Unit

5

Corporate Life

Corporate Life

Language in Use

Reading

Project

Culture Tips

Homework

Warming-up

Warming-up

A. Listen to a monologue describing a successful businesswoman and answer the following

questions.

1. What did Beth do when she started her business?2. In what shops did she sell her products?3. What are some of her most successful products?

4. What is one of the hardest things for her?5. Has she made any mistakes?6. Did the beads she ordered from Germany sell well?7. Was she very sad about her setback?8. What has she decided to do?

She painted designs on hair ribbons and took them to a children’s shop.

Specialty shops.

Some of her most successful products are beaded products, picture frames, shirts, and ties.

One of the hardest things for her is keeping up with fashion trends.

Yes.

No.

No. Her attitude is still positive.

She has decided to start beading tuxedo shirts.

Warming-up

B. Listen again and fill in the blanks with the information you hear.

Beth started her business when she was only . How did she get her start? She painted designs on hair ribbons and took them to a children’s shop. The owner liked them and ordered of them. In the , Beth has made selling her hand-painted products to specialty shops in . She says she’ll anything. Some of her most successful products are beaded products, picture , shirts, and ties.

twelve years old

five dozens last three years

twelve states

custom-design

frames

Warming-up

Beth started her business when she was only twelve years old. How did she get her start? She painted designs on hair ribbons and took them to a children’s shop. The owner liked them and ordered five dozens of them. In the last three years, Beth has made $15,000 selling her hand-painted products to specialty shops in twelve states. She says she’ll custom-design anything. Some of her most successful products are beaded products, picture frames, shirts, and ties. Beth says that one of the hardest things for her is keeping up with fashion trends. She has made some mistakes. For example, she predicted that one of her hottest selling items would be the beaded products. She ordered ninety-six thousand beads from Germany. Unfortunately, it was a big mistake. They didn’t sell. So now she has sixty-five thousand beads lying in her basement. Despite all the setbacks, her attitude is still positive. She says she’s decided to start beading tuxedo shirts. If her prediction is right, the beaded shirts will sell like hot cakes.

BACK

Warming-up

C. Discuss the following questions.

1. In terms of starting a business, what can we learn from Beth’s story?2. If you want to start a business, what do you want to do? How will you manage it?

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Reading

Pre-reading Tasks

Reading Comprehension

After-reading Tasks

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Pre-reading Tasks

Before you read, discuss the following questions ingroups:

a. What do you think are the criteria for a good presentation?b. What is a corporate presentation? What is the purpose of it? What makes a good corporate presentation?

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Reading Comprehension

Corporate Presentations

1 On a flight from New York I found myself sitting next to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a manufacturing company. We chatted about the coming elections, power of the media and so on. He made reference to a media problem his company was facing. Naturally interested in corporate communications, I said: “Bill, what exactly does your corporation do?”

2 His reply, which lasted about 15 minutes, was relaxed,illuminating, articulate, anecdotal, sometimes humorous andenthusiastic to the point of passion. I sat there absorbed in what he was saying and learned the history supporting his vision for thecompany, its strengths and weaknesses, and its expansion plans.

Reading Comprehension

3 Later, he told me how tough he found making presentations. Iwas surprised he considered himself a dull speaker and dreadedtalking to any group, to his staff, at customer meetings, at publicmeetings and to his shareholders.

4 His Public Relations department had recently put together a corporate slide presentation which covered the company’s statistics but it hadn’t helped him. The question I want to ask is this: Why should there be such a big gap between the interesting, stimulating view of both the company and the CEO himself that I was exposed to, and the nervous and not entirely credible performance given to Bill’s unfortunate audiences? What golden opportunities are being missed to establish or develop the company’s image and credibility?

Reading Comprehension

5 This example highlights the single and most powerful weapon missing from most organisations’ marketing arsenals—an excitingwell-delivered corporate presentation. Many companies do not have one, or if they do, it is a dull, fact-filled delivery. This is often made byan executive who might be a boardroom genius but who should never speak in public on the company’s behalf.

6 Unfortunately, when we stand up to speak today we are all being compared to the best speakers we see on TV, consciously orsubconsciously. It’s unavoidable. Over the years I have analysed the critical elements that help to put power into the corporate presentation and had the good fortune to work with companieswho experienced great success with a similar formula. Here are its critical ingredients.

