business partner. Your reputation in the industry precedes you, and it is an honor to address you on this Occasion.

11. It is my privilege to extend my most formal greetings to you. May this message find you in good health and spirits, as I offer my sincere regards in this formal setting.

12. With the deepest respect and admiration, I convey my formal greetings to you. Your accomplishments and contributions to the industry are commendable, and it is a privilege to correspond with you in this professional manner.

13. I humbly offer my most formal greetings to you. May this message find you well, as I extend my sincere respect and admiration for your work.

14. It is with great respect and admiration that I extend my formal greetings to you. Your reputation in the industry precedes you, and it is an honor to address you in this professional setting.

15. With the highest regard and utmost respect, I offer my formal greetings to you, esteemed business partner. Your professionalism and expertise are widely recognized, and it is a privilege to correspond with you in this formal capacity.

Also read: How to professionally say I’m too busy for this? (50+ Example responses)

Better ways to say hello

These are a few better ways to say hello:

1. May I offer you my salutations?

2. Allow me to extend my warmest greetings.

3. I hope this message finds you in good spirits.

4. Wishing you a pleasant day ahead.

5. I send my regards and best wishes your way.

6. Hoping this message finds you well and thriving.

7. Sending a friendly nod your direction.

8. I trust you are having a delightful day.

9. May your day be filled with joy and positivity.

10. I bid you a cheerful and gracious welcome.

11. Sending a polite and respectful greeting your way.

12. Wishing you a wonderful day filled with success.

13. Hoping this message brings a smile to your face.

14. Sending my warmest thoughts and greetings to you.

15. May the day greet you with open arms and blessings.

16. I hope you’re enjoying a pleasant and productive day.

17. Sending good vibes and a friendly hello your way.

18. Wishing you a day filled with happiness and serenity.

19. Hoping this message finds you in good health and happiness.

20. I extend my warmest regards and a polite hello to you.

Also read: 275+ Examples on how to disagree politely phrases in a respectful way

Interesting ways of saying hello

Here is a list of interesting and respectful ways to say Hello:

1. Greetings, esteemed individual!

2. A warm and respectful welcome to you!

3. Wishing you a pleasant and dignified day!

4. I extend my sincere regards and best wishes to you.

5. May your presence be met with utmost reverence and honor.

6. Allow me to offer my respectful salutations.

7. I greet you with the highest esteem and admiration.

8. In the spirit of utmost respect, I acknowledge your presence.

9. I humbly offer my regards and extend a courteous greeting.

10. May I express my deep respect and extend a formal welcome.

11. I acknowledge your esteemed presence with utmost deference.

12. With great admiration, I extend my respectful greetings to you.

13. In a spirit of reverence, I greet you with utmost courtesy.

14. I hold you in high regard and offer my sincere salutations.

15. Permit me to express my utmost respect and offer my greetings.

16. With sincere esteem, I extend my warm regards to you.

17. I pay my respects and greet you with the highest regard.

18. May your day be filled with honor and dignity, as I offer my greetings.

19. I recognize your importance and extend my respectful greetings.

20. In a spirit of reverence and courtesy, I extend my heartfelt salutations.

Also read: How to say I don’t agree professionally and say no politely? (100+ Examples)

Creative ways to say hello

These are some creative ways to say hello:

1. Eureka! Salutations!

2. Greetings, fellow Earthling!

3. Ahoy, matey! Prepare for a jolly hello!

4. Hola, amigo! Ready for some fiesta of greetings?

5. G’day, sunshine! Let’s start this day with a cheerful hello!

6. Rise and shine, world! Allow me to greet you with creativity!

7. Abracadabra! Voilà, a magical hello just for you!

8. Hail, wanderer of the virtual realm! Welcome to my linguistic sanctuary!

9. Ah, the sweet sound of greetings fills the air! Hello, my imaginative companion!

10. Hear ye, hear ye! Let the echoes of an extraordinary hello resonate!

11. Greetings, celestial being! I hope the cosmos aligns for a stellar hello.

12. Alohomora! Unlocking the door to a realm of inventive greetings.

13. Bonjour, maestro of brilliance! May your day be filled with wishes that come true.

14. Greetings, seeker of inspiration! Allow me to ignite your imagination with a hello.

15. Salve, master of ideas! Let our greetings spark a symphony of this day.

16. Hello, artistic soul! May your day be painted with vibrant hues of imagination.

17. Greetings, time traveler! I bring you a hello from the future of inventiveness.

18. Ah, the scent of creativity fills the air! Let’s embark on a hello-filled adventure.

19. Namaste, mindful spirit! Let our greetings merge with the flow of artistic energy.

20. Behold, a hello like no other! Brace yourself for a splash of unconventional time.

Also read: How to say I don’t know professionally? 300 Examples and tips for different situations

