Common Expressions for Presentation

I. Beginning the Speech

1. Opening Remarks Greetings

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Ladies and gentleman, good morning! Good morning/afternoon/evening

Ladies and gentleman / distinguished colleagues / members of the conference

(Formal)

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Ladies and gentlemen. It’s an honor to have the opportunity to address … Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It’s a pleasure to be with you today. Welcome to ... / I am pleased to be able to welcome you to...

I'd like to thank you for coming. / May I take this opportunity of thanking you for coming I'm glad you could all get here.

Hello everybody. Thank you for being on time/making the effort to come today. Right, let's get started.

(Informal)

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Expressing thanks to the Chairperson

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Mr. Chairman, thank you for your introduction.

First, I would like to thank Mr. Chairman for his gracious introduction. Thank you very much, Prof. Edelman, for your very kind introduction.

Expressing Pleasure and Honor

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I am delighted/pleased/glad to have the opportunity to present/of making this presentation... I am very happy/glad/pleased to be here in . I am honored/privileged to be here (with you this afternoon). I am proud to be here on this special occasion.

It’s a very great pleasure for me to be able to attend this conference.

It is a great pleasure to be given the honor of first speaker on this important topic. I am grateful for the opportunity to present...

I'd like to thank you for inviting/asking me/giving me the chance to...

Checking the Microphone - - - - - - - -

Can you hear me clearly / all right?

Can you hear me if I am away from the microphone? Is the microphone working? Is my voice too loud?

Firstly I want to check if all of you can hear me clearly.

Am I speaking clearly and loudly enough for those in the rear of the room? I wonder if those in the rear of the room can hear me.

If those in the rear of the room can hear me, would someone please raise hishand?

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Reference to the Audience - - - - - Length - - - - - -

Sample Opening Remarks

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I can see many of you are from …department. I know many of you are familiar with this topic. You all look as though you’ve heard this before. I understand that you’ve all traveled a long way.

After hours of conference, you must feel a little tired. Now I’d like you to see an interesting topic…

I shall only take 10 minutes. / I shall be speaking for about 10 minutes...

I won't take up more than 10 minutes of your time. / I don't intend to speak for longer than 10 minutes.

This should only last 10 minutes. / My presentation will last for about 10 minutes... During the next 10 minutes, I shall...

I know that time is short, so I intend to keep this brief

I have a lot to cram in to the next ten minutes, so I'd better make a start...

Thank you very much, Prof. Edward, for your very kind introduction. Mr. Chairman, Ladies and gentleman, Good morning!

I consider it a great honor to be asked to speak about …on this session of our symposium.

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Ladies and gentleman.

It’s an honor to have the opportunity to address such a distinguished audience. Good morning, everyone.

Let me start by saying just a few words about my own background. I started out in…. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for your kind introduction.

President, Distinguished colleagues, Ladies and gentleman, Good morning! Is my voice loud enough?

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Good morning, everyone.

I appreciate the opportunity to be with you today. I am here to talk to you about… Good morning, everyone.

I am very happy to have this chance to give my presentation. Before I start my speech, let me ask you a question. By a show of hands, how many of you own a car?

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2. Introducing the Subject and the Outline of the Presentation

Background Information

- I would like to start by briefly reviewing the history of... - Let us start with the theoretical basis of this new technique. - To begin with, we have to consider the principle.

- I think it would be best to start out by looking at a few slides.

- I should like to preface my remarks with a description of the basic idea.

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- - - -

May I begin with a general outline of this project?

The first thing I would like to talk about is the definition of the terms I shall use in my lecture. The first point I'd like to make is the historical background of the invention. First, I shall explain to you why this new program is correct and feasible.

Topic - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Outlining - -

A brief look at today's agenda...

Before we start our presentation, let's take a brief look at the agenda...

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I’d like to talk(to you) about….

I’m going to present the recent… / explain our position on… / brief you on…. / inform you about… / describe…

I would like to concentrate on the problem of ... I shall devote my talk to ... I shall be speaking today about...

I want to confine my talk to the latest developments in ... The subject/focus/topic of my presentation is …. My topic today will deal with the observation of ... My presentation concerns... Today's topic is...

Today, I am going to give a talk on the application of computers in medicine. Today we are here to give a presentation on...

Today we are here to talk about...Before we start, I'd like you to meet my team members... In today's talk, I' 11 restrict myself to...

