The Star in Starbucks

A. Look at the graph of Starbucks stock price changes over the past two months. How would you describe the price movement?

1. In late May, the price of the Starbucks common stock ____________________.

2. Around June 1^st, the stock _____________slightly before __________________ again.

3. By late June the stock price had _______________________.

4. The stock has _____________________ since early July, but has not reached its former high and last week it ________________ along with the rest of the market.

Here are a few new expressions to deal with changes in stock market prices:

The Big Board eked out a small gain before closing.

The market went south last week; it basically tanked.

Markets around the world followed suit, with losses registered in London and Hong Kong

Will the credit crunch cause this bull market to turn bearish? Have stocks topped out?

GRAMMAR PRACTICE

Now fill in the missing verb forms in Schultz's comments on why his company has a

conscience.

I think the company is deeply-rooted in a sensibility and trying to build the company with a conscience primarily, I think defined by the fact that we did something in 1989 and 1990 that (9) _________________ (never, do) before, which was creating a program in which we had comprehensive health insurance for all employees including part-timers and created a mechanism for equity in the form of stock options, also for every employee, and both those benefits__________________________(never, design) for part-time people before and I think those benefits in many ways transformed the company, created the kind of culture and values and guiding principles in which we wanted to build a company in which people (11) ___________________ (not, leave) behind. In many ways I wanted to build a company that in a sense was the kind of company that my father (12)______________(never, get) a chance to work for.

To what extent do you agree with this quotation of Jack Welch’s?

“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.” Jack Welch, former CEO of GE.

SKILLS FOR PRESENTATION

HANDLING QUESTIONS

Fielding Questions Some handy phrases for dealing with questions

1. To get someone to repeat a question: Would you mind saying that again? Would you mind repeating your question?

I’m not sure I understood your question. Would you mind rephrasing it?

2. To check that you have understood a question: So what you are asking is

If I understand you correctly, what you’d like to know is... I think what you’re asking is...

3. To defer answering a question:

I’m not sure about that. Let me check and get back to you. I’m afraid I don’t know, but I'll look into it and let you know.

4. To hear a question better in a meeting:

I'm afraid I cannot hear you. Would you mind saying that again? I did not catch what you said.

I’m not sure if everyone heard that. Could you please repeat what you said a little louder?

5. To defer answering an irrelevant question:

I would rather answer that after the meeting.

Explaining a Visual

That’s not within the scope of today’s meeting, but I’d be happy to discuss it with you at another time. We’ll be getting to that subject in a later meeting. Can you hold on to that question?

1. The following chart/graph/etc, will help you understand...

2. Let’s look at the following chart/graph to help us understand.

3. This graph shows us the relationship between ____and ___

3. The X axis represents.... The Y axis represents...

4. The curved/dotted/dashed line shows/represents/indicates...

5. We can see that this decreases dramatically...

6. If you look closely, you can see that this is increasing slowly.

7. The information presented here suggests that...

8. So, according to this information, we can conclude that...

Describing Location on a Handout

1. In the upper right-hand/lower left-hand corner

2. At the bottom/top of the page

3. Halfway/Three-fourths of the way down the page

After creating your visuals and practicing them, it is time to give the actual presentation. To be effective, you must consider how you deliver those visual aids.

Do Not Block the View

The first point to keep in mind is not blocking the material from the audience's view. If audience members cannot see what you have written clearly, the purpose of using the visual is lost! In order to ensure that this does not happen, it is a good idea to check that everyone can see clearly BEFORE starting to explain the visual. Also, if using a white board or a blackboard, be sure to ask before erasing. Some phrases for doing so are:

Use of Visual Checks

1. Can everyone read this?

2. Can everyone see this?

3. Can everyone see the board?

4. Can I erase this?

Maintain Eye Contact

The second point to remember is to maintain eye contact with the audience while explaining. Many presenters – sometimes even experienced ones – will look too much at the visual instead of at the audience. Of course, sometimes you have to look at the visual, but the way you stand can make a big difference.

You should notice that when using the overhead projector, effective presenters stand close to the overhead projector, facing the audience. To be most effective, you should stand beside the projector so that your hand or pen can be used to point to the material on the transparency. That way, you only need to look down momentarily at the material and then you can look up to see whether people are following or not.

Using a Pointer

In some cultures, presenters always use a pointer or laser beam “pointer” to point to specific areas on a visual aid. It is not as common in US presentations, but it is still acceptable and sometimes useful. When you want your audience to focus on a specific part or small detail of your visual aid, it may be easiest to use a pointer. However, there are some clear disadvantages to using a pointer. For example, if the presenter's hand is slightly shaking from nervousness, the pointer can highlight or exaggerate the shakiness. Also, there may be a greater tendency to turn to the screen to point, instead of facing the audience. If you choose to use a pointer, do not overuse it and practice keeping good audience eye contact.