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There are many reasons why a person has to speak in front of an audience, but the most common reason during college years or when taking ESL Lessons, are presentations.

During a presentation, the student presents something to his or her classmates; it could be an idea, a product, study results, or a project, among many others. The general purpose is to communicate something through informing, training, persuading, or selling.

Presentations are very popular because they are effective in communicating the message, so, if you are in college and learning English, be sure that you will have to give a presentation soon, if you haven�t already.

In order to communicate your message effectively during a presentation, you must have the appropriate knowledge of vocabulary and techniques. Here we present you 7 crucial aspects of good presentations:

1. Be prepared! We cannot stress this enough. Be ready for your presentation! If you are well prepared, you will be confident, and your audience will feel it, putting you in control of the room and making everyone listen attentively.

2. Structure your presentation. A clear structure has an introduction, a main message, and a conclusion.

3. Be equipped. Depending on how you designed your presentation, you may need a whiteboard, a flipchart, an overhead projector, a slide projector of 35mm, or computer graphics. All of these have their good points and bad points, but whatever the case, you must master its functioning in every way, and be prepared for any eventuality.

4. Everything comes through the eyes thus, visual aids are indispensable. You can use photographs, graphs, maps, charts, or tables, for example. However, be careful to not overdo it and cause confusion. Stick to meaningful examples that deliver your message clearly and directly.

5. Learn signposting, because unless you tell them, your audience will not know where they are. �Signposting� is special language that helps locate your listeners, for example: �Let�s begin by��, �That�s all I have to say in regards to��, �Let�s move on to��, �Let�s consider this in more detail��, �Let me deal with that later, ok?�, �Let�s recap��, or �To begin with��.

6. Bond with your audience. The best way to do this is to be happy and enthusiastic, look each person in the eyes, and try to speak so as to make everyone feel you are talking to them specifically.

7. Talk the right body talk. What you are not saying with words you could be saying with your body, thus, make sure you dress and walk appropriately, and that your hair, makeup, expression, and even glasses, impress in the right way as soon as you introduce yourself.

It's true. Public speaking is a challenge for many people, and even more so if you are not completely fluent in English, because your confidence is not up there and you know the audience may know the language much better than you, however, keep in mind that only you know the topic you will be talking about, and just be prepared!

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They�ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don�t forget to mention http://www.englishlci.com as the original source).

Rachel Clarkson
http://www.englishlci.com/esl-lessons-1.html
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LCI offers the best ESL classes through experienced teachers and high quality programs in Denver, Colorado. Check out great ESL resources and articles at www.englishlci.com/blog