Lesson 04

Presenting my company
01. BUSINESS SKILLS
Describing your job and presenting visual information about a company
Describing your job
01| Sang Chun is talking about his job in a software company. Look at the table
below. Who does he work with and what does does he do?

PEOPLE JOBS

TECHNICAL SUPPORT DEPARTMENT ANSWERING CALLS FROM CUSTOMERS

WHO ARE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH
THEIR SOFTWARE

SUPPLIERS INVOLVES WORKING WITH SALES REPS

FROM TIME TO TIME
WE VISIT NEW CUSTOMERS TOGETHER

DEVELOPER DEVELOPING NEW PROGRAMS

PROGRAMMERS ARE PREPARING NEW VERSIONS FOR

OLD PRODUCTS WE TAKE PART IN THE
DISCUSSIONS

Listen again and complete this description of Sang Chun’s job with phrases
from the box.

Listen again and complete this description of Sang Chun’s job with phrases
from the box.

involves - involved in -consists in - - takes part - deals with

Main job
This ____consists in__ ___ answering calls from customers who are having
problems with their software. It also ___INVOLVES______ working with sales
reps from time to time.
Other tasks
He isn’t __INVOLVED IN____ developing new programs. But when
programmers are preparing new versions of old products, he ___TAKES
PART___ in the discussions.
Typical problems
He ____DEALS WITH____ installation issues, password problems, bugs, etc.
02| Work with your classmates. Tell them about your job. What is similar to
their job and what is different? Have a look at the box below to use the
appropriate vocabulary and work-related verbs.
My job consists in...+ ing
I am involved in... + ing
I am responsible for… +ing
I am in charge of…+ing
I deal with…
I check / supervise / monitor / guarantee / manage / solve / create / design /
organize / arrange / schedule / ensure / handle / direct / lead / develop /
conduct / carry out / implement / draw up / build up / identify / evaluate / advise
/ fix / provide

Presenting visual information

01 | Look at the information about Lenovo, the computer manufacturer. Then
discuss the questions below with your classmates.

Which slide is in the form of:

•A diagram? 3
•A graph? 2
•A pie chart?1
Which slide shows...
•rises and falls in market share?2
•the breakdown of sales by market?1
•some key figures in Lenovo’s organizational structure?3
02 | Listen to the presentation about Lenovo and complete the missing
information on the slides.
27.6 SALES IN AMERICAN
37.5 IN NORTHEAST CHINA THE WORD WIDE SALES
35.8 MARKET SHARE IN THE LAST TWO YEARS
36.1IN THE OPENING IN THE SECOND IN THE YEAR
5 FIVE DIFFERENT CITIES AROUND THE WORD
3,000 TECHNICAL SUPPORT ENGINEER TO DAY CUSTOMERS PROBLEMS

03 |Read the sentences from the presentation and decide which slide they
refer to. Use the number 1-3 that correspond to the slides above. Listen again
to check your answers.

1This pie chart gives you the breakdown of Lenovo’s sales.

6Note that the company has operations in many different cities.
4This graph shows the change in the market share.
7This diagram summarizes the company’s main operations.
5The important thing here is that Lenovo is still the market leader in China.
2As you can see, 27.6% of sales are in the Americas
3But notice that China represents 37.5% of worldwide sales.

04 | Look at the expressions in the box and decide whether they are used to
briefly describe what is in each slide or say what is important in each slide.
Describe briefly
This pie chart gives you... - This graph shows… - This diagram summarizes...- -

Say what is important

Note that...
The important thing here is…
As you can see… - Notice that…

05 | Look at the expressions in the Useful language box and choose a suitable
subheading for A, B, and C from the box below.
USEFUL LANGUAGE
A_________Referring to visuals______
This table / pie chart / graph / diagram gives you / shows / summarizes /
illustrates…
Let’s look at this…
B ____Checking___________
Can everybody see that OK?
Can everyone understand the figures?
Is that clear?
C______Focusing on important points - _________
As you can see,...
Notice that…
Note that…
The important thing here is...
06 | Choose one slide about Lenovo and give a short presentation to your
classmates. Describe the slide briefly and say what is important about the
slide. Have a look at the Useful language box. Be ready to use those
expressions.
02. IMPROVING YOUR WRITING: Organizing your writing
WARM-UP READING
01 | Writer’s purpose
Writing Tips
When you write an email, you need to make clear why you are writing. You can
do this by using the phrase 'I am writing to (+ verb)' at the start of your email.
Here are some examples:
I am writing to
ask for further details about ...
inform you that my new address is …
complain about your customer service.
say thank you very much for all your hard work.
apply for the job as Teacher of Maths at your school.
02 | Outline of paragraphs
Writing Tips
Emails are easier to read if the writer uses paragraphs.
A paragraph in an email is often two or three sentences long.
Each paragraph starts on a new line.
When you start writing about a new topic, you can start a new paragraph.

A. Have a look at the following example email to a friend. Decide on the

purpose of each paragraph.
1Greeting
2 Reason for writing
3 REQUEST
4Other news
5 ‘look forward to’ and closing remark
03. WRITING SKILLS: Organizing your writing
01 | Match the beginnings of the emails with the descriptions of the writer's
purpose .
I look forward to speaking to you tomorrow. MATCH WITH
The writer asks the reader to do something

I am writing to complain about the delay. MATCH WITH The writer explains the
purpose of the email.

Many thanks for your email this morning. MATCH WITH The writer thanks the
reader for their email.

I hope you and your family are well. MATCH WITH The writer greets the reader
(e.g. by asking about their health).

Could you please give the office key to Jawal? MATCH WITH
The writer asks the reader to do something

By the way, my wife has just had a baby, so I’m very happy! MATCH WITH The
writer mentions some new information, which is not connected to the main
topic of the email.

My name is Andy Carr, and I am asoftware designer. I saw your advert on

dazzle.com, and … MATCH WITH If the reader does not know the writer, the
writer explains who they are.

02 | Put the following elements of an email in the typical order.

The writer greets the reader.
The writer thanks the reader for their email. Or if the reader does not know the
writer, the writer explains who they are.
The writer explains the topic/purpose of the email.
The writer asks the reader to do something.
The writer mentions their next communication with the reader
The writer mentions some new information, which is not connected to the
main topic of the email.

03 | Complete the sentences with phrases from the box.

¿Podrías por favor poner siempre / Estoy

escribiendo porque
1. How is it going? / Shall we meet? /
2. I am writing about / Could you please confirm
3. My name is Andrea Ponzi / Could we speak
4. I am writing because / Could you please always put

04. IT’S TIME TO WRITE!

01 | Last week you attended a networking event at We Work and you have
jotted down some email addresses. You are eager to write to your new
contacts. Start by Julian Waters, who is Business Solutions Manager at Visa,
and send him an email saying who you are, where you met him and suggesting
that you meet or have a call.
Make sure you:
•
Use the appropriate starting and ending phrases.
•
Use formal expressions only.
•
Organize your email in an appropriate way.
•
Include all the sections your business email must have.
•
Write between 70-100 words.

To: julianwayrs@visa.com
From:monsemillan94@gmail.com
Subject: I look forward to speaking to you tomorrow. MATCH WITH
The writer asks the reader to do something

Good morning, miss Julian Waters. I hope you and your family are well.
My name is Monse Millán and I am in the Human and I am writing to you
because last week I attended a networking event at We Work and I was very
interested in meeting you and talking a little more about your activities at Visa.
Could we speak on the phone sometime next week? Could you please let me
know if this is convenient for you?
I look forward to hearing from you.
With best wishes,
Monse Millán (HR)