Company Research Assignment and Presentation

This module has stressed the importance of doing research about a company as fundamental
preparation for an interview. In this assignment, you will research a company of your choice
and present your research to a group of your peers.

How To Proceed
First, select a company. You may have one in mind, or you can refer any of the websites
presented in this module. Use the practices you learned in this module to research the
company. Identify the industry or industries the company is active in, research the
company’s products and services, and become familiar with the company’s history and
corporate structure. Read the company’s mission statement, review the company’s latest
annual report, get familiar with its business goals, and review its financial statements.
Further details to research include employment issues, career paths, advancement
opportunities, benefits, and other functions related to human resources.
You should also research the industry, the company’s key competitors, and countries where
the company has offices. The links to industry portals presented in the “Conducting Research
Using Online Resources” should help you here.
Try to develop an effective system for doing your research. Ideally, you should be able to
complete your research in a couple of hours, although the first company you research might
take you a bit longer. Your long-term goal is to develop an approach that can serve you in the
future, as you consider other positions and other companies down the road.
 Your Assignment
You will record an informative presentation that communicates the results of your research
to a group of your peers. Ideally, your recording should be a video; if this is not possible, then
provide an audio recording. Your presentation should be 5 to 7 minutes long and will be
evaluated for
• Overall research effectiveness
• Speech organization
• Your language choices
• Your delivery, including vocal variety and pace
• The overall effectiveness of your speech

Your Research Objectives

Your research should provide you with sufficient raw material to give an informed answer
to “What do you know about our company?”. Of course, you’re not going to take 5 to 7 minutes
to answer a question like that in an interview – more like 1 to 2. But the background
information you obtain will allow you to ask better questions later in an interview and to
better address questions posed to you by a hiring manager.

After your presentation, your listeners should be able to identify:

• What the company does – it’s mission and business goals
• Their products or services, including the names of those products and services
• The key employees of the company
• The general size of the company in terms of revenue and number of employees
• The company’s location or locations (if they have more than one)
• The company’s history – how long it has been in business, how it started
• The company’s major competitors in at least one of the industries in operates in
• How the company compares to those competitors in sales and profitability
• How or where the company is better or worse than those competitors
• Your assessment of career paths and advancement opportunities at the company. Would
you put the company on your A-, B- or C-list of possible places to work?
Speech Organization
The speech should have a clear opening, a body, a clear conclusion and effective transitions.
Speech Opening
Your opening should
• catch your listener’s attention
• tell them what you will be talking about
• take no more than 10 percent of the entire speech time.
Try to avoid cookie-cutter openings like “Today, my speech is about ____ ” or “Today, I would
like to tell you about _____.” Instead, consider:

• stating the importance of the company’s products or services

• opening with a surprising statement
• using a series of statements to build suspense or curiosity
• telling a story
• asking a rhetorical question
• beginning with a quotation

Speech Body
The body of your speech should follow a clear organization. Here are some examples:

• Chronological. The speech is arranged by time. For example, how the company
began and how it has developed.
• Causal. The speech shows cause/effect relationships. For example, how the company
defines its mission and goes about accomplishing it.
• Comparative. You compare and contrast different companies, usually to persuade
the audience that the one you’re focusing on is better.
• Topical. This speech splits the main topic into subtopics. For example, addressing the
major product lines a company produces.
• Problem-solution. What business problem does the company you’ve selected
address? How does it offer a solution?

Speech Conclusion
Your conclusion should
• convey your main points in a way that will help the audience remember them
• NOT introduce new material
• take no more than 10 percent of the total speech time
Stay away from an unoriginal close like “In summary, …” or “In conclusion…”. Try:
• using a quotation – e.g. maybe from a company founder
• telling a short story – e.g. how the company’s service changed the world
• asking a rhetorical question – e.g. Where would you be without your iPhone?
• referring to the beginning of your speech – tie the close to your opening
• summarizing your main points – repetition reinforces your message

Transitions
Speech transitions smooth over the boundary between two ideas, and reveal the relationship
between the words just spoken and those about to be spoken. In this way, speech transitions
help your audience understand your message. Transitions usually are used as you move
• from the speech introduction to the body
• from a main point to a subpoint
• from a subpoint to support material
• from support material to another main point
• from the last support material to the conclusion
There are many types of speech transitions. For an excellent summary of these, see
http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/speech-transitions/. You can also find on this site a wealth of
valuable insights to improve your public speaking skills.