Fancy ways to say hello

Here are some Fancy ways of saying hello:

1. Salutations, esteemed individual!

2. Good day, fine sir/madam!

3. Greetings and felicitations to you!

4. Well met, distinguished colleague!

5. How do you do, noble sir/madam?

6. Ah, I bid you a most pleasant hello!

7. Hail and welcome, dear interlocutor!

8. Pleased to make your acquaintance, esteemed guest!

9. Allow me to extend my cordial salutations!

10. I hope this message finds you in the best of spirits.

11. I offer you my respectful greetings and salutations.

12. Pray, accept my formal hello on this fine day.

13. May I present my regards and a formal hello to you.

14. I trust you are enjoying a splendid day, worthy sir/madam.

15. I extend a gracious hello to you, with utmost respect.

16. Kindly accept my formal greetings, dear sir/madam.

17. I humbly greet you with utmost reverence and formality.

18. I hope this missive finds you well, noble interlocutor.

19. I present my compliments and a formal hello to you.

20. I bid you a most distinguished and elegant hello.

Also read: How to professionally say Are you Stupid? (50+ Examples)

Different ways to say hello

The following is a list of Different ways of saying hello for different professional settings and situations:

1. In a formal business meeting: “Good morning esteemed colleagues, clients, and distinguished guests. I extend my warm greetings and welcome you all to this auspicious gathering.”

2. At a professional conference: “Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished speakers, industry experts, and esteemed attendees, it is my honor to address you today and extend my heartfelt greetings.”

3. In a formal email to a client: “Dear valued client, I hope this message finds you in good health and high spirits. I would like to take a moment to extend my cordial greetings and express my sincere appreciation for your continued partnership.”

4. In a professional phone conversation: “Hello and a pleasant day to you. I trust this call finds you well. Allow me to introduce myself and extend my warmest greetings as we engage in this meaningful conversation.”

5. At a networking event: “Hello, esteemed professionals and fellow industry enthusiasts. It is with great pleasure that I extend my warm greetings and embrace this opportunity to connect and forge new professional relationships.”

6. During a formal presentation: “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests, and distinguished members of the audience. I stand before you today to deliver my presentation and offer my respectful salutations.”

7. In a formal letter to a business partner: “Dear esteemed business partner, I hope this letter finds you in the best of spirits. I take this opportunity to extend my respectful greetings and express my gratitude for our ongoing collaboration.”

8. In a professional webinar or workshop: “Greetings and a warm welcome to all the participants, distinguished speakers, and industry experts joining us today. I am thrilled to be part of this engaging session and extend my heartfelt greetings.”

9. In a formal job interview: “Good day, esteemed interview panel and valued members of the hiring team. I am grateful for the opportunity to be here today and extend my respectful greetings as we embark on this interview process.”

10. At a formal company event: “Hello, esteemed executives, dedicated employees, and valued guests. On behalf of the organization, I extend my warm greetings and gratitude for your presence at this momentous occasion.”

11. In a formal presentation to stakeholders: “Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished stakeholders, board members, and esteemed guests, I extend my sincere greetings as I present to you today the progress and future prospects of our organization.”

12. In a professional training session: “Hello, esteemed participants, eager learners, and dedicated professionals. It is my pleasure to welcome you to this training session and extend my warm greetings as we embark on this journey of knowledge.”

13. At a formal company meeting: “Good morning, esteemed colleagues, valued team members, and respected leaders. I extend my warm greetings and gratitude for your presence in this important meeting.”

14. In a formal press conference: “Greetings, esteemed members of the press, journalists, and media professionals. I stand before you today to address important matters and extend my sincere greetings as we engage in this exchange of information.”

15. In a formal negotiation session: “Hello, esteemed counterparts, respected negotiators, and esteemed representatives. I extend my formal greetings and appreciation for your presence as we navigate this crucial negotiation process.”

16. In a formal training program for employees: “Greetings, valued employees, dedicated participants, and eager learners. I extend my warm greetings and appreciation for your commitment to professional growth as we commence this training program.”

17. At a formal industry awards ceremony: “Good evening, esteemed guests, honored nominees, and distinguished award recipients. On behalf of the organizing committee, I extend my heartfelt greetings and congratulations for your exceptional achievements.”

