Speaking: Public Speaking & Presentations B1
Preparing & Delivering a Short Talk
Example Talk: "My Favorite Place" 🎤
Listen to this short, one-minute presentation. Notice how the speaker uses a clear structure to make her talk easy for the audience to follow.
"Hello everyone. Today, I'm going to talk about my favorite place in Cambodia, which is the riverside in Kampot."
Point 1: "The first reason I love it is the atmosphere. It's very peaceful and calm, especially in the morning when the sun is rising. You can just sit and watch the quiet fishing boats on the water."
Point 2: "Another reason is the stunning view. On one side you have the beautiful, green Bokor mountains, and on the other side, you have the wide, slow river. It's the perfect place for photos."
"So, if you are looking for a place to relax and enjoy nature, I highly recommend visiting the Kampot riverside. Thank you for listening."
How to Prepare Your Talk 📝
Preparation is the key to confidence. Follow these three simple steps.
Choose a topic you are comfortable with (e.g., My Favorite Place, My Hobby). Write down 3-4 simple reasons or ideas about it.
Organize your two best ideas into the three parts:
- Introduction: Greet your audience and state your topic.
- Body: Explain your two reasons using signal words like "The first reason is..." and "Another reason is...".
- Conclusion: Briefly summarize and thank the audience.
Don't write full sentences. Just write keywords on a small card to help you remember. For the example talk, your notes might look like this:
- Kampot Riverside
- Reason 1: Peaceful atmosphere, morning, boats
- Reason 2: View, mountains, river
- Conclusion: Recommend for relaxing
How to Deliver Your Talk 👀
How you say it is as important as what you say. Focus on these three things.
Don't just look at your notes. Try to look at different people in your audience for a few seconds each. This creates a connection.
When we are nervous, we often speak too fast. Take a breath and speak at a steady pace. It's better to be slow and understood than fast and confusing.
Stand up straight and try to smile before you begin and when you finish. Good posture makes you appear much more confident.
Practice & Prepare 🎯
Practice Quiz: Structure Check
These sentences are for a presentation about "My Favorite Hobby: Photography." Put them in the correct order from 1 to 4.
- So, I love photography because it's creative and helps me notice the world more. Thank you.
- Hello everyone. My presentation today is about my favorite hobby, which is photography.
- Secondly, it helps me pay more attention to the small, beautiful details in everyday life.
- The first reason I enjoy it is that it allows me to be creative and capture moments.
Your Mission: Prepare and Present!
Your mission is to prepare and deliver your own 1-minute presentation on the topic: "My Favorite Place."
- Choose a place you know well: a cafe, a park, a province, or even your home.
- Create keyword notes using the Introduction-Body-Conclusion structure. Plan two reasons why you like the place.
- Practice by yourself 2-3 times to check your timing and flow.
- Deliver your talk! Present it to a friend, or record a video of yourself on your phone to watch back. The goal is to finish, not to be perfect!
Vocabulary
- Deliver To give a speech, talk, or presentation to an audience.
- Structure The way the different parts of something are organized.
- Audience The group of people listening to a presentation.
- Eye Contact The act of looking directly into another person's eyes.
- Body Language The movements or positions of your body that show how you are feeling.