Giving Presentations

Summary

This downloadable PDF lesson plan for B2 ESL students provides a comprehensive guide to giving effective presentations. Students will learn essential vocabulary, grammar for giving advice, and practical phrases for structuring a talk. The lesson uses an audio exercise and a short article to build skills in listening and reading comprehension related to public speaking.

This lesson helps intermediate students develop the confidence and skills needed for public speaking in English. Activities range from a warm-up discussion and listening comprehension to vocabulary matching and grammar practice with modal verbs. Students will analyze the core components of a powerful presentation—Content, Delivery, and Design—and learn useful "signposting" language to guide their audience. The lesson culminates in a practical speaking task where students plan their own mini-presentation, applying all the concepts they've learned.

Activities

• A warm-up discussion about personal experiences with public speaking and what makes a presentation effective.
• A listening comprehension exercise where students fill in the gaps in a short audio about presentation tips.
• A drag-and-drop matching task to learn key vocabulary such as "daunting," "thorough," and "engaging."
• A multiple-choice grammar exercise focusing on modal verbs for giving advice (should, could, must) in the context of presentations.
• A reading comprehension task based on an article about the "Three Pillars of a Powerful Presentation," followed by a speaking activity where students plan and outline a short presentation on a given topic.

Giving presentations

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Vocabulary focus

The vocabulary section introduces essential words for discussing presentations. Key terms include "daunting," "thorough," "enhance," and "engaging." Students also learn vocabulary related to presentation content and delivery, such as "concise," "key takeaways," and "monotonous," through interactive matching and fill-in-the-blank exercises.

Grammar focus

This lesson focuses on the use of modal verbs for giving advice, specifically "should," "could," and "must." Students will learn to differentiate between these modals to provide strong recommendations, offer suggestions, and state necessities, all within the practical context of improving presentation skills.