18. In a formal meeting with international delegates: “Hello, esteemed international delegates, respected ambassadors, and esteemed guests from around the world. I extend my warm greetings and sincere gratitude

Also read: How to say I forgot professionally? at workplace or in email (80+ Examples and tips)

Clever ways to say hello

Here are some Clever ways of saying hello:

1. Well, look who’s here!

2. Ah, we meet at last!

3. Fancy meeting you in this corner of the universe!

4. Oh, the cosmos aligned for our paths to cross!

5. What a pleasant surprise to encounter you!

6. Greetings, fellow explorer of existence!

7. Ah, the universe conspires to introduce us!

8. How delightful to make your acquaintance in this moment!

9. Well, aren’t you a serendipitous addition to my day!

10. Ahoy, fellow adventurer in the realm of possibilities!

11. Here we stand, at the crossroads of destiny!

12. Bonjour! The world presents us with an opportune introduction.

13. Curiosity has brought us together in this remarkable encounter!

14. By chance or fate, our paths intertwine at this precise juncture!

15. Salutations, fellow seeker of new horizons!

16. Look what the cosmic winds have brought to our rendezvous!

17. Ah, a new chapter begins with our fortuitous meeting!

18. Well met, curious soul who has caught my attention!

19. How lovely to stumble upon a kindred spirit in this vast expanse!

20. Greetings, fellow traveler of life’s intriguing tapestry!

Also read: How to professionally say as soon as possible? (50 Examples and tips)

Cool ways to say hello

Here is a list of cool ways to say hello:

1. Hey there, rockstar!

2. What’s kickin’, cool cat?

3. Yo, wassup?

4. Well, look who just walked in!

5. Ahoy, matey! Ready for some fun?

6. ‘Sup, champ?

7. G’day, legend!

8. Hello, hipster extraordinaire!

9. Howdy, partner in crime!

10. Aloha, beach bum! Catch any waves lately?

11. Hey, trendsetter! What’s the latest scoop?

12. Hola, amigo/a! Listo/a para la aventura?

13. Hiya, superhero! Saving the day as usual?

14. Hey, fashionista! Any new styles to flaunt?

15. Bonjour, mon ami(e)! Ready for a fabulous day?

16. What’s crackin’, party animal?

17. Well, hello there, maverick!

18. Greetings, free spirit! Where’s your next adventure?

19. Hey, guru of awesomeness! Share some wisdom, won’t you?

20. How’s it hangin’, coolio? Ready to rock and roll?

Also read: How to professionally say don’t talk to me like that and don’t be rude? (35+ Examples and tips)

Unique ways of saying hello

These are some Unique ways to say hello:

1. Salutations, fellow traveler of life!

2. Hail and well met, kindred spirit!

3. Top of the morning to you!

4. Bonjour, maestro of adventures!

5. Greetings, bearer of extraordinary stories!

6. Ah, there you are, my ray of sunshine!

7. Rise and shine, delightful soul!

8. Howdy-do, bringer of joy and wonder!

9. A hearty hello to you, purveyor of dreams!

10. Aloha, keeper of the extraordinary!

11. Well, hello there, seeker of marvelous moments!

12. Ahoy, captain of serendipity!

13. Hola, harbinger of endless possibilities!

14. Salve, curator of fantastical realms!

15. Good morrow, bringer of enchantment!

16. G’day, conductor of magnificent journeys!

17. How’s the magic today, my dear friend?

18. Ah, greetings to the extraordinary being before me!

19. Well met, bearer of infinite potential!

20. Hello, fellow traveler in the realm of endless wonders!

Also read: How to say no worries professionally? (no worries meaning, tips, 100+ professional ways to say no worries)

Funny ways to say hello

Here are some of the humorous and funny ways to say hello:

1. Howdy-doodle!

2. Heyo, banana nose!

3. G’day, grinning goofball!

4. Yo, butterfingers! Sup?

5. Aloha, pineapple enthusiast!

6. Hey there, gigglesaurus!

7. Hola, my cheesy amigo!

8. Well, well, well… Look who it is!

9. Ahoy, captain of silliness!

10. Greetings, mighty munchkin!

11. Hiya, giggling gummy bear!

12. Howdy, human-shaped giggle machine!

13. Hey, disco-loving unicorn!

14. Salutations, master of puns!

15. Yo, high-five enthusiast!

16. Well, hello, laughter maestro!

17. G’day, smiley McSmileface!

18. Hey there, hilarious human!

19. Hola, captain chuckles!

20. Greetings, funny bone tickler!

Also read: How to say no problem professionally? (160 Examples, synonyms, meaning, tips)