In my presentation this morning, I' 11 limit myself to three major points only. Now, I would like to address myself to the most important aspect of this problem. Among the many languages, I shall mention only BASIC.

What I am going to present today is the methodology and the data analysis. I'm not going to say much about that except to discuss the literature on that topic. I shall be offering a brief analysis of...

The main area that I intend to cover in this presentation is... Take a moment and think of...

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to tell you about...

I'm going to be speaking about something that is vitally important to all of us. My presentation will help solve a problem that has puzzled people for years...

At the end of this presentation you will understand why this company has been so successful for so long...

I am going to be talking about a product that could double your profit margins... The next ten minutes will change your attitude to sales and marketing...

Over the next ten minutes you are going to hear about something that will change the way your companies operate...

By the end of this presentation you will know all there is to know about...

Arousing interest

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I'm going to start with a general overview and then focus on this particular problem (...in general, ...more particularly).

I want to start with this particular topic, and then draw some more general conclusions from it (...specifically, ... in a wider context).

My talk today consists of two parts. One is... and the other is... I’ve divided my presentation/talk into four parts/sections. They are…. I shall first talk about ... and then touch on... and finally discuss ...

I am going to examine these topics in the following order (...first, ...next, ...after that, ...finally) I will deal with these topics in chronological order...

The subject can be looked at under the following headings: ... (Pointing to thePowerPoint display) There are five main aspects to this topic (...the first, ... the second, ...a third, ...another, ... the final) I would like to divide my talk into two parts. / My presentation will be given in four parts. The first part deals with ... The second part relates to... The third part concerns ... And the last part discusses…

- We can break this area down into the following fields: First/First of all… Secondly/then/next… Thirdly/and then we come to… Finally/lastly/last of all….

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There are (a number of) factors that may affect...

We have to take into account in any discussion of this subject, the following considerations. We all ought to be aware of the following points.

Purpose / Objective - - - -

The purpose of this presentation/talk is toupdate you on ... / put you in the picture about… / give you the background to… This talk is designed to…

We are here today to decide… / agree… / learn about…. Just to give you a brief overview.

Expressions on Other Occasions Correcting the title of the presentation - -

First of all, I would like to mention that the title of my presentation should be ...

Please allow me to correct a mistake in the title of my speech which appeared in the program. Instead of... it should read...

Reading another person's paper, as he or she is absent. - - - - -

I shall read a paper by Dr. Li from Guangzhou, china, who regrets that he could not be here. The title of his paper is...

I'm going to read the paper by Dr. Wang. It's a great pity that, because of ahealth problem, he could not be here.

I was asked by the author to read his paper. He apologizes for not being ableto come here. The next speaker, Prof. Zhang, regrets that she could not be here and has submitted her paper to me. I am not sure if I can present it as well as she expected.

I am not sure whether I' 11 be able to be very confident in answering specificquestions. However,

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I am somewhat familiar with his work, so I' 11 try my best. Samples

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Sample 1

Thank you, Mr. Chairperson, Mr. Director-General, distinguished members of the ILO's Governing Body andfriends. I welcome this opportunity to be here today, with an Organization which in many ways belongs to all of us workers. I canthink of, in fact, no other international body that one can claim as one's own sounambiguously.

I have also had a longstanding formal association with the ILO. Many of myearly pieces on women and technological change and on land rights were published by the ILO, as well as was the work of many other scholars. It is therefore a pleasure for me to be here on this important Symposium.

The canvas of the Symposium is very large. I will focus on two aspects of gender inequality that centrally effect millions of women as workers but perhapshave failed to receive the attention they deserve. First, the gender gap in command over property and productive assets and, second, gender biased social perceptions and social norms.

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Sample 2

I learned last May that you have to be careful in speaking to a group of professional communicators. After I conducted a writer' s workshop at the TorontoConference of the International Association of Business Communicators, JanineLichaczwrote asked me to speak here tonight and used the communication techniques I had recommended. She even included a footnote citing my lecture. I am susceptible to good communication and to flattery so I am pleased to be with you to discuss your topic for the evening, the use of language in the art of speechwriting.

I suppose we must begin by shaking our heads, woefully, over the sad state oflanguage today, whether in formal speeches, casual conversation, or in writing. Most of us in this room no doubt agree with the generally negative tone of TimeMagazine's year-end assessment which claims “our language has been besieged by vulgarities”. But to preserve our sanity as professionals in communicationof us would probably join Time in optimistically expecting English somehow to survive and even to prosper.

