VV064 Week 10
POWER WORDS
The Yale 12
A) A Yale University study identified the following words as the twelve most powerful words in the
English language. Why do you think these words are powerful?
Discover(y), guarantee(d), love, new, results, save, easy, health, money, proven, safety, you
B) Put the words from the Yale 12 list into the gaps in the presentation extract below.
………………………………… are going to ………………………………… the ………………………………… features we have
incorporated into our updated software package. As you will …………………………………, the software is very
………………………………… to use and ………………………………… from extensive testing have …………………………………
its success. Its enhanced parental controls offer increased online ………………………………… for children and also
monitor the length of time spent online. You can compare these times with the World …………………………………
Organization’s (WHO) maximum recommended times. In fact, we’re so confident that we
………………………………… that our software will ………………………………… you both time and …………………………………
C) Can you think of more power words? Brainstorm with a partner.
Convincing language
A) Read the two proposals below. Highlight the words and phrases that make Proposal A tentative
and Proposal B more positive and convincing.
Proposal A) Let me then turn to the third and final option which is to move to new offices near the
airport. There are some drawbacks to this option as the process of finding a location, building to our
specifications and moving will be costly and time-consuming. We shouldn’t worry too much about these
drawbacks though as the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I suggest that we find a location
where we can build to our specifications in a way that reflects our corporate image. Clients could get to
our offices more easily from the airport and we should be able to build an underground garage so that
there’ll be more visitor parking. In addition, you find good accommodation around the airport. Hopefully,
we could restructure the offices so that we maybe can improve internal communication and leave room
for new departments as we perhaps gro. We should stick to our corporate values and many of our staff
will probably stay with us.
Proposal B) Let me then turn to the third, final and best option which is to move to new offices near the
airport. There could be some minor drawbacks to this option as the process of finding a location, building
to our specifications and moving might be costly and time-consuming. We should not worry about these
drawbacks though as the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. I strongly recommend that we find
a location where we can build to our specifications in a way that reflects our corporate image. Clients will
get to our offices more easily from the airport and we are going to build an underground garage so that
there will be more visitor parking. In addition, you do find good accommodation around the airport.
What we’ll do is restructure the offices so that we’ll certainly improve internal communication and leave
room for new departments as we grow. We plan to stick to our corporate values and to keep most of our
staff.
VV064 Week 10
B) Make the statements below more convincing by changing or adding vocabulary.
1. I hope you understood my message.
2. Perhaps it will be successful.
3. We could do that for you.
4. This is an interesting idea.
5. Maybe we should go in that direction.
6. I think you should go with this campaign.
7. These findings might indicate we should do this.
8. You never know but it could be right.
Polishing Presentations
A) Look at the following text and then highlight the words you would emphasize in your speech. In
addition, try to insert slash (/) into the text to indicate a pause.
First of all, thank you very much for coming here today. My name’s Esther Kritz and I am currently doing
research into psycholinguistics at Manchester University. I’d like to show you what I think are some
incredible results that I got while ...
B) Presentation practice. Read one of the two stories below. Then choose on the following
presentation subjects (or create your own): user interface, research, understanding investment
opportunities, attaining goals, corporate culture – motivating employees, funding, risks and rewards.
Finally, try to prepare a two-minute introduction section to your presentation. Introduce the topic
of your presentation and then incorporate the story into the presentation.