Fun ways to say hello

These are some fun ways to say hello:

1. A hearty welcome to you!

3. Hey there!

4. Good to see you!

5. Well met!

7. Top of the morning/afternoon/evening to you!

8. G’day!

9. Salutations and felicitations!

10. Greetings and salutations!

11. Hey, what’s happening?

14. How’s it going?

15. What’s the good word?

16. Bonjour!

18. Shalom!

19. Namaste!

20. Welcome aboard!

Also read: 400 Other ways to say no problem (professional and informal)

Other ways to say hello

Here are some Other ways of saying hello:

1. Hey there, how’s it going?

2. Hi, nice to see you!

3. Well, well, look who’s here!

4. Hey, long time no see!

5. Hiya, what’s the scoop?

6. Hey, what’s the word on the street?

7. Oh hey, fancy meeting you here!

8. Well, hello stranger!

9. Hey, it’s good to catch up with you.

10. Hi, how have you been keeping?

11. Hey, what’s new and exciting?

12. Well, fancy running into you!

13. Hi, it’s great to have you around.

14. Hey, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?

15. Oh hey, glad you could make it!

16. Hi, hope you’re having a fantastic day!

17. Hey, how’s life treating you?

18. Well, well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes!

19. Hi there, what’s the latest and greatest?

20. Hey, good to see your friendly face!

Also read: How to professionally say go to hell? (75+ Examples and tips)

Weird ways to say hello

Here is a list of weird ways to say hello:

1. Salutations, fellow earthling entity.

2. Greetings, dimensional being.

3. Good day, sentient colleague.

4. Ahoy, unconventional acquaintance.

5. Well met, peculiar interlocutor.

6. Hail, enigmatic collaborator.

7. Howdy, eccentric associate.

8. G’day, singular conversationalist.

9. Hello, curiously intriguing counterpart.

10. Welcome, wonderfully odd presence.

11. Hi there, wonderfully peculiar mind.

12. Bonjour, admirably unconventional individual.

13. Salve, uniquely extraordinary colleague.

14. Greetings, pleasantly eccentric persona.

15. Well, well, well… Uniquely interesting acquaintance.

16. Ah, greetings, delightfully unconventional ally.

17. Hola, beautifully strange cooperator.

18. Good day, wonderfully peculiar soul.

19. Well met, remarkably unconventional companion.

20. G’day, wonderfully weird counterpart.

Also read: How to tell someone off in a professional way? (125 Example phrases for different situations)

Old ways to say hello

Here are a fewOld-fashioned ways to say hello:

1. Greetings, kind sir/madam.

2. Good morrow!

3. Well met, good fellow.

4. Hail and well met, fair maiden.

5. Pray, accept my salutations.

6. How dost thou fare this fine day?

7. God save thee! I bid thee good day.

8. I doff my hat and bid thee a good morrow.

9. Greetings and felicitations, noble sir/madam.

10. I extend my humble greetings unto thee.

11. Hark! I greet thee with great respect and reverence.

12. I beseech thee, accept my heartfelt salutations.

13. I greet thee with all the courtesy and decorum befitting our station.

14. I humbly offer my greetings and wishes for a pleasant day.

15. I bid thee good day and may Providence smile upon thee.

16. Greetings and salutations to thee, esteemed individual.

17. I do bid thee a most cordial welcome and a goodly day.

18. I give thee my warmest greetings and best wishes.

19. I beseech thee, may this missive find thee in good health and spirits.

20. I do humbly greet thee with utmost respect and deference.

Also read: How to say waste of time professionally? (375+ Examples with meaning, synonyms, terms, other words for different situations)

Creative ways of saying hello in a text message

Some notable ways to say hello in a text message:

2. What’s kickin’, chicken?

4. Ahoy, matey!

5. Hola, amigo/amiga!

6. G’day, sunshine!

7. Well, well, well, look who it is!

8. Howdy, partner!

9. ‘Sup, buttercup?

