Slides: Hedging in Business Presentations

Hedging in Business Presentations

The Art of Cautious and Diplomatic Language

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Course: EL314 การนำเสนอทางธุรกิจ (Block 4)

Instructor: Asst. Prof. Dr. Janpha Thadphoothon

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Objectives

• Define "Hedging" and why it matters.
• Identify hedging words (modals, adverbs).
• Practice rewriting direct sentences.
• Test your diplomatic skills.

What is Hedging?

It turns a "Hard Fact" into a "Soft Suggestion."

❌ Too Direct: "This marketing plan will fail."

✅ Hedged: "It seems that this plan might face challenges."

The Hedging Toolkit

Copy these down for your presentation:

• Modal Verbs: may, might, could, can, would
• Verbs of Cognition: suggest, appear, seem, tend to, believe
• Adverbs: possibly, likely, perhaps, relatively, generally
• Phrases: "From my perspective...", "It is widely believed that..."

Practice: Soften the Blow

Direct: "Your idea is bad."

How would you fix this?

Direct: "The project is late."

Mini-Quiz

Which sentence is best for a client meeting?

Summary

• Hedging makes you sound professional, not weak.
• Use it when criticizing, predicting, or interpreting data.
• Assignment: Use 3 hedging phrases in your next group presentation.

End of Presentation

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