Giving a talk in Japanese and answering questions

Level B2

Giving a talk in Japanese and answering questions

By the end of this lesson you can talk about a familiar subject in Japanese and stay clear when people interrupt with questions. The central idea is this: your listeners should always know where they are. So you announce the route, give an example, answer exactly what was asked and say where your knowledge ends.

Recap: examples, certainty, sources and asking permission

This lesson reuses four things, explained here in case they are new to you. 例えば (tatoeba) means “for example”. はずです (hazu desu) is what you expect because you know something, かもしれません (kamoshiremasen) is an open possibility, and ようです (yō desu) is a conclusion from a clue; the three café sentences below show all three. によると…そうです (ni yoru to … sō desu) says where you got a piece of information. And …てもいいですか (te mo ii desu ka) asks permission, as in 明日来てもいいですか.

The words: signposts and the tools of a talk

について (ni tsuite) means “about” and comes after the subject. まず (mazu), 次に (tsugi ni) and 最後に (saigo ni) are “first”, “next” and “last”. グラフ (gurafu) is a graph, and 資料 (shiryō) is the material you prepare for a talk: a handout or the document on screen. 利用者 (riyōsha) is a user of a service, 人気 (ninki) is popularity, so 人気の本 is “popular books”, 平日 (heijitsu) is a weekday, and 会社員 (kaishain) is an office worker. 記事 (kiji) is an article, and かぎり (kagiri) marks a limit: you will use it in かぎりでは, “as far as”. 質問 (shitsumon) is a question, and 調べる (shiraberu) is to look something up or look into it.

Model: Ana talks about the library

Listen once without reading. Ana is telling her colleagues about the library in front of the station, 駅前 (ekimae). In her first three sentences she gives the subject, how many parts there are and their order. Then she shows a graph, makes a claim, gives an example and stops to let people in. 閉まる時間 (shimaru jikan) is “closing time”, 一番多い (ichiban ōi) is “the most” and 仕事の後で (shigoto no ato de) is “after work”.

Model: Leo asks, Ana answers

Leo takes the turn with 一点いいですか (itten ii desu ka), literally “one point, is that all right?”. His question doesn't say which days: it could mean any evening of the week, so Ana checks before she answers. Then she answers 来ますか with はい、来ます, and only after that gives an example. She has no weekend figures, so she says so and promises to look into it. 試験 (shiken) is an exam, 空いている (aite iru) is “free” and 席 (seki) is a seat. 同じ (onaji) is “the same”, 数字 (sūji) is “figures” and 来週 (raishū) is “next week”.

Announcing the route: まず, 次に, 最後に

Say the subject with について, then how many parts you have, then their order. A listener who gets lost in part two can come back at 最後に, because they know it is coming. You can give the whole route in one sentence, as Ana does, and then repeat each signpost as you reach that part. To finish, say 以上です (ijō desu), “that's all”, and ありがとうございました, the usual thanks once a talk is over.

お話しします (ohanashi shimasu), which Ana says to her colleagues, and お答えします (okotae shimasu), which she says to Leo, are modest ways of saying “I'll talk” and “I'll answer”. In this lesson, learn them as set phrases, along with お話ししたいこと, “what I'd like to talk about”. 話します and 答えます are correct too, just plainer in front of an audience.

駅前の図書館／利用者／閉まる時間についてお話しします

Giving an example

Make your claim first, then follow it with 例えば and something concrete: a person, a kind of book. “Weekday evenings have the most users” stays abstract until you add office workers coming after work. In 旅行の本や料理の本, や (ya) lists a couple of examples and leaves room for others, which suits 例えば well.

例(たと)えば、会社員は仕事の後で来ます／旅行の本です

Showing a graph

A graph or a handout can carry the figures for you. Send people to it with …を見てください: このグラフ, or 資料の三ページ (sanpēji), page three of the handout. Then say in one sentence what it shows; 去年 (kyonen) is “last year”.

このグラフ／資料の三ページを見てください

Talk to people, don't read to them

A graph and a few words on screen help. Reading a whole text aloud does not stand in for a talk: people stop listening, and the first question leaves you lost on the page. Keep short notes, say things in your own words and look at the people in front of you.

Stop at the end of a part and ask ここまでで質問はありますか. ここまで (koko made) is “up to here”. If you would rather not be interrupted, say at the start 質問は最後にお願いします. After a question, bring everyone back with では、話を戻します: 話を戻す (hanashi o modosu) is “to get back to the topic”. Keep です・ます from the first sentence to the last, as Ana does: in this setting a sudden plain ending would stand out.

Answering what was asked

Three steps keep an answer clear. First, if you didn't hear, say もう一度お願いします; if the question could mean two things, check it with 確認してもいいですか and what you understood; 確認する (kakunin suru) is “to confirm”. 平日の夜のことですか uses …のこと for “do you mean …”. Second, answer in your first words: 来ますか gets はい、来ます, and a どうして (dōshite, “why”) question gets its reason, with …からです. 近く (chikaku) is “nearby” and 会社 (kaisha) is a company. Third, add the example or the detail, then go back to your route.

The usual trap is starting with the background and leaving the answer for the end. The person who asked is waiting for one thing, so give them that thing first.

Saying where your knowledge ends

分かりません alone ends the exchange. It is honest, but you can do better with three additions. Say exactly what you don't know: 週末の数字は分かりません. Say what you do have: しか (shika) with a negative verb means “only”, as in 平日の数字しかありません. And say what you will do: 調べて、来週お答えします. 正確な理由 (seikaku na riyū) is “the exact reason”, and が after a sentence is “but”: a guess can follow, marked with かもしれません.

調べたかぎりでは, “as far as I've checked”, and 聞いたかぎりでは, “as far as I've heard”, limit a claim to what you have seen or heard. 問題 (mondai) is “problem”. 調べていません, “I haven't looked into it”, draws the line around a whole area: ほかの町 (hoka no machi) is “other towns”.

週末の数字／正確な理由は分かりません

Source and certainty, when someone asks how you know

When a question tests a claim, the forms from the recap show what it rests on. によると…そうです names the source. In the second sentence the handout is from last year, so the honest ending is かもしれません; 今年 (kotoshi) is “this year” and 違う (chigau) is “to be different”. In the third you asked the staff, so you expect it: はずです. In the fourth you saw something yourself, so you conclude: ようです.

With two sources, say what they share and where they part, as in the last sentence: データ (dēta) is “data” and 解釈 (kaishaku) is “interpretation”. If they don't say something, don't add it to fill the gap.

Your turn, and the summary

Now the subject is the café in front of the station. Cover the sentences below and speak. Say what you are going to talk about, that you have three things to cover, and their order: the customers, the popular coffee and the prices, 値段 (nedan). Then give an example: in the morning, 朝 (asa), there are a lot of office workers. Someone asks if students come too: answer in your first words. Someone else asks about prices, and you don't have this year's: say so, and say you will look into it and answer next week.

Summary: say the subject, the number of parts and their order with まず, 次に and 最後に. Give an example with 例えば. Talk instead of reading, and stop for questions. Answer in your first words what was asked. Say what you don't know, what you do have and what you will do.

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