10. Hey there, rockstar!

11. Aloha, beach babe!

12. Hiya, superstar!

13. Hey, smarty pants!

14. What’s crackin’, bacon?

15. Greetings, earthling!

16. Yo, legend in the making!

17. Hail, magnificent human!

18. Bonjour, fabulous friend!

19. Wassup, awesome sauce?

20. Hey, emoji master!

Alternative ways to say hello

These are some alternative ways to say hello:

1. A bright and cheery hello to start the day with a smile.

2. Hey, long time no see! It’s great to reconnect with you.

3. Hail, fellow adventurer! Ready to embark on a thrilling journey?

4. Ahoy there, matey! Set sail for a day filled with excitement and treasure.

5. Hi, my dear friend. Your presence brings warmth and joy to my heart.

6. Well, well, well, who do we have here? Hello, stranger. Care to introduce yourself?

7. Greetings, esteemed guest. Your arrival brings an air of elegance to this place.

8. Yo! What’s the word on the street? Thought I’d drop by and say hello.

9. Good day, sir/madam. May I assist you with anything? Your wish is my command.

10. Salutations, kind soul. Your presence is like a breath of fresh air.

11. Ah, greetings, my fellow connoisseur of life’s pleasures. Care for a taste of something delightful?

12. Hello, dear neighbor. How about a friendly chat over a cup of tea?

13. Top of the morning to you! Ready to seize the day and make it extraordinary?

14. Well, hello there, mischief-maker. What thrilling escapades do you have planned today?

15. Hi, darling! Just wanted to drop in and remind you how incredible you are.

Another way to say hello

Here is a list of another way to say hello:

16. Greetings, wise one. Your wisdom and guidance are always appreciated.

17. Hey, adventurer! Time to gear up and face the challenges that lie ahead.

18. Good evening, fine sir/madam. Allow me to serenade you with a symphony of greetings.

19. Oh, hello, little one. Your innocent laughter fills the room with pure joy.

20. Hola, amigo/a! ¿Cómo estás? ¿Listo para vivir la vida al máximo?

21. Ah, greetings, noble scholar. What knowledge have you discovered today?

22. Well, hello, inspiration personified. Your mere presence sparks creativity within me.

23. Hi there, nature enthusiast. Let’s explore the great outdoors and discover its wonders.

24. Good afternoon, distinguished guest. Your presence elevates any gathering to grandeur.

25. Salutations, fellow dreamer. May your aspirations take flight and lead you to success.

26. Oh, hello, maestro of mischief. What delightful pranks do you have up your sleeve?

27. Hey, fellow foodie! Any gastronomic adventures on the menu today?

28. Good to see you, my trusted confidant. Your friendship is a precious gem in my life.

29. Well, well, well, what do we have here? Hello, intriguing stranger. Care to share your story?

30. Greetings, star of the show. Your talents shine brightly, illuminating the world around you.

Also read: How to politely tell someone to shut up? (135 Examples with professional tips)

Most common ways to say hello

Here are some of the most common ways to say hello:

8. Greetings

9. Salutations

10. Hey there

11. What’s up

12. How’s it going

13. Nice to meet you

14. How are you

15. What’s happening

18. How do you do

19. How’s everything

20. What’s going on

Goofy ways to say hello

Here is a list of goofy ways to say hello:

1. Ahoy, wacky friend!

2. Howdy-doodle-do!

3. Greetings, silly goose!

4. Yo, happy camper!

5. Hiya, giggling buddy!

6. Salutations, goofy pal!

7. Hey there, jolly soul!

8. Well, hello, cheerful chum!

9. G’day, whimsical amigo!

10. Aloha, laughter lover!

11. Bonjour, goofball genius!

12. Hola, funny sidekick!

13. Hey, smiley superhero!

14. Howdy, chuckling buddy!

15. Ah, greetings, comic genius!

16. Hi there, giggling guru!

17. Yo, laughter connoisseur!

18. Well met, playful prankster!

19. G’day, cheerful jester!

20. Aloha, mirthful companion!

Also read: How to professionally say don’t waste my time? (120+ Examples with professional communication tips)

Quirky ways to say hello

These are a few quirky ways to say hello:

1. Ahoy, fellow adventurer of life!

2. Hola, sunshine wrapped in human form!

3. Well, well, well, look who’s here!

4. Greetings, purveyor of delightful weirdness!

5. Hey, spark of eccentricity and charm!

6. Howdy, delightful creature of quirkiness!

7. Salutations, fellow lover of peculiarities!

8. Oh, hello, whimsical wonder of existence!

9. G’day, extraordinary being of oddities!

10. Bonjour, unconventional ray of awesomeness!

11. Hiya, embodiment of delightful oddity!

12. Ah, greetings, keeper of delightful peculiarities!

13. Hey there, whimsical soul of enchantment!

14. Well met, charming disruptor of the ordinary!

15. Hola, bringer of contagious quirkiness and joy!

16. Greetings, unique specimen of delightful eccentricity!

17. Oh, hello, keeper of wonderful weirdness!

18. Howdy, magical concoction of oddity and charm!

19. Salutations, curious creature of delightful peculiarities!

20. Well, well, well, welcome, fellow beautiful weirdo!

Also read: How to say I don’t want to waste your time politely? (135 Examples with tips, strategies for professional communication)

Slang ways to say hello

The following are some slang ways to say hello:

3. Hey, what’s crackin’?

4. What’s up, fam?

5. Howdy, partner!

7. Hey there, homie!

8. ‘Sup, dude?

