Korean Presentation Language: -(으)며, -(으)로써, signposting

A Korean presentation runs on formal signposting. -(으)며 lets you ask for two things at once (자료를 보시며 들어 주십시오 — please listen while looking at the handout). -(으)로써 marks the means behind a result (노력으로써 목표를 이뤘습니다 — we reached the goal through effort) and seals the close (이로써 발표를 마치겠습니다 — with this, I’ll conclude). And a set of fixed phrases — 지금부터, 다음으로, 끝으로 — moves the room from one section to the next. This is Chapter 7, the formal stage, and the presentation is where you stand at the front of it.

Chapter 7 lives in polished, formal Korean — the register of the job interview and the written-essay style on either side of this lesson. A presentation is its spoken showcase: you open, you signpost, you close, all in 합니다체. The grammar is light — two endings you’ve half-met before — but the phrasing is everything. Start with the words that fill a 발표.

Eleven words for the presentation

These run any 발표 — from the title slide to the 질의응답.

Doing two things at once — -(으)며

You met -(으)며 in the interview lesson for listing (“and”). Here it does its other job: with action verbs it means “while / simultaneously” — the formal twin of -(으)면서. It’s how you ask an audience to look and listen at the same time.

Attach it to the stem: 보다 → 보며, 가리키다 → 가리키며, 웃다 → 웃으며 (consonant stems take 으며). For the audience, add the honorific 시: 보시며, 하시며. Same ending as the interview’s listing 며 — but pointed at actions, it signposts.

By means of — -(으)로써

To mark the means or method behind a result — “by means of / through / with” — attach -(으)로써 to a noun. Presentations reach for it constantly to credit how an outcome was reached, and it forms the standard closing phrase.

Attachment follows the noun: vowel-final takes 로써 (대화로써), consonant-final takes 으로써 (노력으로써). 이로써 (“with this / hereby”) is a fixed expression you’ll say at the end of nearly every talk — memorize it whole.

-(으)로써 or -(으)로서?

One letter apart, opposite meanings — and presentations use both. -(으)로써 is the means (“by means of ___”); -(으)로서 is the role (“as a ___”), the ending you drilled in the interview lesson. 노력으로써 목표를 이뤘습니다 = through effort; 발표자로써… is wrong — a presenter speaks 발표자로서 (as the presenter). Quick test: if “by using ___ ” fits, it’s 로써; if “as a ___ ” fits, it’s 로서.

Signpost phrases that move the room

Memorize these as whole units — they carry the formal register and steer the 도입–본론–결론 flow.

Notice the shape: 지금부터 opens, 다음으로 carries you between sections, 끝으로 / 이상으로 / 이로써 brings it home, and 질의응답 follows. Drop the right phrase at the right seam and a talk sounds rehearsed and professional.

A presentation, start to finish

A short formal run-through — opening, signposting, and close, every pattern in register:

Notice how the register holds: 보시며 guides the audience, 노력으로써 / 통계로써 credit the means, and 이로써 마치겠습니다 closes it — all in 합니다체. That’s a presentation that sounds polished and fully prepared.

FAQ

Isn’t -(으)며 the same ending from the interview lesson? What’s new here? Same ending, different job. In the interview lesson you used -(으)며 to list qualities in writing — 성실하며 책임감이 강합니다 (diligent and responsible). That’s the ‘and’ sense. Here you use its other sense: with action verbs it means ‘while / simultaneously,’ just like -(으)면서 but more formal. 자료를 보시며 들어 주십시오 = please listen while looking at the handout; 화면을 가리키며 설명했습니다 = I explained while pointing at the screen. Presentations love this because you’re always asking the audience to do two things at once — look and listen, follow and think. Attach it to the stem: 보다 → 보며, 가리키다 → 가리키며, and add the honorific 시 for the audience: 보시며.

When do I use -(으)로써 versus -(으)로서? They’re one letter apart and do opposite jobs — the same pair you met in the interview lesson. -(으)로써 marks a means or method — ‘by means of / through / with’: 노력으로써 목표를 이뤘습니다 (we reached the goal through effort), 대화로써 해결합니다 (we solve it through dialogue). -(으)로서 marks a role or status — ‘as / in the capacity of’: 발표자로서 (as the presenter), 작가로서 (as a writer). A quick test: if ‘by using ___ ’ or ‘through ___ ’ fits, it’s 로써; if ‘as a ___ ’ fits, it’s 로서. Presentations need 로써 for results (통계로써 증명했습니다 = I proved it with statistics) and for the fixed closer 이로써 발표를 마치겠습니다 (with this, I conclude). In casual speech people often just say 로 and skip the distinction — but in a formal presentation, get it right.

What are the must-know signpost phrases for a Korean presentation? Memorize three sets. To open: 지금부터 발표를 시작하겠습니다 (I’ll begin now), 발표를 맡은 ___입니다 (I’m ___, in charge of this presentation), 발표 순서는 다음과 같습니다 (the order is as follows). To transition: 다음으로 (next), 먼저 (first), 그럼 본론으로 들어가겠습니다 (now let’s get into the main part), 화면을 보시면 (if you look at the screen). To close: 끝으로 (finally), 이상으로 발표를 마치겠습니다 (this concludes my presentation), 이로써 마치겠습니다 (with this I’ll conclude), 질문 있으시면 말씀해 주십시오 (if you have questions, please ask). These fixed phrases carry the formal register, and the 도입–본론–결론 (intro–body–conclusion) structure underneath them is exactly what Korean audiences expect.

Next: formal written style — -으므로, 에 의하여. Previous: job interview — -으로서, -을 따름이다. Full path: curriculum hub.