Presentations in Chinese — Structure and Questions

A presentation is the one speaking situation you can fully prepare, and the one where learners most often overreach. Formal English presentation language does not transfer: translating “I would like to draw your attention to” produces something stilted. Chinese audiences expect plain signposts — first, next, the key point, finally — and judge the content, not the ornament.

Prepare four things and you can improvise the rest: an opening, two transitions, a closing, and a sentence for a question you cannot answer.

Opening

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
大家好，我是…	Dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì…	Hello everyone, I am …
今天我想介绍一下…	Jīntiān wǒ xiǎng jièshào yíxià…	Today I would like to introduce …
我的报告分三个部分。	Wǒ de bàogào fēn sān ge bùfen.	My talk has three parts.
大概需要十分钟。	Dàgài xūyào shí fēnzhōng.	It will take about ten minutes.

Announcing the length and the number of parts at the start costs one sentence and buys the audience’s patience for the whole talk. 分…部分 (fēn … bùfen) is the standard frame: 分三个部分 (fēn sān ge bùfen), 分两个部分 (fēn liǎng ge bùfen). Note that “two” before a measure word is 两 (liǎng), not 二 (èr).

Signposting between points

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
首先，…	Shǒuxiān, …	First, …
接下来，…	Jiēxiàlái, …	Next, …
重点是…	Zhòngdiǎn shì…	The key point is …
换句话说，…	Huàn jù huà shuō, …	To put it another way, …
最后，我来总结一下。	Zuìhòu, wǒ lái zǒngjié yíxià.	Finally, I will summarize.

These connectors carry more weight in a presentation than in conversation, because your audience is following slides and speech at the same time. Say the signpost, pause, then start the sentence — the pause is what makes it work.

我来 (wǒ lái) before a verb means “let me be the one to do this”, and it is how a speaker takes an action in front of a group: 我来总结一下 (wǒ lái zǒngjié yíxià), 我来说明一下 (wǒ lái shuōmíng yíxià). It sounds active and prepared rather than tentative.

Conversation: signpost the next point

Presenter: 接下来，我想说明第二个重点。
(Jiēxiàlái, wǒ xiǎng shuōmíng dì èr ge zhòngdiǎn.)
Audience: 这个部分和刚才的数据有什么关系？
(Zhège bùfen hé gāngcái de shùjù yǒu shénme guānxi?)
Presenter: 它说明了为什么我们需要调整计划。
(Tā shuōmíng le wèishénme wǒmen xūyào tiáozhěng jìhuà.)

A…和B…有什么关系？ (A hé B yǒu shénme guānxi?) — “what is the relationship between A and B?” — is a question you will hear often, and it is a fair one. Answer it with a single sentence of purpose before returning to your slide; a long re-explanation loses the room.

Handling questions

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
大家有什么问题吗？	Dàjiā yǒu shénme wèntí ma?	Does anyone have questions?
这是个很好的问题。	Zhè shì ge hěn hǎo de wèntí.	That is a good question.
我确认一下再回答。	Wǒ quèrèn yíxià zài huídá.	Let me check and then answer.
不好意思，可以再问一遍吗？	Bù hǎoyìsi, kěyǐ zài wèn yí biàn ma?	Sorry, could you ask that again?
会后我们再讨论。	Huì hòu wǒmen zài tǎolùn.	Let us discuss it after the meeting.

Audience: 这个数据是最新的吗？
(Zhège shùjù shì zuìxīn de ma?)
Presenter: 这是个很好的问题。我确认一下再回答。
(Zhè shì ge hěn hǎo de wèntí. Wǒ quèrèn yíxià zài huídá.)

Saying you will verify a figure is professional, not weak — and it is far safer than guessing in a language where a hedge you improvise may not land as a hedge. 我确认一下再回答 (Wǒ quèrèn yíxià zài huídá) uses the same 先做A再做B (xiān zuò A zài zuò B) logic as 会后我们再讨论 (Huì hòu wǒmen zài tǎolùn): both defer without refusing.

If a question arrives faster than you can process it, 可以再问一遍吗？ (Kěyǐ zài wèn yí biàn ma?) buys you a second hearing at no social cost. Asking a speaker to slow down or rephrase is covered more fully in clarification.