9. Wassup, my peeps?

10. Yo, my G!

11. Hey, my dude!

12. What’s the haps?

13. Hey, beautiful people!

14. How’s it hangin’?

15. Hey, party people!

16. Yo, squad!

17. What’s poppin’?

18. Hey, cool cats!

19. How’s the vibe?

20. Hey, rockstars!

Another way to say hello in email

Here is a list of professional ways to say hello in email:

1. Sending a friendly email to say hello and touch base with you.

2. Wanted to drop a quick line to say hello and see how you’re doing.

3. Reaching out to extend my warm greetings and connect with you.

4. Hello there! Just wanted to check in and see how things are going.

5. Writing to say hi and catch up on any updates or news.

6. A quick email to say hello and see if you need any assistance.

7. Hello! Just wanted to reach out and say howdy from my end.

8. Taking a moment to say hi and see if there’s anything I can help with.

9. Wanted to send a friendly email to greet you and touch base on our previous conversation.

10. Hello! Just a brief message to keep in touch and see how you’re doing.

11. Writing to extend a warm hello and express my appreciation for your support.

12. Wanted to drop a line to say hello and share some exciting news with you.

13. Hello from [Your Company/Organization]! Just wanted to introduce ourselves and say hi.

14. Sending a friendly email to say hello and discuss a potential collaboration opportunity.

15. Hello, [Recipient’s Name]! Just wanted to reconnect and see if you’d be interested in grabbing coffee sometime.

Other ways to say hello in email

These are some other ways to say hello in email:

1. Dear [Recipient’s Name],

2. Hi [Recipient’s Name],

3. Hello [Recipient’s Name],

4. Good morning [Recipient’s Name],

5. Greetings [Recipient’s Name],

6. Hope this email finds you well,

7. Warmest greetings,

8. Salutations [Recipient’s Name],

9. Sending my regards,

10. Good day [Recipient’s Name],

11. A friendly hello,

12. Wishing you a pleasant day,

13. Hoping this message brightens your day,

14. Hello from [Your Name],

15. Trust this email finds you in good spirits,

16. Thought I’d drop you a line,

17. Sending a quick hello,

18. Just wanted to say hi,

19. Hello and best wishes,

20. Starting with a friendly greeting.

Longest way to say hello

Here is a list of long ways to say hello for different occasions:

1. In a formal business setting:

“Good morning, esteemed members of this distinguished gathering, and allow me to extend my sincere greetings to each and every one of you.”

2. In a professional email:

“Dear [Recipient’s Name], I hope this message finds you in excellent health and high spirits as I take a moment to extend my warmest salutations to you.”

3. In a formal speech:

“Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, esteemed colleagues, and honored dignitaries, it is with the utmost pleasure that I stand before you today to offer my heartfelt greetings and sincere gratitude.”

4. In a diplomatic setting:

“Your Excellency, on behalf of my country and its people, I humbly extend my respectful salutations to you and express my sincere hope for fruitful discussions and strengthened relations.”

5. In a religious gathering:

“Brothers and sisters in faith, as we gather here today to celebrate and worship, I offer you my heartfelt blessings and greet you with the utmost reverence and devotion.”

6. In a wedding reception:

“Ladies and gentlemen, family and friends, on this joyous occasion of love and union, I extend my warmest greetings and congratulations to the newlyweds and their families.”

7. In a formal academic setting:

“Esteemed faculty members, distinguished guests, and aspiring scholars, it is with great pleasure that I extend my intellectual greetings to all those gathered here today.”

8. In a formal interview:

“Good day, esteemed members of the selection committee. I am honored to be here and would like to extend my sincere greetings and appreciation for considering my candidacy.”

9. In a conference or seminar:

“Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed speakers, and eager participants, as we embark on this enlightening journey of knowledge, I extend my warmest greetings and wish you a productive and insightful event.”

