Students learn 18 key presentation phrases and expressions, organized by function: openings like “I’d like to start by…”, signposting language like “moving on to…” and “to sum up…“, ways to refer to visuals and data such as “as you can see from this chart…“, audience-engagement phrases, and ways to handle questions gracefully, including “that’s a great question” and “I’ll come back to that in a moment.”
This is the practical, functional language that shows up in real meetings and presentations, not just a vocabulary list. It’s a fantastic presentation skills lesson for learners who want to structure and deliver a presentation confidently in English.
lesson overview
This presentation skills ESL lesson plan for B1-B2 students turns nervous, hesitant public speaking into confident, structured English. Built as a ready-to-use Business English lesson plan, it teaches the exact phrases professionals use to open, structure, and close a presentation, refer to charts and data, engage an audience, and handle tough questions gracefully. From a phrase-matching activity and a jumbled-script puzzle to a “Tough Crowd” roleplay and a 90-second mock presentation, students move from recognizing presentation language to actually using it under pressure. Like every lesson on Elessonworld, this B1-B2 ESL lesson plan comes in two formats: a printable PDF worksheet for the traditional classroom and an interactive online lesson, navigated with a simple press of the spacebar, so it works just as well in person or in an online ESL class.
Target Audience:
- Level: B1 – B2 (Intermediate to Upper-Intermediate)
- Best for: Adults
Content Breakdown:
- Warm-Up Discussion: Have You Ever…?
- Vocabulary Matching: What’s It For?
- Key Vocabulary & Collocations: Signpost It
- Mini Speaking: Say It Like You Mean It
- Put It in Order: Build the Presentation
- Which Phrase Would You Use?
- Reading Activity: Meet Daniel
- Speaking Challenge: Tough Crowd
- Guided Speaking: Present It in 90 Seconds
- Mini Feedback Exchange: Tell Them What You Think
- Wrap-Up Discussion
HOMEWORK (Extra Language Immersion):
Watch & Reflect
Students watch a real coaching session with communication expert Vinh Giang, who teaches a room of professionals how to keep a presentation engaging using questions, props, and activities, including the wild true story on a TED stage, then reflect on which techniques they already use and which they want to try.