Essential Phrases for Business Presentations in English

Giving a business presentation in English can feel challenging, especially if English is not your first language. You may know what you want to say but struggle to find the right words when you are standing in front of an audience.

The good news is that you don’t need to memorise an entire speech. Learning a few useful business presentation phrases can help you organise your ideas, move smoothly between topics, explain information clearly, and finish with confidence.

In this guide, you’ll learn useful English phrases for every stage of a business presentation, from your opening remarks to your final questions.

In this guide, you will learn:

1. How to start a business presentation
2. How to introduce your topic and objectives
3. Useful phrases for moving between points
4. How to present data and statistics
5. Phrases for explaining and clarifying information
6. How to emphasise important points
7. How to conclude a presentation
8. How to finish a presentation
9. Useful phrases for handling questions

Starting Your Business Presentation

The opening of your presentation sets the tone for everything that follows. Start by welcoming your audience, introducing yourself if necessary, and clearly explaining what you will discuss.

Here are some useful phrases:

• “Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here today.”
• “Good afternoon. It’s a pleasure to be here.”
• “My name is [name], and I’m responsible for…”
• “Today, I’m going to talk about…”
• “The purpose of today’s presentation is to…”
• “I’d like to give you an overview of…”
• “Today, I’d like to focus on…”
• “By the end of this presentation, you’ll have a better understanding of…”

For example:

“Good morning, everyone. Today, I’m going to talk about our marketing strategy for the coming year.”

A clear opening immediately tells your audience what to expect.

Introducing Your Topic and Objectives 

Once you’ve introduced your topic, tell your audience how the presentation will be organised. This makes it easier for them to follow your ideas.

Useful phrases include:

• “I’ve divided my presentation into three main sections.”
• “First, I’ll discuss…”
• “Then, I’ll move on to…”
• “Finally, I’ll look at…”
• “I’ll begin with…, followed by…, and finish with…”
• “Let’s start by looking at…”

For example:

“I’ve divided my presentation into three sections. First, I’ll discuss our current performance. Then, I’ll look at our key challenges. Finally, I’ll present some recommendations for the future.”

This type of signposting helps your audience understand where they are in your presentation.

Fun Fact: In Business English, phrases such as “First, let’s look at…”, “Moving on to…”, and “To summarise…” are often called ‘signposting language’. Like road signs, they tell your audience where your presentation is going and make it easier to follow.

Transitioning Between Points  

Good transitions help your presentation flow naturally. Rather than moving abruptly from one topic to another, use phrases that signal a change in direction.

Try:

• “Let’s move on to…”
• “Now, let’s turn our attention to…”
• “This brings me to my next point…”
• “Moving on to…”
• “Let’s take a closer look at…”
• “Another important point to consider is…”
• “In addition to this…”
• “Now that we’ve discussed [previous point], let’s look at…”

For example:

“Now that we’ve looked at our sales figures, let’s move on to our customer feedback.”

These phrases act as verbal signposts, helping your audience follow the structure of your presentation.

Presenting Data and Statistics 

Business presentations often involve charts, graphs, percentages, and other data. When presenting statistics, introduce the information clearly and explain why it matters.

Useful phrases include:

• “According to our latest data…”
• “Our research shows that…”
• “The figures indicate that…”
• “As you can see from this chart…”
• “This graph illustrates…”
• “There has been a significant increase in…”
• “We can see a noticeable decrease in…”
• “The most significant figure here is…”
• “This represents an increase of…”
• “Compared with last year…”

For example:

“As you can see from this chart, sales increased by 15% compared with last year.”

Remember that simply presenting numbers isn’t enough. Explain what the figures mean and why they are important to your audience.

Explaining and Clarifying Information  

Business presentations can involve technical or complicated information. If you need to explain an idea in simpler terms, use clear signposting phrases.

Try:

• “Let me explain that in more detail.”
• “To put it simply…”
• “In other words…”
• “What this means is…”
• “To clarify…”
• “Let me give you an example.”
• “What I mean by this is…”
• “Another way of looking at this is…”

For example:

“Our customer retention rate has increased significantly. In other words, more of our existing customers are choosing to stay with us.”

These phrases are particularly useful when presenting complex information to an audience with different levels of knowledge.

Emphasising an Important Point 

Sometimes you need to draw your audience’s attention to a particularly important piece of information.