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II. Developing the Speech

1. Announcing the Beginning of the Speech - - -

2. Shifting to the Next Main Point - - - - - - - - - - - -

OK, let's move on. (go on to make your next point) Well, let's move on to the next point. We will now come to the second problem.

Turning to the next question, I'11 talk about the stages of the procedure.

As the second topic, I shall stop here. Now let' s turn our attention to the third topic.

So much for the methodology of our experiment. I'd now like to shift to the discussion of the results.

Now, let's move away from the first part and switch over to the next part of my presentation. That's all for the introduction and now we can go on to the literature review. Next,I wouldlike to turnto amore difficult problem.

The next point I'd like to talk about is the feasibility of this project. That brings me to my second point.

I am glad that we can now leave this rather boring subject of mathematic deduction and go into a more attractive one, that is the application of the formula.

3. Resuming the Topic - - - - - - - - - - - - -

4. Introducing the Supporting Materials - - -

I'm sure the implications of this are clear to all of us. There's an important point to be made here. As you can see, the figures speak for themselves.

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To begin with, I would like to talk about a principle.

I think it would be best to start out by looking at some pictures.

The first thing I would like to talk about is the definition of the termswhich I’11 use in my presentation.

Let' s come back to what I said in the first part of my speech. To go back to what I was saying earlier.

Getting back to the subject of the problem of theoretical considerations wecan find that... I want to return to the first part of my presentation.

Now, to get back to the effect of temperature, you may be aware that the problems have been solved.

This brings me back to the question of security.

At this point I would like to refer again to the question of methods in thefirst part of my lecture. Referring again to the first question, I think... Referring to the Coming Point I'll deal with it later.

I' 11 touch upon that point in a moment. I shall tell you in detail shortly.

I'll be saying more about this in a minute.

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I'd like to look at this in more detail.

Let's put this into perspective. (to explain it this way) Perhaps I should expand on that a little.

To digress for a moment? (to depart from your plan)

I think this part is the most difficult, so I'll explain it in greater detail.

I think this part of my paper is most important, so I plan to spend more timeon it. Please allow me to deal with this matter more extensively.

Being the most important part of mypresentation, I will elaborate on it withmore slides. I' 11 expand this topic with drawings and figures. Indicating the Points Briefly

Limited by the time available, I can only give you a very brief account ofthis matter.

I don't think that I should describe the methods in detail, because they areincluded in the handout. I will not go into detail on it.

This point has been talked about repeatedly in this symposium, so I am not going to spend too much time on it.

Let's go through the following points very rapidly.

I just want to outline for you what I experienced in using this new drug.

I shall not go over all these explanations. My time is running short. So I'’11be brief. It is sufficient to say that these experiments were poorly designed and without controls.

5. Repairing a Slip of Tone - - - - - -

6. Explaining the Contents on the Slides - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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The first of such experiments began in 2000, rather than 1999. May I have the lights, I mean the slides. The temperature increased, I shall say decreased. The population is 13 million, sorry, 31 million.

The exchange rate dropped from 2.5 to 1.8, I beg your pardon, 1.9.

As you can see from the first row, excuse me, the second row, that the output increased two fold.

This slide demonstrates ... On this slide, you can see... This curve in this slide shows... This figure in this slide exhibits... This table on this slide presents... This diagram on this slide depicts... This chart on this slide displaces ... The picture on this slide shows ...

The photomicrograph on this slide shows ... The flow-chart on this slide points out... The circuit diagram on this slide represents~...~ Indicating the Sources of the Content in a This figure is taken from.., by Dr. Li.

This diagram is after that of Prof. Wang with some modification

7. Expressions Concerning Audio-Visual Aids - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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Could we have the lights off? And the first slide, please. Lights off, first slide, please. Dim the lights, and first slide, please.

The slide is not so clear. Please darken the room a little more. Could you please turn on the lights, please? Now, we can have the lights on. Please switch on the lights. Lights on, please.

I apologize that this slide is not so clear, but I hope you can still make out the general idea. Sorry for the small print. I'm sorry we left a figure out here. May I proceed to the next slide, please? I think we can move on to the next slide. Let me show you the next slide.

Now, we can go on to the next slide. ' Next slide, please. Next, please. Next !

