Now that you know how to manage the project, it's time to think about who you're presenting to and why.
When you do a presentation, it's important to think about the audience as you choose the tone and register. Tone has to do with your attitude or emotional feel behind your words, such as being calm, confident, enthusiastic, or apologetic. It changes based on how you feel or what you want to express. Register is the level of formality used in language and matches the social context and audience. This depends on who you are talking to and why.
There are five main types of register in English. Read the following scenarios and then read the line in the way you think they should be read.
| Register | Scenario | Line |
|---|---|---|
| Static | Reading a company’s mission statement aloud at an annual conference. | “We commit to excellence, integrity, and innovation in every project we undertake.” |
| Formal | Presenting recommendations to a senior client. | “Our findings indicate that expanding into the Southeast market will yield a 12% increase in revenue within the next fiscal year.” |
| Consultative | Talking to your team lead about project progress. | “I’d appreciate your thoughts on this draft before I share it with the client—does anything stand out to you?” |
| Casual | Chatting with a coworker over coffee. | “That meeting went way better than I expected—thanks for backing me up!” |
| Intimate | Texting your partner after a long day. | “I’m exhausted but just wanted to say I miss you and can’t wait to talk tonight.” |
The task that your team lead gave you was a 10-15 minute presentation on the market study findings to the VP of Strategy, two senior managers, and a couple of analysts from the client’s side. You want to persuade them to move forward with the digital expansion recommendation. They’ve seen the data, but it is about driving the point home. What tone and register should you use?
When thinking about register and tone, note the following grammatical points. Read the following with your teacher.
| Grammar Focus | Function | Why | Example Sentences |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modal Verbs (can/could, may/might, should, would, must) | Politeness, tentativeness, assertiveness | They help soften language or express certainty—key for adapting tone. |
“Could you review the draft?” “We might consider delaying the rollout.” “We should move forward this quarter.” |
| Passive Voice (to be + past participle of main verb) | Formality | Passive structures shift focus from the doer to the action, common in reports and formal presentations. | "The test scripts were completed.” (instead of "We completed the test scripts") |
| Conditionals (first: if + simple present, will + base verb, second: if + simple past, would + base verb) | Confidence, persuasion | Essential for professional tone when discussing consequences, recommendations, or risks. |
“If we miss the deadline, we’ll need to escalate.” (1st conditional, shows realistic future outcome) “If I had more time, I’d review it myself.” (2nd conditional, diplomatic limitation) |
| Indirect Questions | Politeness, consultative | Softens requests and shows respect—useful in consultative register. |
“Could you let me know when you might finish?” "Would it be possible to delay the timeline?" "Do you happen to know if the boss is in?" |
| Hedging | Politeness, consultative | Reduces bluntness or over-certainty—crucial in persuasive or sensitive communication. Use words like seems, appears, might, could, possibly, somewhat, tends to. | "There’s a risk this might not work as expected." (instead of "This will fail.") |
Now, choose the appropriate version for each scenario:
1. You're presenting to senior leadership. Which sentence is better?
a) “We’ll just launch and see how it goes.”
b) “We might consider delaying the rollout until after Q3.”
Rewrite using a different grammar structure:
➡ “If we ___________, the rollout might ___________.”
2. You want to ask your team lead to review your draft.
a) “Can you check this?”
b) “Could you take a quick look at the draft when you have a moment?”
Rewrite it with an indirect question:
➡ “Would it be possible for you to ____________?”
3. You’re giving a project update in a formal meeting.
a) “We finished the report last night.”
b) “The report was finalized yesterday.”
Rewrite using a modal verb:
➡ “The report might __________ by end of week as well.”
4. You’re talking to a colleague casually.
a) “There’s a risk that the implementation may face some delays.”
b) “Looks like this might get pushed back.”
Now rewrite the same idea in a formal tone using hedging and passive:
➡ “There’s a chance the timeline __________ due to unforeseen factors.”
Your team lead asked you to give a 10–15 minute presentation to the VP of Strategy, two senior managers, and a couple of analysts from the client’s side. Your goal is to persuade them to move forward with your team’s digital expansion recommendation. They've already seen the data, so your job is to drive the point home with confidence, clarity, and appropriate tone.
You are talking to a senior consultant about this task and you are talking about the tone and register you should use. You begin by saying:
Thanks for making time—before I finalize my script, I wanted to get your thoughts on the tone and register I should aim for in the presentation.
Continue the role play with your teacher.
As you can see, matching the tone and register to your audience and tailoring your language accordingly is very important. Can you think of an instance where a speaker or presenter has got this wrong? What were the results or outcome?
Here are some more links if you are interested in this language aspect and teaching point:
https://theenglishfarm.com/english-fluency-business-success-tips
https://theenglishfarm.com/blog/grammar-essentials-elements-language