German · Upper intermediate (B2) · Chapter 11 of 12
Giving a presentation
Eine Präsentation halten
Give a presentation in German: structure your talk, guide your listeners, put emphasis where it matters and handle questions calmly.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Structure a talk and guide the audience through it
- Put emphasis on the key point: Was uns überrascht hat, ist …
- Handle questions, including ones you can't answer yet
- Sum up and close a presentation
Listen
At an insurance company in Munich, project manager Sven Richter (44) presents a pilot project to two members of the management, Frau Lindner and Herr Öztürk. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Sven Richter
Guten Morgen, Frau Lindner, guten Morgen, Herr Öztürk. Heute stelle ich Ihnen die Ergebnisse unseres Pilotprojekts vor: sechs Monate Viertagewoche im Kundenservice. Zuerst erkläre ich kurz, wie das Projekt organisiert war. Dann komme ich zu den Ergebnissen, und am Ende ist Zeit für Ihre Fragen.
Good morning, Ms Lindner, good morning, Mr Öztürk. Today I'm presenting the results of our pilot project: six months of a four-day week in customer service. First I'll briefly explain how the project was organised. Then I'll come to the results, and at the end there'll be time for your questions.
Sven Richter
… Damit komme ich zu den Ergebnissen. Wie Sie auf dieser Folie sehen, ist die Zahl der Krankheitstage um 30 Prozent gesunken.
… That brings me to the results. As you can see on this slide, the number of sick days fell by 30 per cent.
Frau Lindner
Entschuldigung, darf ich kurz eine Frage stellen? Waren die Kunden nicht unzufrieden, weil das Team nur vier Tage da war?
Excuse me, may I ask a question? Weren't the customers unhappy because the team was only there four days a week?
Sven Richter
Danke, genau dazu wollte ich gerade kommen. Was uns am meisten überrascht hat, ist Folgendes: Die Kunden waren genauso zufrieden wie vorher. Die Wartezeit am Telefon ist sogar etwas kürzer geworden.
Thank you, that's exactly what I was about to come to. What surprised us most is this: the customers were just as happy as before. The waiting time on the phone even got a little shorter.
Herr Öztürk
Wie ist das möglich, wenn weniger gearbeitet wird?
How is that possible if less work is done?
Sven Richter
Entscheidend war die Planung. Nicht alle hatten freitags frei: Jeder hatte seinen eigenen freien Tag, und so war das Team an allen fünf Tagen da. Und die Besprechungen haben wir auf 30 Minuten gekürzt.
The planning was the key. Not everyone had Fridays off: each person had their own day off, so the team was there on all five days. And we cut meetings to 30 minutes.
Herr Öztürk
Und die Kosten? Haben Sie mehr Personal gebraucht?
And the costs? Did you need more staff?
Sven Richter
Nein, es musste niemand zusätzlich eingestellt werden. Die genauen Zahlen habe ich leider nicht hier, aber ich schicke sie Ihnen gern nach der Präsentation.
No, nobody extra had to be hired. Unfortunately I don't have the exact figures with me, but I'll be happy to send them to you after the presentation.
Frau Lindner
Und wie geht es jetzt weiter?
And what happens next?
Sven Richter
Lassen Sie mich kurz zusammenfassen: weniger Krankheitstage, zufriedene Kunden und keine zusätzlichen Kosten. Deshalb schlagen wir vor, das Modell in zwei weiteren Abteilungen zu testen.
Let me briefly sum up: fewer sick days, happy customers and no extra costs. That's why we propose testing the model in two more departments.
Herr Öztürk
Das klingt überzeugend. Darüber sollten wir in der nächsten Sitzung der Geschäftsführung sprechen.
That sounds convincing. We should discuss it at the next management meeting.
Sven Richter
Sehr gern. Dann bedanke ich mich für Ihre Aufmerksamkeit und für Ihre Fragen.
I'd be glad to. Then thank you for your attention and for your questions.
Understand
Guiding your listeners
A good presentation tells the audience where they are. In German, start by saying what you'll talk about and in what order, mark each new part, and close with a short summary. These phrases work in almost any talk.
| Purpose | German |
|---|---|
| introduce the topic | … |
| give the structure | … … … |
| move to the next part | … |
| refer to a slide | , … |
| sum up | : … |
| close |
Putting emphasis on the key point
German can put almost anything in first position, before the verb. What comes first gets attention: stresses (the key thing) more than .
To build up to an important point, start with a clause beginning with was (what), then a comma and : : … (what surprised us most is this: …). If a plural follows, use . English does the same with “What … is …”. (the following) points forward to what you're about to say. Small words like (even) and (exactly) add emphasis too.
- Was mir besonders wichtig ist, sind zufriedene Kunden.What's particularly important to me is happy customers.
- Die Wartezeit ist sogar kürzer geworden.The waiting time even got shorter.
Handling questions
Questions during or after a talk are normal in Germany, and people expect precise answers. Thank the person, answer briefly, and if you don't know something, say so honestly and offer to send the information later. That sounds more professional than guessing.
| Situation | German |
|---|---|
| thank the person | |
| the answer comes later in your talk | |
| check you understood | … |
| you don't know yet |
More in the grammar: Word order
New words
- das Ergebnisresult · neuter, plural:
- vorstellento present, to introduce · separable:
- die Folieslide (in a presentation) · feminine, plural:
- die Zahlnumber, figure · feminine, plural: ; = sick day
- sinkento fall, to go down · Präteritum: ; Perfekt:
- Folgendesthe following · : …
- sogareven · = It even got shorter.
- entscheidenddecisive, key · = the key thing
- kürzento shorten, to cut · = short
- zusätzlichadditional(ly), extra
- einstellento hire, to take on (staff) · separable; = staff
- die Abteilungdepartment · feminine, plural: ; = further, more
- die Aufmerksamkeitattention ·
- sich bedankento say thank you · + accusative:
Practise
1.Which phrase moves on to the next part of a talk?
2.Complete the sentence that builds up to the key point.
What surprised us most is this.
3.Complete with the participle of .
The number of sick days fell by 30 per cent.
4.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.Let me briefly sum up.
5.Match the words.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
6.Someone asks about a figure you don't have. What's the best answer?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Heute stelle ich Ihnen die Ergebnisse unseres Projekts vor.
Today I'm presenting the results of our project.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.