To make a comparison, can we return to the first slide, please?

Let's go back. No, not this one. One back. Back one more. Yes, that’s it. Thank you. May I go back two slides, please? Could you return to the second slide? May we have the previous slide again?

Sorry, this one is in the wrong order. May I have the next one?

Oh, this slide is misplaced. Please skip over it. Yes, this is the correct one. I'm afraid I didn't ask for this slide. Can we go back to the previous one?Please. No, not this one. Next, please. Yes, this is the one I need. Thank you. I'm afraid you may have lost one slide which is a flow chart of the procedure. Sorry, there seems to be one slide missing. Let's go through the following slides rapidly.

The following three slides we will go through quickly without explanation. Wait a minute, please. I want to say moreabout this slide.

Because of the shortage of time, I' Il have to omit the following slides. Time is up, let's come to the last slide directly.

Would you please skip the next slide and go on to the table? Next, next. Go ahead... That's it.

Demanding to Show the Next Slide

Returning to the Previous Slide

Correcting a Mistake

Indicating the Speed of Running Slides

III. Ending the Speech

1. Signaling the Beginning of the End Part - - - - - - - -

2. Summarizing / Concluding - - - - - - - - - - - -

3. Quoting - - - - -

4. Closing - - - - - - - - -

I hope I have made myself understood I hope you have found this useful

I hope this has given you some idea/clear idea/an outline of... Let me end by saying...

That, then was all I had to say on... That concludes our presentation...

I hope I've managed to give you a clearer picture of... If there are any questions, I'd be delighted to... Let's break for a coffee at this point

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Let’s look at what I have talked about.

Well, that brings me to the end of my presentation. This last slide is a briefsummary of what I have talked about.

Before I stop/finish, let me just say...

To close my speech, I' 11 show you the last slide. Now I'd like to summarize my talk.

To summarize, I have talked about three aspects of the cancer problem: ...

Finally, as a summary statement, I would like to sum up the major points Ihave made. So, to sum up?

Let me just run over the key points again. I'll briefly summarize the main issues.

In conclusion, / In closing, / In a word, / In brief, / To sum up / Briefly......./ All in all / Finally,… In conclusion, I'd like to... I'd like to finish by... By way of conclusion...

As you can see, there are some very good reasons ...

To sum up, my conclusion is that the present program is the best one. Let me conclude my talk with the following comments.

Allow me to conclude by listing out all the factors influencing the efficacy. In conclusion, I would like to point out the following aspects. I'd like to leave you with the following conclusion.

Let me close by quoting Dr. Einstein, the famous physicist, who said that… I would like to come to a close by quoting what Sir Newton once said... Therefore, I would suggest that we... I'd like to suggest...

As far as I'm concerned, the only solution to the problem is...

Thanks - - - - - - - - - - - Samples

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That's all, thank You.

That brings me to the end of my talk. That's the end of my presentation. So much for my speech, thank you. Thank you for your attention. Thank you for your listening.

Thank you. I'm sure you all have lots of questions. You have been a very attentive audience---thank you

I am afraid that the clock is against us, so we had better stop here

Sorry, I see the red light is shining so I have to skip the last part and jumpto the conclusion. Mr. Chairman is signaling me, I have to stop here and leave out the remainingpart to spare time.

Other Expressions that May Be Useful in the End Part of the Speech

Sample 1

That's all. Thank you! Sample 2 (Turn to 12thppt)

OK, that is all I'm going to talk today.Thank you !

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Sample 3

That's all I wanted to show you about Machine Vision and one of its applications, AGV. Thank you!

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Sample 4

We have proposed a framework of a hierarchical planning system for robots. First of all, the system is an automatic plan system that can guide the robot intelligently in terms of the environment. Secondly, it is based on hierarchicalplanning. The planning problem has been hierarchically decomposed into two sub-problems: global destination selection and local motion planning. And finally,the simulation and application has proved it as an effective design. (Show the last visual)

That's all for my presentation. For any question to be raised, I'm quite willing to discuss them with you at any time. Thank you, every one.

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Sample 5

Finally, we can draw the conclusion: edge detection and denoising are two important branches of image processing. If we combine edge detection with denoising, we can overcome the shortcomings of the commonly-used denolsing methods andwithout blurring the edge notably. Furthermore, there are many denoising and edge detection methods now. Different methods are suitable for different types of images and noise models. Wecan do further research on how to combine these various denoising and edge detection methods according to the content of the images and nature of noise.

