Making what you say during a presentation have more impact by changing the focus of a sentence. For more English tutorials, please visit: https://www.thelecturette.com

1. Presentation skills:
Focus

2. Focus
• Rearranging the word order of your sentence to
put emphasis on a certain point

3. ‘Given’
and ‘new’
information
• In English, important information is put at the
beginning or the end of a sentence.
• There are two types of important information:
• ’Given’ information
• ‘New’ information

4. ‘Given’
information
• That which the listener already knows.
• Normally at the beginning of a sentence
Example topic: poverty (given information)
Poverty is the state of being extremely poor.

5. ‘New’
information
• That which is new to the listener
• Normally at the end of a sentence
Example topic: poverty (given information)
Poverty is the state of being extremely poor.
Being extremely poor has negative effects on
the economy.

6. Shifting
focus
• Changing the word order to put emphasis on:
• a person
• an object
• a time
• etc.

7. Shifting
focus
• Normal sentence:
Alexander Fleming invented penicillin in 1928.
• Focusing on the person:
It was Alexander Fleming who invented …

8. Shifting
focus
• Normal sentence:
Alexander Fleming invented penicillin in 1928.
• Focusing on the object:
It was penicillin which Alexander Fleming …

9. Shifting
focus
• Normal sentence:
Alexander Fleming invented penicillin in 1928.
• Focusing on the time:
It was in 1928 when Alexander Fleming …

10. Introducing
new
information
• Normal sentence:
Global warming is my subject today.
• New information at the end:
What I’m going to talk about today is global
warming.

11. Introducing
new
information
• Normal sentence:
Profitability is essential.
• New information at the end:
What is essential is profitability.

12. Clarifying
points
• Some expressions:
Let me put it another way …
Look at it this way …
What I’m trying to say is …
The point/thing is …

13. For more presentations, visit:
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