Business English Warm-Ups
Communication-Focused Discussion Starters
Topic 01
Making a Sales Pitch
Pitching a product or service to clients, investors, or procurement teams.
Discussion
Opening Strong
- How do you typically open a sales pitch — with a statistic, a story, or a question? Why?
- What's the most important thing to find out about your audience before you pitch to them?
- How do you handle a prospect who seems uninterested in the first two minutes?
- What's the difference between selling features and selling benefits? Can you give an example from your industry?
- How do you close a pitch and move toward a next step without being too pushy?
Notes
Topic 02
Presenting at a Conference
Delivering a talk to a professional audience and managing the Q&A session.
Discussion
Stage Presence & Q&A
- What do you do in the first 60 seconds of a conference presentation to capture the audience's attention?
- How do you structure a 20-minute conference talk differently from a client presentation?
- What's your strategy when someone asks a question you don't know the answer to?
- How do you manage nerves before stepping onto a stage in front of a large audience?
- What makes a conference presentation memorable compared to a forgettable one?
Notes
Topic 03
Giving a Talk
Delivering a TED-style or lightning talk — short, focused, and story-driven.
Discussion
Short-Form Speaking
- What is the biggest challenge of having only 5–10 minutes to deliver a talk?
- How do you decide what to leave out when you have very limited time to speak?
- Why do the best TED talks tend to center on a single idea? Do you agree with this approach?
- How do you make a short talk feel personal and authentic rather than rehearsed?
- Have you ever given or attended a lightning talk? What made it effective or ineffective?
Notes