Hello everyone. My name's Phil Todd and today I'm going to talk about word stress and intonation during presentations.
First some definitions.
Stress and intonation are used for a variety of purposes in English. When presenting, they
are often used to make the important content of your talk clear. Often there is a rise
in intonation on a key word. But sometimes, there is a fall, especially at the end of
sentences. The important thing is that there is a "contrast" in intonation with words that
surround the one you want to stress. Without appropriate stress and intonation, your listeners
may miss the points you are trying to make. What's worse, you may end up sounding like
a robot. To make it easier for you to understand, I'm
going to say a short sentence without stressing any of the key words, and with no intonation.
OK, here it is.
My name's Phil Todd and I work at the English Language Centre.
Would you want to continue listening to me
if I spoke like that? I don't think so! Ok, here is the same sentence with key words stressed.
My name's Phil Todd and I work at the English Language Centre.
Much better right?
OK, so now I'm going to say a short introduction. First read though the introduction in your
notes. Underline two words in each sentence that you think should be stressed. To help
you do this, try to identify which two words carry the most important information. Understand?
So, now pause the video! When you're ready, start the video again.
Good morning, everyone. Thank you. Thank you all for coming
We're delighted to be able to present to you today.
My name's Phil, and I'd like to introduce my partner James.
We're both studying design. OK, let me ask you a question: how many of
you own a smartphone? Please put up your hand if you do
Well, it seems that nearly all of you own one.
OK, now, let me show you a picture
This is the first smartphone. It was invented in 1992 by IBM.
Now the question is: are they safe to use?
Well, this is the aim of our presentation today
Is frequent use of smartphones harmful to us?
We've divided the presentation into four parts. First, I'll talk about how we use smartphones
in our daily life. I'll then outline the arguments that support
the statement. James will then present the arguments against it.
He'll also give a brief conclusion.
Our presentation will last for around ten minutes.
We welcome any questions that you may have at the end.
Ok, that was the introduction. If you need to hear it again, rewind the video by about
30 seconds. If not pause the video now and double check your answers. Once you are ready,
play the video from here, and you will hear the introduction again, and also see the correct stress.
Right, for more help with word stress and
intonation, visit CILL in A305 and Z213. And go to the CILL Facebook page. Scan the
QR code or click the link below the video.