How to give an oral presentation in French

Eventually in life, the time will come when you will have to present in front of a group. If you are giving a speech in a foreign language like after learning French, it can be very challenging since it often adds extra insecurity to the mix. We will give you some tips on how to give an oral presentation in French:

Preparation is key. In order to succeed in your presentation, know your topic well. You will be the expert in the classroom and realizing this will boost your self-confidence and keep your nerves under control.
Remember to use technology to your advantage, visual aids (maps, photos, film clips, graphs, diagrams, and charts) can enhance a presentation, but don’t rely completely on them since it might be distracting for your audience.

Pay attention to your posture, stand straight and don’t rock back and forth on your heels, or do anything that might distract from your content. Speak in a clear, audible voice, loud enough to be clearly heard in the back row. Never, ever mumble and be confident about your research and content.

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Tips to give an oral presentation in French

Structure and order. France is not an exception. Let the audience know at the start how your presentation will be structured. A brief outline will prepare them for what you are about to say.

It’s not what you say but how you say it. This may sound like a cliché, but it’s a general rule for life. Understand that you will probably be nervous, accept it and move on. Deep breaths will help control the speed of your speech and will give the impression that you are more confident in what you are saying. Avoid having spicy food or caffeine drinks right before and make sure your breathing pattern is normal.

Talk! don’t read. Nobody enjoys seeing a speaker burying his or her face in a script, reading stiffly from a piece of paper. Try to talk from notes, or, if you use a written-out text, try to look down at it only occasionally. In a speech, it is crucial to be able to transmit the ideas and concepts that you have been preparing and working for so hard, so don’t worry too much about the words.

Make eye contact with people seated in all parts of the room, another fundamental aspect of public speaking. Don’t be afraid of using your hands to emphasize your ideas. Sharing space with the audience can also communicate your interest in sharing your results with them, so don’t be afraid of moving around the stage to help you reach out to every corner of the room, and also cover up any nervousness you may be experiencing.

Don’t be afraid of questions and interruptions. Actually, this is one of the best things that can happen, because it shows that someone in the audience has engaged with what you’re saying, and, if you have the time to offer a brief response, it can actually lead to genuine progress on the point you were making. Plus, two-way conversation is always a tension-reducer.

Always try to make an impact with your audience. Something that they’ll remember. Finishing strong can be a good way to achieve that. Always be sure to have a compelling conclusion to your presentation in which you highlight and summarize the points you made to your audience.

Useful vocabulary for presenting in French

Introduction

pour commencer	to start with
la premiere constatation qui s’impose, c’est que	the first thing to be noted is that
Tout d´abord	to start with
Premièrement	Firstly

Expressing opinion

Positive		Neutral		Negative
je crois que/je pense que	I think/ believe that	à mon avis / quant à moi / selon moi	in my opinion	je suis contre	I am against
il vaut mieux	it is better to	alors que	whereas	ne… ni… ni	neither… nor
il faut bien reconnaître que	it must be recognised that	autrement dit	in other words	Moi non plus	Me neither
Je dirais que	I would say that	Sans oublier	without forgetting	Je ne suis pas d´accord	I disagree
Moi aussi	me too	Je comprends ce que vous dites mais	I understand what you are saying although/but	En revanche	on the contrary
Je suis d´accord	I agree	je soutiens donc que	I maintain that	Je dois avouer que	I must admit
Tout à fait	absolutely	Cela dit / par contre	However/but	En ce qui me concerne	As far as I am concerned

Other expressions

il est donc question de	it is a matter of
en outre	furthermore / moreover
en ce qui concerne	as far as … is concerned
bien que je puisse comprendre que	although I can understand that
cela va sans dire que	it goes without saying that
cependant	nevertheless
considérons	let’s consider
Prenons en compte	let´s take Into account
d’après moi	according to me
d’une part, d’autre part/d´un côté, d´un autre côté	on one hand, on the other hand
pas forcément la faute de	not necessarily the fault of
il serait absurde de dire que	it would be absurd to say that
il semble que les avantages l’emportent sur les inconvénients	it seems that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages

Ending Phrases

Pour conclure/pour finir	to conclude
Au final	finally
Je finirais cette présentation (en disant que)/ par	I would finish this presentation (by saying that)/by
je voudrais souligner que	I’d like to underline that
tout bien considéré	all things considered
enfin	finally, at last
grâce à	thanks to
avant de conclure	before concluding
à la fin	in the end

Learn French with Lingoda

You are looking for topic ideas for your French presentation? Extend your vocabulary with Lingoda! With us, you can learn French from fully qualified teachers, who will provide you with a well-rounded education, focusing not just on speech, but on reading, writing and listening as well.

With that said, one of the key benefits of learning through Lingoda is that all of our teachers are native speakers. This means that as a French language student, you will get to hear authentic French, as it is really spoken around the world, which will prove to be beneficial when the time comes to give presentations of your own.

Lingoda’s courses offer learners complete flexibility and students can schedule as many or as few classes as they like, depending on their goals and lifestyle. The majority of classes take place in virtual classrooms, with a small number of students, although private one-to-one lessons are also available.

All of our courses are aligned to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which is widely considered to be the gold standard of language frameworks. As students progress, they can also earn official French certificates, which enjoy recognition from institutions worldwide.

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Lingoda Team

This article was produced by one of the in-house Lingoda writers.

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Martina Birk

Update: 2024-09-23

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