That's all for my talk. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask me. I'm quitewilling to discuss them with you atany time, Thank you.

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IV. Asking and Answering Questions (Q & A)

1. Inviting Questions Start of speech - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2. Raising Questions

Signaling Your Intention to Ask a Question - - - - -

I want to ask Dr. bi a question. I have a guest ion for Dr. Anderson. Mr. Smith, I have a question to ask you. There is a question I'd like to ask Prof. Li. A question for Mr. Liu.

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I’d be glad to answer any questions at the end of the talk.

I will be pleased to answer any questions you may have at the end of the presentation. If you have any questions, I will be pleased to answer them at the end of the presentation. There will be time at the end of the presentation to answer your questions-so please feel free to ask me anything then.

If you have any questions, please feel free to interrupt. Don't hesitate to interrupt if you have a question. Please feel free to interrupt me at any time. Please stop me if you have any questions.

Please interrupt me if there’s something which needs clarifying. Otherwise, there’ll be time for discussion at the end

If you need clarification on any point, you're welcome to ask questions at any time. Please can you save your questions till the end. Can I come back to that point later? I will be coming to that point in a minute. That's a tricky question.

We will go into details later. But just to give you an idea of... I am afraid there's no easy answer to that one... Yes, that's a very good point.

Perhaps we could leave that point until the questions at the end of the presentation

I think I said that I would answer questions at the end of the presentation---perhaps you wouldn't mind waiting until then.

Are there any questions you'd like to ask at this point? So, let's throw it open to questions.

Now I' d like to answer any questions, if you have any. Now I am ready to answer your questions, if any. I'd be glad to try and answer any questions. Are there any questions? Any questions?

I think we have time for just one more question

Middle of speech

End of speech

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One question, Dr. Wei.

Could I ask you a question, Prof. Li? May I venture to ask Prof. Zhang a question?

Before asking your question, you can express your positive attitude or make a comment on the speaker's presentation. For example,

Dr. Johnson, I was fascinated by your description of your study, but what will happen if... Mr. Li, you did splendid work! Just one question.

You mentioned very briefly that you used two experiments that were the same. Would you please elaborate on that point?

Would you be so kind as to give me more information about the method of yourexperiment? Would you tell me the reason why you set such a high temperature?

Expressing Your Attitude

Asking the Specific Question

Samples

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Dr. Wang, I'd like to raise one question. First, may I say how much I enjoyed talk. But, may I ask, do you have experience with the new method?

Congratulations, Dr. Li. I can't help but admire your achievement. But I wantto know what's your attitude toward abuse of antibiotics?

I'd like to congratulate Mr. Liu on a very interesting presentation.

May I ask you a question? How does subjective evaluation differ from objective evaluation? First, I'd like to say your research is very interesting. May I ask two questions? Do you see any relation between cigarette smoking and peptic ulcers? And what advantage do you expect by using this approach?

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3. Response to Questions Asking for Repetition - - - - - - - - - - - -

Pardon, I couldn't hear what you said. I beg your pardon, I didn't catch what you said.

I'm sorry I forgot your first question. Would you be so kind as to say itagain? I'm not quite surge what your question is. I didn't quite get the last point of your question. You mean, there may be some mistake in the calculation? Are you referring to the significance of the difference?

Are you suggesting that the temperature might have affected the results? If I understand you correctly, you are saying/asking... I didn't quite catch that. Could you go over that again? I'm not sure what you're getting at.

Welcoming the Question

Welcome the question by saying \"thank you\" or commenting on it saying \"That’s a goodquestion\" or \"That's a challenging question.\" - -

This is a very good question. Thank you for that question.

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- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I'm glad this question has been brought up- I appreciate that question. This is a hard question. This is an interesting question. This is a big question.

I'd be delighted to answer your question. I'll try to answer this question very briefly. In answer to your question, I would say that... I can only provide a partial answer to that question. Let me try to answer your questions one by one. My answer to your first question is... May I answer your second question first? I have only a partial answer to your question.

Thank you for that question. This is a challenging question and I'm afraid I can only provide a partial answer to it. Anyway, I'll try my best to answer it.

Repeating or Paraphrasing the Question

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Questioner: Have you tried it on human bodies?

