Pretty much every time you give a presentation you’ll need to transition from one thought, topic, idea, etc. to another. A really easy English expression you can use to do that is, “This reminds me of…” And here’s why it’s good and how to use it.
This reminds me of… powerful stuff!
If you want to give an effective, confident presentation, it’s important to sound confident, relaxed and natural when delivering your presentation. In my opinion, that means you should speak as naturally as possible, in a conversational way. And that’s why I like the expression, “This reminds me of…” because it’s a very normal way that native English speakers will use to talk about something that is related to what they were just talking about. It’s a very powerful, yet simple, English phrase that will give your presentations a more natural sound.
It will also make it look like you randomly decided to talk about something related to your topic. Pretty cool, right?
This reminds me of… what you need to do first before using “This reminds me of…”
Ok, so here is how you can use, “This reminds me of…,” in a presentation. First of all, you need to explain something that is a part of your presentation. For example, if you are talking about how traveling solo can increase your chances of getting a job, you’ll likely talk about some benefits of traveling solo that are related to getting a job.
Maybe you’ll say that traveling solo makes you more of a self-starter because you need to do everything on your own. You might then go into some details about the kind of things you need to do when traveling.
The second thing is to use, “This reminds me of…”
The second step is actually using, “This reminds me of…,” to transition into talking about a story, or a related experience, or whatever you choose that is related to the benefits of traveling solo and having to do everything on your own.
For example, you could say something like this:
“This reminds me of when I went to India the first time. I had researched what to do and where to go to take a train, but wow, it was so different when I actually had to do it myself. But I knew that if I wanted to get to my destination, I had to get over any fears or apprehensions I had and find out what to do. So I asked the first friendly looking person I saw what to do, but he had no idea because he was also traveling. Anyway, I eventually asked enough people and got to where I want to go. That experience gave me the confidence to find my own way and get things done on my own if I needed to.”
And the third thing you should do is go back
Once you’ve told your relevant story or experience using, “This reminds me of…,” you should go back to your original topic or idea. The reason is because you need a way to go back to your presentation and not continue on what seems like an extra part of your presentation. Remember that I said, “This reminds me of…,” will seem like a random thing you decided to talk about, but it won’t be!
So what you should do is restate the original topic or idea by saying, “So that’s another reason why I think traveling solo helps you become a self-starter and can help you when looking for a job.”
Now you know… now you try
Knowing is great, but you won’t really know until you try. So go ahead and make your own example. If you like, feel free to share your example in the comments section below so other people can learn from you, too. If you need help with preparing your presentation, please get in touch with me or check out my consulting services on my website. And of course, be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss any future videos.
Thanks and talk to you again soon.