Reading Comprehension

7 It begins with the CEO and the board. It is their vision and mission which must be projected. And I want to hear their story directly from them and not through an intermediary. The story can then be developed and matched to different audiences. It can also be adapted to the personalities of the different key presenters.

8 The facts and figures are then gathered and arranged to support the story. To add to the necessary emotive interest, personal experiences and anecdotes are used to enhance key points.

9 Only then can we create supportive visuals and hand out materials which have to be graphically exciting, have relatively few words and be designed to complement the presenters’ story.

Reading Comprehension

10 Next come the key presenters. To ensure a top delivery, we should review the final product. Anything from a brief run-through to rehearsal sessions with video-playback and analysis. This will complete that essential bond between the speakers and their support materials.

11 The presenter will not need a script, and must never use one for a corporate presentation. If people can’t speak freely and confidently about their own company, their credibility is blown already. That is why we begin with the key executives’ own stories, in their own words. Without fail, they now discover they can give the corporate presentation with great interest and flexibility. They suddenly become a pleasure to listen to.

12 Now, we can take this core presentation throughout the company, using it selectively and adding necessary modules for different company divisions and levels. The same story should be used for press releases. And most importantly, the entire staff should hear it.

Reading Comprehension

13 The core presentation is a dynamic mechanism. It should be regularly updated to reflect commercial, political and social changes.A single executive must be assigned to manage this process to insure that the presentation is always a vital reflection of the company as it is today.

14 Now the corporate presentation is “choreographed” for maximum impact by the key players throughout the organisation.All the audiences now hear the same basic story from all the staff. Not by rote, but with the individuality of each presenter, whether it be at a formal meeting or a social occasion. It’s impossible not to benefit from the power of these positive communications. And the corporate presentation is the nucleus of it.

BACK

After-reading Tasks

1. How did the writer meet the Chief Executive Officer of a manufacturing company?

2. What’s the name of the Chief Executive Officer?

3. What problem did the Chief Executive Officer mention that his company was facing?

4. Is the Chief Executive Officer good at speaking publicly?

5. How did the Chief Executive Officer think of his own talk to his audience?

A. Answer the following questions.

On a flight from New York, he found himself sitting next to the CEO.

Bill.

A media problem.

No, he isn’t.

He considered himself a dull speaker.

After-reading Tasks

B. According to the text, what are the core elements of preparing and delivering a successful corporate presentation? List in the box below the DOs and DON’Ts for a good corporate presentation.

DOs DON’Ts

Reflect the vision and mission of the CEO and the board.

Gather facts and figures, and arrange them to support the story.

…

Get stories of the CEO and the board through an intermediary.

Use the same presentation in all cases.

…

After-reading Tasks

1. His reply, which lasted about 15 minutes, was relaxed, illuminating, articulate, anecdotal, sometimes humorous and enthusiastic to the point of passion.

2. Many companies do not have one, or if they do, it is a dull, fact-filled delivery.

3. Over the years I have analysed the critical elements that help to put power into the corporate presentation…

4. To ensure a top delivery, we should review the final product.

5. The core presentation is a dynamic mechanism.

C. Paraphrase the underlined parts in the following sentences.

BACK

showing so much interest and excitement that his answer was passionate

the presentation is very boring and it only consists of some basic facts

the essential factors which make the corporate presentation a powerful one

To make sure that the presentation is of the top quality

The most important issue of the presentation is to keep it changing.

Language in Use

Grammar

Developme

nt

Vocabulary

Building

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Grammar Development

⑴ sit 是不及物动词，而 seat 是及物动词，使用 seat 时要用 be seated 或 seat oneself 两种形式。

如：“玛丽坐在书桌旁。”这句话可译为： Mary sat at the desk./ Mary was seated at the desk./Mary seated herself at the desk. 而不能译为： Mary seated at the desk.

⑵ sit 只能用作动词，而 seat 除用作动词外，还可用作名词，意思 是“座位”。

如： Here’s a seat for you. 要表达“请坐”，可以说： Have a (the) seat/take a (the) seat ，意思相当于 sit down. Take this seat. 请坐 这儿 .

Grammar Development

⑶ seat 表示“使坐于坐的姿势”。如： He seated the child on his knee. 他让孩子坐在膝上。

练习：1. When the speaker found all the guests , he began his speech. A. seated B. taken their seats C. sitting down D. seating

2. The pilot asked all the passengers on board to remain as the plane was making a landing. A. seat B. seating C. seated D. to be seating

A

C

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Vocabulary Building

Use words in a different word class

Exercise 1: Tell the meanings of the following words in different word classes.

round

n.

adj.

adv.

v.

prep.

