Let’s assume that conscientious is a word that you don’t know. Imagine that you hear this sentence: George is a conscientious guy. However, signposting is also something that can help you with your listening. So far, we have looked at signposting from the speaker’s point of view. Signposting can help you with your listening It may seem like a trivial thing, but this style of communication greatly improves understanding. The simple signposting phrase in bold tells the listener what to expect next in the sentence. Here’s an example: The best thing about Steve is that he is a trustworthy friend. Remember, listeners like to know “where” they are in a presentation.Īt the sentence level, we can use signposting language to show what we are about to say. When we use language like this, the structure of our presentation is clear and transparent to everyone listening.

The language used here clearly signals that the speaker is moving on from talking about the causes of stress to talking about the solutions. The first solution that I would like to highlight is… Here is an example: Now that we have looked at the causes of work-related stress, let’s examine the solutions. Just like a signpost by the road that tells you where you are going, signposting in a presentation tells the listener what is coming next. What about when listening to a presentation? Do you know “where” you are? With a good presenter, the answer is yes! Because a good presenter uses a technique called signposting. You can see which main point you’re reading, by glancing at the paragraphs. A presentation is a structured way of speaking.īut when you read an essay, you know exactly where you are - you can look at the page and see if you are near the beginning of the essay or near the end. Both have a certain number of main points. A presentation is very similar to a school essay, if you think about it.

Signpost examples