10. In a court proceeding:

“Your Honor, respected members of the court, legal counsel, and participants in this judicial process, I offer my respectful greetings and extend my utmost appreciation for the opportunity to address you.”

11. In a formal charity event:

“Honored guests, generous benefactors, and passionate advocates, as we gather here tonight to support a noble cause, I extend my heartfelt greetings and gratitude for your presence and contributions.”

12. In a political rally:

“Fellow citizens, esteemed leaders, and passionate supporters, I stand before you today to express my heartfelt greetings and to rally together for a brighter future.”

13. In a multicultural event:

“Namaste, bonjour, hola, salaam, and greetings in the myriad languages of our diverse gathering. I extend my warmest salutations to all and celebrate the richness of our collective heritage.”

14. In a graduation ceremony:

“Distinguished faculty, proud parents, and graduating class, as we gather here to celebrate academic achievements, I offer my heartfelt greetings and congratulations to the graduates.”

15. In a formal networking event:

“Good evening, esteemed professionals, industry leaders, and aspiring individuals. I extend my warmest greetings and welcome you to this valuable networking opportunity.”

16. In a scientific conference:

“Esteemed researchers, distinguished experts, and curious minds, I greet you with scientific fervor and extend my warmest salutations as we embark on this enlightening journey of discovery.”

17. In a cultural festival:

“Greetings, dear attendees, performers, and culture enthusiasts. On this vibrant occasion of cultural celebration, I extend my warmest salutations and invite you to immerse yourselves in the magic of our traditions.”

18. In a formal charity gala:

“Ladies and gentlemen, philanthropists, and supporters of noble causes, I offer my sincere greetings and appreciation for your presence and dedication to making a positive impact in our community.”

19. In a formal government event:

“Honorable ministers, esteemed officials, and distinguished guests, on behalf of our government, I extend my respectful greetings and express our commitment to serving the needs of our citizens.”

20. In a formal reception for international guests:

“Welcome, esteemed delegates, diplomats, and ambassadors from around the world. I extend my warmest greetings and gratitude for your presence, fostering understanding and collaboration among nations.”

Conclusion:

Effective communication begins with a thoughtful greeting. With this comprehensive guide of over 500 ways to say hello , you’re equipped to navigate various situations professionally, creatively, and even with a touch of humor.

Experiment with different styles and tailor your greetings to leave a lasting positive impression.

Remember, the right hello can set the stage for meaningful connections and successful interactions. So go forth and greet the world with confidence and charisma!

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Informal vs Formal Presentation: What You Need To Know

Table of contents, what is a formal presentation.

There are three key elements which make a presentation formal – your audience, your supporting material and the time you’re given to prepare in advance.

A presentation is considered formal when you’ve been asked to share ideas with an individual or group and you’ve been given time to prepare. Formal presentations require a very different approach than presenting to your team during a weekly meeting or in an impromptu discussion.

Let’s take a closer look at what goes into creating a formal presentation.

How Do You Create A Formal Presentation?

Creating a formal presentation is an art which requires hours of practice to create an effective presentation.

At Presentation Geeks, we know the importance of crafting an excellent formal presentation. That’s why we’ve put together a simple structured template of main points you should include in your next presentation to take it from a generic, informal presentation to a formal presentation which will surpass your audience’s expectations.

1 – Clearly Defined Goals

Before you begin writing your presentation or the speech you’ll deliver, you want to take the time to think about the following questions, “What do I want the audience members to remember and what is the key message I’m trying to drive?”.

Knowing your expected outcome is the goal of the presentation. Always keep reminding yourself what the goal is and don’t lose sight of it. This is the foundation of your formal presentation.

2 – Know Your Audience

Every audience is different and every audience consumes, absorbs and remembers information differently.

If you’re presenting to a graduating class of university students, your delivery will be much different than your presentation to an audience of senior executives at a Fortune 500 company or an audience of single mothers with newborns.

Get familiar with your audience members and prepare your presentation accordingly.

Bonus Tip: Try and figure out where the presentation will take place. Will it be held in an auditorium? A church? A boardroom? Perhaps it will even be held virtually. The venue in which your presentation will take place will also determine the supporting material you’ll use to help engage the audience during your presentation.

3 – Create An Outline

The success of your presentation depends on how well your audience can understand it. If you’re delivering a presentation that continuously jumps back and forth from one idea to another, your audience won’t follow and you’ll lose them.

Develop an outline that will guide the flow of your presentation. Think of it like a story. You want to keep it interesting. Provide appropriate examples that resonate with your audience. By tapping into an experience your audience is familiar with, it will work to your advantage as it will help the audience get engaged and keep them interested.