圆形物；一回合；圆；循环

圆的；完全的；大概的；肥胖的

在周围；朝反方向；迂回地；挨个 vt. 围捕；完成；弄圆；绕行 vi. 环行；变圆；发胖；进展

绕过；在…周围；大约；附近

Vocabulary Building

like

n.

adj.

adv.

v.

prep.

conj.

爱好；同样的人或物

相似的；同样的

可能 vt. 喜欢；愿意；想 vi. 希望；喜欢

像；如同

好像

Exercise 2: Work in pairs. Find words that have more than 3 word classes. What words you find that has the most word classes?

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Project

Suppose you are invited by the Student Union to give a one-hour introduction of college life to the freshmen. You are required to make the presentation with the aid of PowerPoint. Work in groups of four and follow the steps below.

Step 1

Brainstorm what you want to introduce to the freshmen. The following aspects are for your reference: room and board, academic study, entertainment and social activities. Assign onestudent to take notes.

Project

Step 2Summarise the brainstorming results and classify them into different categories. Discuss them in groups and reselect the ideas according to the audience’s interest and the time set.

Step 3

Think of the questions the audience might ask and prepare the answers.

Project

Step 4Work out a slide presentation. Try to make the PPT more attractive by using real-life pictures, video clips, music, etc.

Step 5Rehearse within your group in turn. The main content of the presentation should be the same, but the style may vary according to different presenters.

Step 6Select a member in your group to deliver the presentation to the whole class.

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Culture Tips

There is a number of complex and often interrelated factors that explain the existence of the gender pay gap.

Direct discrimination

• Some women are paid less than men for doing the same job. (This factor only explains a small part of the gender pay gap, due to the effectiveness of the EU and national legislation.)

Culture Tips

The undervaluing of women’s work

• More frequently women earn less than men for doing jobs of equal value. One of the main causes is the way women's competences are valued compared to men's.

• Jobs requiring similar skills, qualifications or experience tend to be poorly paid and undervalued when they are dominated by women rather than by men. For example, the (mainly female) cashiers in a supermarket usually earn less than the (mainly male) employees involved in stacking shelves and other more physical tasks.

• In addition the evaluation of performance, and hence pay level and career progression, may also be biased in favour of men. For example, where women and men are equally well qualified, more value can be attached to responsibility for capital than to responsibility for people.

Culture Tips

Segregation in the labour market

• Women and men still tend to work in different jobs. On the one hand, women and men often predominate in different sectors. On the other hand, within the same sector or company women predominate in lower valued and lower paid occupations.

• Women often work in sectors where their work is lower valued and lower paid than those dominated by men.

• Moreover, women are frequently employed as administrative assistants, shop assistants or low skilled or unskilled workers — these occupations accounting for almost half of the female workforce.

• Women are under-represented in managerial and senior positions.

Culture Tips

Traditions and stereotypes

• Traditions and stereotypes may influence, for example, the choice of educational paths and, consequently, professional careers that girls and women make.

• While 55% of university students are women, they are a minority in fields like mathematics, computing and engineering. Only 8.4 in 1.000 women aged 20-29 are graduates in mathematics, science and technology compared to 17.6 men. Consequently, there are fewer women working in scientific and technical jobs. In many cases this results in women working in lower valued and lower paid sectors of the economy.

• Because of these traditions and stereotypes, women are expected to reduce their working hours or exit the labour market to carry out child or elder care.

Culture Tips

Balancing work and private life

• Women experience greater difficulties than men when it comes to balancing work and private life.

• Family and care responsibilities are still not equally shared. The task of looking after dependent family members is largely borne by women.

• Although part-time work may be a personal choice, women have greater recourse to part-time work in order to combine work and family responsibilities. There is evidence of pay gap when looked at from the differences in hourly earnings of part-time and full-time workers.

• Consequently, women have more career interruptions or work shorter hours than men. This can impact negatively on their career development and promotion prospects. It also means less financially rewarding careers.

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Homework

Suppose you are a salesman. Try to advertise one of your products (it can be anything from your everyday life) to your potential customers (your classmates) with the aid of PPT. Make good preparations and do the presentation next class.