Give a talk means to speak to an audience about a topic, a bit like a short lecture. People say it about conferences, universities, schools and club meetings. The topic follows on or about, and the audience follows to: give a talk to students.
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give a talk on/about + topic; give a talk to + audience; give a talk at + event
- Next month I'm giving a talk on remote work at a small conference in Riga.
- A doctor from the local hospital gave a talk to our students about healthy sleep.
- She was nervous before her first talk, but the audience loved it.
What changed
First versionTomorrow I will make a talk about our project at the conference.
RevisionTomorrow I will give a talk about our project at the conference.
It's tempting to use make here, especially since make a speech is a familiar phrase. But with talk, native speakers use give: give a talk. The correction only changes the verb.
A speech is a formal or ceremonial address: a speech at a wedding, a political speech. A presentation usually comes with slides, often at work or university: give a presentation to the team. A talk is someone sharing what they know about a topic with listeners: a talk on healthy sleep. That's why what you say at a wedding is a speech, not a talk.
Your turn
Professor Lee ___ on sleep and memory at our university last week, and about two hundred students came.
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gave a talk — The professor spoke to students about a topic, and with talk in this sense the verb is give: gave a talk. Made a talk is not something native speakers say.
Describe a talk you listened to or gave yourself. Say what it was about and where it took place.
Last spring I gave a talk about mobile apps at our company's annual meeting.
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