Situation
It's one week before a big presentation, and 山田 (Yamada) is feeling the pressure. During a break in the office, 山田 pulls aside the more experienced colleague 田中 (Tanaka) for some advice — how many slides to make, how to open the talk, and what to do when a tough question comes up.
Dialogue
田中: 山田さん、来週のプレゼン、準備はできていますか？
Tanaka: Yamada-san, raishuu no purezen, junbi wa dekite imasu ka?
Tanaka: Yamada-san, how's the prep coming for next week's presentation?
山田: まだ完全には終わっていません。正直、少し緊張しています。
Yamada: Mada kanzen ni wa owatte imasen. Shoujiki, sukoshi kinchou shite imasu.
Yamada: Not completely done yet. Honestly, I'm a little nervous about it.
田中: 大丈夫ですよ。発表の経験を積めば、だんだん慣れますから。
Tanaka: Daijoubu desu yo. Happyou no keiken wo tsumeba, dandan naremasu kara.
Tanaka: You'll be fine. The more you do it, the more comfortable it gets.
山田: そうですね。ところで、スライドはどのくらい作ればいいと思いますか？
Yamada: Sou desu ne. Tokoro de, suraido wa dono kurai tsukureba ii to omoimasu ka?
Yamada: That's true. By the way, how many slides do you think I should make?
田中: 発表時間が30分なら、15枚から20枚くらいが適切だと思います。内容をわかりやすく整理することが大切です。
Tanaka: Happyou jikan ga 30-pun nara, 15-mai kara 20-mai kurai ga tekisetsu da to omoimasu. Naiyou wo wakariyasuku seiri suru koto ga taisetsu desu.
Tanaka: For a 30-minute slot, I'd say 15 to 20 slides is about right. The key is keeping the content clear and easy to follow.
山田: なるほど。質問を受けた場合、うまく答えられるか心配です。
Yamada: Naruhodo. Shitsumon wo uketa baai, umaku kotaerareru ka shinpai desu.
Yamada: Got it. I'm also worried about handling questions on the spot.
田中: 質問に対して、わからない場合は「後で調べてお伝えします」と言っても大丈夫ですよ。
Tanaka: Shitsumon ni taishite, wakaranai baai wa "ato de shirabete otsutae shimasu" to itte mo daijoubu desu yo.
Tanaka: If you don't know the answer, it's perfectly fine to say "I'll look into it and get back to you."
山田: それは助かります。では、発表の始め方を練習してもいいですか？
Yamada: Sore wa tasukarimasu. Dewa, happyou no hajimekata wo renshuu shite mo ii desu ka?
Yamada: That's a relief. Could I practice my opening with you?
山田: 本日はお集まりいただき、ありがとうございます。私は新しいマーケティング戦略についてご説明させていただきます。
Yamada: Honjitsu wa oatsumari itadaki, arigatou gozaimasu. Watashi wa atarashii maaketingu senryaku ni tsuite go-setsumei sasete itadakimasu.
Yamada: Thank you for gathering here today. I will be presenting our new marketing strategy.
田中: とても丁寧でいいですね。ただ、最初に発表の流れを説明すると、聞き手にとってわかりやすくなりますよ。
Tanaka: Totemo teinei de ii desu ne. Tada, saisho ni happyou no nagare wo setsumei suru to, kikite ni totte wakariyasuku narimasu yo.
Tanaka: Very polished. One tip though — if you outline the structure upfront, your audience will find it much easier to follow along.
山田: わかりました。「まず〜について説明し、次に〜を紹介します」という形で話せばいいですか？
Yamada: Wakarimashita. "Mazu ~ ni tsuite setsumei shi, tsugi ni ~ wo shoukai shimasu" to iu katachi de hanaseba ii desu ka?
Yamada: Got it. So something like "First I'll explain ~, then I'll introduce ~"?
田中: そうです！そのような構成にすることで、聞き手も内容を整理しながら聞けるようになります。
Tanaka: Sou desu! Sono you na kousei ni suru koto de, kikite mo naiyou wo seiri shinagara kikeru you ni narimasu.
Tanaka: Exactly! That kind of structure lets listeners piece things together as you go, without getting lost.
山田: アドバイスをいただいて、とても参考になりました。自信がついてきた気がします。
Yamada: Adobaisu wo itadaite, totemo sankou ni narimashita. Jishin ga tsuite kita ki ga shimasu.