Presenter: This gentleman would like to know whether we have tried this onhuman bodies.

Responding to Difficult or Challenging Question

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Perhaps in another year or so we can answer that question, because these studies are now in progress.

We are now working on this problem and, if you agree, I'll answer your question in a few weeks. The only answer I can give at present is to wait a few more years, at which time something bettermight ultimately come out of all our efforts.

I think it will be possible to answer this question when more experiments are completed. The answer to this question needs further study. I hope I will be able to answer your question later.

Answer (1): We've spent two months preparing the new budget. It's a good budgetand we're confident we'll get approval to put it into practice.

Answer (2): There is too much supposition in the question for me to give asound answer. The following are some other examples of answers to challenging questions:

I appreciate your interest in my research, but I just don't want to talk aboutit now. Let's talk about something else.

I'd rather not say. Why do you want to know?

Before I answer you that question, let me ask you: where do you think weshould have the project?In this way, sometimes you encourage the questioner to answer his or her own question,

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Question: So what happens if the new budget isn't approved? - - -

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Responding to Improper Question

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Sometimes you can relay the question back to the questioner. For example,

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e.g. \"What do you think? Are people prepared to pay an extra $ 2 for faster service?\" Responding to the Questions You Do Not Know

If you don't know the answer to a particular question, simply admit that you don't know.Say something like this:

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- - - -

I'm sorry. I don't happen to know the answer to that question, butI'll be happy to check into it for you.

I don't think I can answer your question.

I wish I could answer your question, but unfortunately I have no good answer.

I'm not sure that I can answer your question. What I'm going to say is not quitean answer to your question.

Another technique to cope with the situation is to direct the attention to another expert who may know it or you can use the audience. Ask if anyone could help the questioner and hence itwon't be necessary for you to admit that you do not know the answer. See examples below. - - - - - - -

I think that question could be better answered by Dr. Liu than by me. I think perhaps Dr. Chen would be better able to answer this question.

Prof. Li would be a better person to answer your question since he hasdone alot of work in this field.

Fortunately, Prof. 'Ma, who is an authority in this area, is 'here. I think no one is more suitable than him to answer your question.

Dr. Sawyer is perhaps ina better position to tell us something about it. Perhaps my colleague Dr. Emery here has some better ideas.

I think it would be better if Prof. Wu were to make some comments on this matter.

\"I've already answered that but you obviously weren't listening.\" Instead say something like

\"I'm sorry Ididn't explain that clearly.\"

Avoid talking to one questioner. Look towards the other,side of the conference hall orroom and indicate that there is another question. Suggest that as there are several more questioners,' yon could discuss his or her question in more detail after your talk. Referring Back to the Questioner

Having finished answering questions, you should check that the questioner is satisfied orfurther elaboration or explanation is called for. The following expressions might be helpful. - - - - - - -

Did I answer your question? Did I answer you satisfactorily? Did your question get answered?

I don't know whether this answered your question. I don't know if this is a satisfactory answer. I hope this may serve as an answer to Dr. Li. I hope this answers your question.

Avoid using the following expressions to embarrass the questioner:

Sometimes when question lime is over and ff time permits, you can restate,your mainproposition, including any good comments from the audience and ignoring adverse questions orremarks. Thus, you demonstrate that you are confident mid can cope calmly with controversy.

Remember that your last words to the audience will be retained longest and you are expected tobehave in a professional manner.

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V. Talking During the Break

1. Useful encouragingphrases to show your interest and to stimulate the flow of conversation

Then what happened? Good. Ah.

Really? Right. That's right. Oh? Right, I will. Go on...

Oh, hmm. I think it's a good one. For instance. Yes. No. For example. Yes, of course. Sorry, I can't. Such as. Yes, that's right.I'm afraid not. Tell me more. Yes, I do. Well, not really. Then? Yes, he was. Perhaps not difficult. Really? Yes, we were. Erin, I don't know. Is that right? Very nice. I really can't manage it. Is that so? Very good. Not very nice. Are you sure? Very clear. Very bad. (laughter) ..... Really nice. Very disagreeable. Quite nice. Really nasty. (silence...) Quite, absolutely true. Aha.

2. Informal Talking between Participants

A Conversation between Two Old Friends at Coffee Break A: What would you like? B: A coffee, please.

