Lesson 135: Giving a Presentation
Presenting to an audience demands signposting — the verbal road-signs that tell listeners where you are: “firstly”, “to sum up”, “I’m open to questions”. This lesson gives you the frame of a polished talk.
The opening of a talk
בֹּקֶר טוֹב לְכֻלָּם. הַיּוֹם אֲדַבֵּר עַל חֲשִׁיבוּת הַשָּׂפָה.
boker tov lechulam. hayom adaber al chashivut hasafa.
Good morning everyone. Today I’ll talk about the importance of language.
רִאשִׁית, אַצִּיג אֶת הַנּוֹשֵׂא.
rishit, atsig et hanose.
Firstly, I’ll introduce the topic.
שֵׁנִית, אֶתֵּן כַּמָּה דֻּגְמָאוֹת.
shenit, eten kama dugmaot.
Secondly, I’ll give a few examples.
לְסִכּוּם, אַרְצֶה לְהַדְגִּישׁ נְקֻדָּה אַחַת.
lesikum, artse lehadgish nekuda achat.
To sum up, I’d like to stress one point.
תּוֹדָה רַבָּה, וַאֲנִי פָּתוּחַ לִשְׁאֵלוֹת.
toda raba, va’ani patuach lishelot.
Thank you very much, and I’m open to questions.
Register: signposting a talk
A presentation runs on ordinal signposts and a formal first-person future:
| Hebrew | Romanization | Function |
|---|---|---|
| רִאשִׁית… שֵׁנִית… | rishit… shenit… | firstly… secondly… |
| אֲדַבֵּר עַל… | adaber al… | I’ll talk about… |
| לְסִכּוּם | lesikum | to sum up |
| פָּתוּחַ לִשְׁאֵלוֹת | patuach lishelot | open to questions |
Note the run of future verbs — אֲדַבֵּר, אַצִּיג, אֶתֵּן (adaber, atsig, eten, “I will speak / present / give”). Stating up front what you will do is the backbone of a clear talk.
Tip: בִּרְשׁוּתְכֶם (birshutchem, “with your permission”) is an elegant way to begin, and לְסַיֵּם (lesayem, “to conclude”) signals you’re wrapping up.
Vocabulary
The talk
| הַרְצָאָה | hartsa’a | lecture, talk |
| נוֹשֵׂא | nose | topic, subject |
| דֻּגְמָה | dugma | example |
| קָהָל | kahal | audience |
Signposting
| רִאשִׁית | rishit | firstly |
| לְסִכּוּם | lesikum | to sum up |
| לְהַדְגִּישׁ | lehadgish | to emphasize |
| נְקֻדָּה | nekuda | point |