Closing

Presenter: 最后，我来总结一下。我们建议先做小规模测试，下个月再决定。
(Zuìhòu, wǒ lái zǒngjié yíxià. Wǒmen jiànyì xiān zuò xiǎo guīmó cèshì, xià ge yuè zài juédìng.)
Presenter: 谢谢大家，有问题欢迎随时联系我。
(Xièxie dàjiā, yǒu wèntí huānyíng suíshí liánxì wǒ.)

End on the decision you want, not on an apology for your Chinese. 有问题欢迎随时联系我 (Yǒu wèntí huānyíng suíshí liánxì wǒ) is the standard closing offer, and it moves anything unresolved into writing, where you have more control.

Rehearse the sentences you cannot afford to lose

Write out only the opening, the two transitions and the closing summary, and rehearse those aloud until they need no thought. The middle of a talk is supported by your slides; the joins are not. Recording yourself once and fixing a single thing — usually speed, sometimes a dropped tone — is the highest-yield rehearsal available, and the method is set out in turning phrases into conversation.

Takeaway

Announce the length and number of parts in your first thirty seconds.
Use plain signposts — 首先 (shǒuxiān), 接下来 (jiēxiàlái), 最后 (zuìhòu) — and pause after each one.
我来 (wǒ lái) before a verb is how a presenter takes the floor.
Verify a figure instead of guessing: 我确认一下再回答 (Wǒ quèrèn yíxià zài huídá).

Related: meetings and tasks for the discussion afterwards, interviews and self-introduction for speaking about yourself, and connecting ideas for the linking words that hold a long turn together.

By the end of this chapter, you can say

今天我想介绍这个计划。重点有三点。 (Jīntiān wǒ xiǎng jièshào zhège jìhuà. Zhòngdiǎn yǒu sān diǎn.)

Practical note for this chapter

Move beyond set situations: opinions, negotiation, professional presentation and regional nuance. In this chapter, practice giving a short response and then checking what matters.

Use it in context

A: 接下来请介绍第二个重点。 (Jiēxiàlái qǐng jièshào dì èr ge zhòngdiǎn.)
B: 今天我想介绍这个计划。重点有三点。 (Jīntiān wǒ xiǎng jièshào zhège jìhuà. Zhòngdiǎn yǒu sān diǎn.)

Phrase map for this chapter

Question or situation: 接下来请介绍第二个重点。 (Jiēxiàlái qǐng jièshào dì èr ge zhòngdiǎn.)
Central response: 今天我想介绍这个计划。重点有三点。 (Jīntiān wǒ xiǎng jièshào zhège jìhuà. Zhòngdiǎn yǒu sān diǎn.)
Another natural way to say it: 接下来，我想说明第二个重点。 (Jiēxiàlái, wǒ xiǎng shuōmíng dì èr ge zhòngdiǎn.); Use this variation in a situation you genuinely expect to handle.
How to use it: Listen to the model once, then say it again with one detail from your own situation.

Turn the model into three conversation turns

1. Open the situation接下来请介绍第二个重点。 (Jiēxiàlái qǐng jièshào dì èr ge zhòngdiǎn.)
2. Say the central response今天我想介绍这个计划。重点有三点。 (Jīntiān wǒ xiǎng jièshào zhège jìhuà. Zhòngdiǎn yǒu sān diǎn.)
3. Add an alternative接下来，我想说明第二个重点。 (Jiēxiàlái, wǒ xiǎng shuōmíng dì èr ge zhòngdiǎn.)

Before acting, check the point most likely to cause a misunderstanding. This dialogue is for practice. For important decisions, confirm official guidance as well.

A useful variation

Keep the same purpose, then change the person, time or place to make it your own.

接下来，我想说明第二个重点。 (Jiēxiàlái, wǒ xiǎng shuōmíng dì èr ge zhòngdiǎn.)

Use this variation in a situation you genuinely expect to handle.

Listen to the model once, then say it again with one detail from your own situation.

A common trap

For important details, do not decide from what you think you heard; check written information when needed.

过渡时要告诉听众现在的位置和下一点。 (Guòdù shí yào gàosu tīngzhòng xiànzài de wèizhi hé xià yì diǎn.)

This dialogue is for practice. For important decisions, confirm official guidance as well.

Three-step practice

Open the situation in one short phrase
Say the central response
Add one detail of your own