Useful phrases include:

• “I’d like to highlight…”
• “It’s important to note that…”
• “The key point here is…”
• “What I’d like you to focus on is…”
• “This is particularly important because…”
• “The most significant finding is…”
• “I want to draw your attention to…”

For example:

“I’d like to highlight one important finding from our research: customer satisfaction has increased significantly over the past six months.”

These phrases tell your audience that the information that follows deserves particular attention.

Giving Examples 

Examples can make an abstract idea easier to understand.

You can introduce them with phrases such as:

• “For example…”
• “For instance…”
• “To give you an example…”
• “A good example of this is…”
• “Let’s look at an example…”
• “This can be seen in…”

For example:

“There are several ways we can improve customer engagement. For example, we could introduce a monthly customer newsletter.”

Concluding Your Presentation 

Your conclusion should remind your audience of your main points and make it clear that the presentation is coming to an end.

Useful phrases include:

• “To summarise…”
• “To recap…”
• “In conclusion…”
• “To bring everything together…”
• “The key points to remember are…”
• “Before I finish, I’d like to highlight…”
• “In summary, we’ve seen that…”

For example:

“To summarise, we’ve looked at our current performance, identified our main challenges, and discussed three possible solutions.”

A concise summary helps reinforce the most important information before you finish.

Ending Your Presentation 

Finish by thanking your audience and inviting questions or discussion.

Useful phrases include:

• “Thank you for your time and attention.”
• “Thank you for listening.”
• “Thank you for your time. I’d be happy to answer any questions.”
• “That brings me to the end of my presentation.”
• “I’d be happy to discuss this further.”
• “Are there any questions?”
• “I’m happy to take any questions.”

For example:

“That brings me to the end of my presentation. Thank you for your time and attention. I’d be happy to answer any questions.”

Handling Questions During a Presentation 

Depending on the setting, your audience may ask questions during or after your presentation. Having a few phrases prepared can help you respond professionally.

If you understand the question:

• “That’s a good question.”
• “Thank you for raising that.”
• “The answer is…”
• “That’s an important point.”

If you need clarification:

• “Could you clarify what you mean by…?”
• “Could you expand on that question?”
• “If I understand correctly, you’re asking…”

If you don’t know the answer:

• “I don’t have that information with me, but I can look into it.”
• “That’s something I’ll need to check.”
• “I’m not sure of the exact figure, but I can provide that information afterwards.”

You don’t need to have an immediate answer to every question. A calm and honest response is more professional than guessing.

Tips for Giving a Business Presentation in English 

Knowing the right phrases is useful, but how you deliver your presentation matters too.

Keep these tips in mind:

• Practise your opening: Knowing your first few sentences well can help you feel more confident.
• Speak clearly: Avoid speaking too quickly, particularly when presenting important information.
• Use signposting: Phrases such as “moving on to” and “to summarise” make your presentation easier to follow.
• Keep your language simple: Clear English is usually more effective than complicated vocabulary.
• Pause between ideas: Short pauses give your audience time to process information.
• Don’t read every word from your slides: Use your slides as visual support rather than a script.
• Practise answering questions: Prepare for likely questions before the presentation.

Also remember: You don’t need to memorise your entire presentation word for word. Instead, memorise your key phrases, transitions, and opening and closing sentences. This gives you a structure to follow while allowing you to speak naturally. 

Mini Challenge

Can you improve this presentation opening?

Instead of simply saying:

“Today I’m going to talk about sales.”

Think about how your statement tells the audience what the presentation is about and what they should expect.

Conclusion

A successful business presentation isn’t just about having good ideas. You also need to communicate those ideas clearly and guide your audience through them.

Learning a set of reliable English phrases for presentations can make this much easier. From introducing your topic and presenting statistics to moving between points and answering questions, these expressions give you a structure to work with.

The more you practise using them, the more naturally they will become part of your Business English vocabulary.

So, before your next presentation, choose five phrases from this guide and practise using them aloud. With preparation and regular practice, you can deliver your next business presentation with greater clarity, confidence, and professionalism.

Presentation skills are just one part of effective professional communication. Learn more about the importance of Business English and how strong communication skills can help you in meetings, negotiations, emails, and other workplace situations. 

Writer: Mrunmayee Raut

Designer: Amelia L