Public speaking: giving effective advice and recommendations

Summary

This 90-minute ESL lesson for B2 learners explores Public speaking: giving effective advice and recommendations through a real article. Across 11 interactive exercises, you'll develop reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, practical communication, speaking skills — all built around authentic English content.

What you'll practise:

• 5 key vocabulary items with definitions and usage notes
• Grammar focus: Modals for advice and obligation with examples and practice
• Real-world phrases for managing the q&a session
• Gap-fill and cloze exercises to test vocabulary in context
• Matching exercise to connect terms with their meanings
• Error correction to sharpen grammar awareness
• A reading passage to practise newly learned language

Lesson activities (11 exercises)

Each exercise builds on the previous one. Work through them in order for the best learning experience.

1. Warm-up — Discussion questions to activate what you already know about the topic.
2. Comprehension — Answer questions to check your understanding of the main ideas and supporting details.
3. Vocabulary — Learn key words and expressions from the article, with definitions and usage notes.
4. Matching — Connect words, phrases, or concepts to their correct counterparts.
5. Grammar — Study Modals for advice and obligation — explanation, examples, and key rules.
6. Error correction — Find and fix the mistake in each sentence — a great grammar workout.
7. Practical English — Learn phrases for managing the q&a session — ready to use in real conversations.
8. Fill the gaps — Complete sentences with the correct vocabulary. Drag and drop or type your answers.
9. Reading — Read a short passage on the topic and answer comprehension questions.
10. Discussion — Reflect on the topic and share your opinions using the language you've learned.

Vocabulary

This lesson introduces 5 key terms drawn directly from the article:

• To think on your feet — to react to events or answer questions quickly and effectively without previous preparation.
• To get your point across — to successfully communicate an idea or message so that people understand it.
• Key takeaway — the main idea or most important piece of information you want your audience to remember from a talk.
• To field questions — to deal with a series of questions, especially difficult or unexpected ones, from an audience.
• A captive audience — a group of people who are not free to leave an event and therefore have to listen to what is being said.

Grammar

This lesson focuses on Modals for advice and obligation.

When giving advice or feedback about presentations, we use modal verbs to show how strong our suggestion or recommendation is. While 'should' is common for general advice, modals like 'must', 'have to', and 'had better' express stronger necessity or obligation.

Examples from the lesson:

• You should rehearse your presentation several times to build confidence. — 'Should' is used here to give standard, polite advice. It's a strong suggestion but not an order.
• You have to include the quarterly sales figures; the board requires them. — 'Have to' indicates an external obligation or rule that is not optional. 'Must' would imply a strong personal feeling of necessity from the speaker.
• You'd better not go over the 15-minute time limit, or they'll cut you off. — 'Had better' is strong advice that warns of a specific negative consequence if it's ignored. It's often used for more urgent situations.

Key rules:

• Use 'should' or 'ought to' for general advice and recommendations.
• Use 'have to' for obligations based on rules and 'must' for strong personal obligations.
• Use 'had better' to give a strong warning about a potential negative result.

Practical English

managing the Q&A session

The question and answer (Q&A) part of your presentation is crucial for engaging your audience. These phrases will help you manage questions confidently, from inviting them to handling tricky ones and closing the session smoothly.

Phrases you'll learn:

• "That's a great question." — use this to positively acknowledge a question before you answer.
• "If I understand you correctly, you're asking about..." — use this to clarify a question you're not sure about.
• "I don't have the exact figures on hand, but I can get back to you on that." — use this to politely defer a question you can't answer immediately.
• "That's an interesting point, but it's also worth considering..." — use this to handle a challenging question or a different point of view.
• "That's a bit outside the scope of today's talk, but I'd be happy to discuss it with you afterwards." — use this to manage off-topic questions.