Yamada: This has been really helpful. I'm actually starting to feel more confident.
田中: 頑張ってください。うまくいくと思いますよ！何か困ったことがあれば、いつでも相談してください。
Tanaka: Ganbatte kudasai. Umaku iku to omoimasu yo! Nanika komatta koto ga areba, itsu demo soudan shite kudasai.
Tanaka: You've got this — I think it'll go great! And if anything comes up, come find me anytime.
Key Vocabulary
準備
junbi
— preparation, getting ready
緊張
kinchou
— nervousness, tension
発表
happyou
— presentation, announcement
経験
keiken
— experience
適切
tekisetsu
— appropriate, suitable
整理
seiri
— organizing, sorting, putting in order
質問
shitsumon
— question
心配
shinpai
— worry, concern
練習
renshuu
— practice, rehearsal
戦略
senryaku
— strategy
構成
kousei
— structure, composition, organization
聞き手
kikite
— audience, listener
自信
jishin
— confidence, self-confidence
参考
sankou
— reference, helpful information
丁寧
teinei
— polite, careful, thorough
Grammar Notes
- ～ば (conditional form): Used in 「経験を積めば、慣れます」— "If you accumulate experience, you'll get used to it." The ～ば conditional expresses a natural consequence or general truth, and is frequently used when giving advice or making predictions.
- ～た場合 (ta baai): Means "in the case that ~" or "if ~." Used in 「質問を受けた場合」— "if/when you receive a question." More formal than ～たら and commonly used in business or academic contexts.
- ～に対して (ni taishite): Means "toward," "regarding," or "in response to." Used in 「質問に対して」— "regarding questions" or "in response to questions." This pattern is common in formal speech and writing.
- ～ことで (koto de): Means "by doing ~," expressing a means by which a result is achieved. Used in 「そのような構成にすることで」— "by having such a structure." It highlights a cause-and-effect relationship between an action and its outcome.
- ～ようになる (you ni naru): Means "to come to be able to ~" or "to reach the point where ~." Used in 「聞けるようになります」— "will come to be able to listen." It describes a gradual change or development over time.
- させていただく (sasete itadaku): An extremely polite expression meaning "to humbly do ~." Used in 「ご説明させていただきます」— "I will humbly explain." Combining the causative form with いただく signals that the speaker is acting with the audience's gracious permission, not simply on their own initiative. The nuance is one of genuine deference, not just formality.
Cultural Notes
Japanese business presentations run on structure — and that structure is reassuring by design. Opening with a phrase like 「本日はお集まりいただきありがとうございます」 is expected, not optional. After that comes a quick outline of what you'll cover before any real content begins. Japanese audiences want to know the shape of the talk first. Walking them through a roadmap upfront is a professional courtesy, not something you can skip.
Humility shows up at every level of formal Japanese speech. 「させていただきます」 isn't just polite — it signals that you're acting with the audience's permission. As for questions you can't answer on the spot: saying 「後で調べてお伝えします」 and following through earns real respect. Owning the gap honestly and closing it later is seen as more trustworthy than improvising a shaky answer.
Practice
Try these activities to make the dialogue stick:
- Role-play with a partner, switching between 田中 (the experienced advisor) and 山田 (the nervous presenter). Notice how formal phrasing shifts when giving advice versus receiving it.
- Substitution drill: Replace 「マーケティング戦略」 with other topics — 「新商品の紹介」 (new product introduction), 「研究結果の報告」 (research results report), or 「プロジェクトの進捗」 (project progress update) — and practice how the surrounding sentences change.
- Substitution drill: Swap out 「30分」 for other time slots — 「10分」, 「45分」, 「1時間」 — and adjust the slide count advice to match each scenario.
- Practice 山田's formal opening aloud until it flows naturally. Then build your own version for a different occasion — a school club report, a volunteer activity — adjusting the formality level as needed.
- Variation scenario: Recast 山田 as a university student preparing for a seminar (ゼミ発表) and 田中 as a helpful senior classmate (先輩). Rewrite key exchanges at a slightly lower register — try ～んだけど instead of ～ですが, and ～てもいい？ instead of ～てもいいですか — while keeping the same flow of advice and encouragement.