8 phrases · B1 · B2

Presenting to a room in English

Every phrase below is a fixed shape you can fill in and use immediately, ordered from the simplest to the most advanced. Each one carries what it means in English and in Hindi, three examples that vary the slot, and the situations it actually gets said in.

The phrases

Simplest first. The braces mark the part you change.

  • I was responsible for {-ING}

    B1

    Say what your job actually was — the interview sentence.

    मैं ___ के लिए ज़िम्मेदार था/थी।

    • I was responsible for training the new joiners.
    • I was responsible for managing the daily reports.
    • I was responsible for handling customer complaints.

    As a question: What were you responsible for in that role?

    Formal — writing, presentations, officials · say it as: I was responsible for / training the new joiners · used interviews, messages and email

  • Today I'd like to talk about {NOUN}

    B1

    Open a presentation by naming the subject in one line.

    आज मैं ___ के बारे में बात करना चाहूँगा/चाहूँगी।

    • Today I'd like to talk about why our response times have doubled.
    • Today I'd like to talk about the three changes we are proposing.
    • Today I'd like to talk about what we learned from the pilot.

    Formal — writing, presentations, officials · say it as: Today I'd like to talk about / why response times have doubled · used at work, college

  • Let me start with {NOUN}

    B1

    Tell the room where you are beginning, so they can follow.

    मैं ___ से शुरू करता/करती हूँ।

    • Let me start with the numbers.
    • Let me start with what went wrong.
    • Let me start with a question for all of you.

    Formal — writing, presentations, officials · say it as: Let me start with / the numbers · used at work, college

  • What this shows is {CLAUSE}

    B2

    Tell the room what to conclude, instead of hoping they will.

    इससे यह पता चलता है कि ___।

    • What this shows is that the problem is not the volume, it is the timing.
    • What this shows is that most customers give up before they reach us.
    • What this shows is that the training worked.

    Formal — writing, presentations, officials · say it as: What this shows is / that the problem is the timing · used at work, college

  • To summarise, {CLAUSE}

    B2

    Close by saying the one thing you want remembered.

    संक्षेप में, ___।

    • To summarise, we need two more people and one more month.
    • To summarise, the pilot worked and we should extend it.
    • To summarise, nothing here is a technical problem.

    Formal — writing, presentations, officials · say it as: To summarise, / we need two more people · used at work, college

  • One example that comes to mind is {CLAUSE}

    B2

    Start a story when somebody asks "tell me about a time…".

    एक उदाहरण याद आता है — ___।

    • One example that comes to mind is when our biggest client threatened to leave.
    • One example that comes to mind is a launch we had to delay by a month.
    • One example that comes to mind is the week both our seniors were on leave.

    Formal — writing, presentations, officials · say it as: One example that comes to mind / is when our biggest client threatened to leave · used interviews, at work

  • What I learned from that was {CLAUSE}

    B2

    Close a story with the point, which is what the interviewer is waiting for.

    उससे मैंने यह सीखा कि ___।

    • What I learned from that was to ask for the deadline in writing.
    • What I learned from that was that people will tell you the truth if you ask twice.
    • What I learned from that was to test with real users much earlier.

    Formal — writing, presentations, officials · say it as: What I learned from that / was to ask for the deadline in writing · used interviews, college

  • Moving on to {NOUN}

    B2

    Change section without losing the room.

    अब ___ की ओर बढ़ते हैं।

    • Moving on to the second point.
    • Moving on to what this means for the team.
    • Moving on to costs, which is where it gets interesting.

    Formal — writing, presentations, officials · say it as: Moving on to / the second point · used at work, college

What goes wrong

The versions that get said instead, and why they land differently.

Commonly saidCorrect English

I was responsible of training the new joiners.

I was responsible for training the new joiners.

It is always "responsible FOR". The preposition is part of the word, not a choice.

I was responsible for train the new joiners.

I was responsible for training the new joiners.

After "for", the verb takes -ing.

Today I am going to tell about our response times.

Today I'd like to talk about our response times.

"Tell" always needs a person — tell SOMEBODY something. "Talk about" does not.

To summarise, I would like to conclude that we need two more people.

To summarise, we need two more people.

A summary is the short version. Two openings in one sentence makes it longer, not clearer.

Where you will need these

The same phrases, sorted by the room you are standing in.

More phrase groups on the phrases index, or browse by situation on the speaking pages.

Reading it is not the same as saying it.

A phrase you have read is not a phrase you can reach for. CoCap makes you produce it, in a conversation, and corrects what comes out.

Practise these out loud →

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