A: I'm sorry I couldn't meet you at the airport. I had to pick up Dr. Abel andbring him here. ,'

B: That doesn't matter. Dr. Abel? Isn't he the keynote speaker tomorrow?

A: Yes, that's right. He's the American scholar on Electronics. Mr. Li should havepicked him up, but he had an accident yesterday morning. Nothing serious, but something was wrong with his car. B: Well, what's new in your department since I left? A: Oh, nothing, really. How are you enjoying the work?

B: Oh, it's very interesting, I must say. I've learnt a lot. Perhaps we'll find time to talk about it. We've had some interesting results.

A: Would you like to have dinner with me? B: Yes, that would be very nice.

One Participant Being Introduced to another Participant A: Dr. Kerridge, may I introduce you to Dr. Hyman? B: Glad to meet you. C: Glad to meet you too.

B: I'm pleased to meet you at last. I've heard so much about you from Dr. Liu. I beliveyou're doing research in the field of statistics. C: That's right.

B: I was most interested to hear about your recent paper on descriptive statistics. Doyou think you could let me have a copy?

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C: I'd be delighted to. In fact, I've got a few. spare copies with me. I'll bring one with me tomorrow. B: Thank you very much.

3. Initiating a Conversation

A: Excuse me, aren't you Dr. Engleton? B: Yes.

A: Let me introduce myself. I'm Li Hong from China. B: Nice to meet you, Mr. Li.

A: Nice to meet you too. I'd appreciate the chance to talk to you some time. B: That's very kind of you. What do you think of the morning session? A: It's been most interesting so far, hasn't it?

4. Additional Samples Sample l

A: Excuse me, could you tell me where Professor Dubrovik's talk will be held? B: I beg your pardon?

A: I didn't quite understand the announcement in the plenarysession.

B: I'm sorry, but I didn't quite understand you. Would you mind repeating that, please? A: I would like to know where Professor Dubrovnik is. B: Ah, Professor Dubrovnik! He's in Room 203. A: Thank you very much.

B: Not at all. Do you know, Dr. C, I believe my English is getting worse, not better. C: No, no, Dr. B. I'm afraid I didn't understand that gentleman either.

B: Well, thank goodness for that. Now, where is that new interdisciplinary group meeting? C: I think they said in the small room next to the main lecture hall. B: Ah, yes. There it is. Thank you.

C: I'll see you later for lunch, then. I hope you enjoy the morning session. B: Thanks. I'm sure I will. Same to you! C: Oh, Dr. B. B: Yes?

C: If you wait for me after the session, I'll come and pick you up. B: Fine, I'll do that. Sample 2

A: Ah, there you are, Dr B! How did your meeting go?

B: It was very interesting, but I must admit, I found some parts very difficult tounderstand. A: Oh, why was that?

B: Well, a lot of members in the group used specialist vocabulary, and it wasn't always easy to understand what they meant.

A: Yes, I know what you mean. I often have the same difficulties at conferences like this. Sometimes I have the feeling that they are speaking a foreign language, even though I know that they're using English! I'm sure I would have had the same trouble if I'd been in your group.

B: Still, I got a lot out of the group discussion, and I'm looking forward to the afternoon session. A: Good. Now what about a drink? All this talking makes a man thirsty!

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B: Good idea! It's my turn, I think. Sample 3 At poster session

A: May I introduce myself? I'm... from.... I missed your presentation this morning. Will you tell me something about your study?

B: Oh, you are Dr A. I've known you by name through a number of papers on... I'm so glad to meet you. I think our work may be similar and I'd like to hear your views.

A: I'll be very glad to do so. But first I'd like to ask a question. How did you separate these two fractions? Did you use an ordinary chromatographic method?

B: No, it's not that simple because their retention times are very similar. That makes it difficult to find a really appropriate separation column. A: How did you manage it?

B: We used a kind of trick which turned out to be surprisingly successful. The trick was to use an optically active urea lattice which forms a diastereoisomeric pair when mixed with the material .to be solved.

A: I'm not familiar with the urea technology. I'd like to hear more... B: May I have one of the leaflets? A: By all means. Here you are. B: Thank you.

A: I wonder if you could send me a publication copy of your paper when it's ready. B: Certainly, I’ll be glad to do so; May I haveyour home address? A: Of course. Let me write it for you.

B: Please put it in my notebook, if you don't mind. A: Please keep me informed of the progress of your work. B: Goodbye !

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