4 – Use Visual Aids

Using visual aids will help support your overall presentation and increase audience engagement.

Visual aids can include slides, videos, images and other visual supporting material. Although it might take some creative finesse to put visual aids together, you don’t have to do it alone.

Consider enlisting the help of a company that offers presentation design services. Presentation Geeks offers a variety of presentation services ranging from e-learning solutions, Google Slides, sizzle reels, Prezi design and much more!

5 – Dress Appropriately

Remember, first impressions are everything and your attire is a form of communication.

If you want to be seen as the expert on the topic matter and have people take your knowledge seriously, you want to dress appropriately.

Although this might seem like an outdated way of thinking, it is rooted in our psychology. These small details make or break a presentation and you don’t want to take a chance.

Don’t know where to start? Nine millionaires shared how they dress to make an impactful first impression which you can use in your wardrobe.

What are the types of formal presentations?

There are many types of formal presentations you’ll be exposed to throughout your career.

We’ve outlined six types of formal presentations you may consider when developing your next presentation.

However, if you’re looking for more examples of formal presentations in action, TED Talks are a great resource. TED Talks are presentations ranging on a variety of topics from science and business to motivational and unique life experiences.

Review the list below and determine which style your presentation will focus on. This will help you structure your notes, write your presentation and ultimately how you will present.

1 – Informative Presentation

This is the most common type of presentation, be it in an educational setting, business or corporate setting.

The aim of an informative presentation is to give detailed information about a product, concept, or idea to a specific kind of audience.

2 – Persuasive Presentation

Persuasive presentations are used to motivate or convince someone to act or make a change in their actions or thoughts.

3 – Demonstrative Presentation

A demonstrative presentation involves demonstrating a process or the functioning of a product in a step-by-step fashion.

4 – Inspirational Presentation

An inspirational presentation’s aim is to motivate or emotionally move your audience.

Using techniques like storytelling, narrating personal anecdotes, or even humor work wonders to enhance your presentation as your audience develops an emotional connection to the message.

5 – Business Presentation

A business presentation can encompass pitching client presentations , raising business capital, articulating company goals, RFP presentations , screening candidates, status reports, investment pitching and many more.

6 – PowerPoint Presentation

PowerPoint presentations or PPTs are the most effective ones among all types of presentations simply because they are convenient and easy to understand.

They are available in different formats and are suitable to use in practically any type of presentation and context, be it business, educational, or for informal purposes.

The only downside to PowerPoint presentations is the time it takes to create them and the creativity needed to make them stand out. Fortunately, there are PowerPoint presentation design services you can use that will help you save time and deliver new ideas in a creative way.

See What We Can Do For You

What is an informal presentation.

It is fairly common for business meetings to include impromptu presentations. Most presentations you’ll encounter are informal presentations.

These types of presentations are usually prepared in a short amount of time and do not require the same organizational methods as a formal presentation such as using audience engagement or presentation software.

Oftentimes, they are very much like a conversation and you won’t be using any note cards. The presenter is usually speaking to a much smaller audience where each audience member will feel like they’re being spoken to.

What Presentation Style Should I Use?

Now that you know what the difference is between a formal presentation and an informal presentation, it is now time for you to decide which style to choose.

More often than not, if you have the time to be reading this article, you have the time to prepare a presentation. That means you’ll likely lean towards the formal style.

Informal presentations are more impromptu and you won’t have the time to research it ahead of time like you are now. But since you do have the time, here are some additional resources to help you master the craft of a formal presentation.

Additional Resources To Master Your Formal Presentation

Presentation 101: How to become a better presenter . We’ve put together a list of 10 actionable items you can start working on to become a better presenter. This article covers body language such as eye contact and voice projection to the topic you’ll talk about.

Secondly, if your presentation is held online, you need to have the skills to present a virtual presentation. We’ve got you covered once again. We take a deep-dive into how to ace your virtual presentation . We cover virtual presentation software you might encounter,

The last article you should review to incorporate into your presentation arsenal is how to give and receive constructive presentation feedback . The only way you’ll improve is through ongoing feedback and data collection of what your audience thought of your presentation and presentation skills.

If these aren’t enough, download and review some of the past presentation work we’ve done for Fortune 500 companies and other industries to help spark some inspiration for your next presentation.

If you review these three articles and incorporate them into your next presentation, you’ll be on your way to becoming an influential speaker who can convert any audience with a well crafted presentation.

Author:  Ryan

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