Business english writing - Masterclass International School 2020

People success

Pre-reading activity

Before reading the article about success, try to answer the following question:

What does success mean to you?

Now read the following statements about success and have your say:

“Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.” B. R. Hayden

“Success is a journey, not a destination.” Ben Sweetland

“Failure is success if we learn from it.” Malcolm S. Forbes

“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill

“There's no secret about success. Did you ever know a

successful man who didn't tell you about it?” Kin Hubbard

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” Henry David Thoreau

Which statement best describes your idea of success? Why?

Test Your Attitude Towards Success

The quantity of success you may have in life is strongly related to the approach you have towards success. Do you know what is your attitude towards success? What does that mean for you? Take the 5-minute test below; you may be surprised at the results you get. Select one of the three answers to the questions below, and then compute your score as shown in Appendix 4 key to exercises:

TEST

1

(A) I have a clear idea of what success means to me.

(B) I have no idea what success means to me.

(C) I have somewhat of an idea what success means to me.

2

(A) I always seek advice and feedback.

(B) I never seek advice and feedback.

(C) Sometimes I seek advice and feedback.

(A) I never give up something I enjoy now, for something better in the future.

(B) Sometimes I give up something I enjoy now, for something better in the future

(A) When I have a setback or rejection, I give up and quit

(B) When I have a setback or rejection,I learn from it and try again

(A) I believe I will be successful.

(B) I believe I will never be successful.

(A) I am always fully prepared for the things I do.

(B) I am never prepared for the things I do.

(A) I would never take a risk, I only want sure things.

(B) I am somewhat open to taking risks.

(C) I am willing to take risks if the rewards seem worth it

(A) What happens in my life is not my responsibility.

(B) What happens in my life is somewhat my responsibility.

(A) Change always brings me new opportunities.

(B) Change never brings me new opportunities.

(A) I go all out when I am working on something.

(B) I hold back somewhat when I am working on something.

Reading activity

Secrets to Fascinating Anyone

Sally Hogshead, author of Fascinate: Your Seven Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation explains how to exploit your own personality traits in order to surprise someone thoroughly.

Sally Hogshead is the author of a book called Fascinate: Your Seven Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation, and as such she addresses audiences who will feel deceived if they aren’t enchanted by her words. The audience at the Inc. Leadership Forum in Miami seemed appropriately rapt--especially when Hogshead explained what makes them different from the rest of the world.

In her book, Hogshead says the triggers are--passion, power, trust, mystique, prestige, alarm and rebellion--that transform a brand from a utility into something people want to talk about and buy. Those triggers can do the same thing for people as for companies and products, Hogshead explained.

Trouble is, many people don't recognize their special, hard-wired qualities that, when leveraged to their fullest, make them memorable. Those qualities are a leader's most unique competitive advantage. "It's why certain leaders have so many followers and certain salespeople always seal the deal," said Hogshead.

Worried you can't learn to be fascinating? All you have to do is unlearn how to be boring, Hogshead said. "Your brain is hardwired to fascinate. It's a survival mechanism," she explained.

But different people fascinate in different ways. Some take command, some use emotion, some arouse curiosity, some inspire respect, some create urgency, some build loyalty, and some change the game. Everyone does one or more of these things in every interaction every day. But they don't always use the right one or the one that best suits their personality.

Hogshead advised conference attendees on identifying the fascination triggers associated with their own personalities and how to use them in everything from hiring to introducing themselves. How important is it to recognize and exploit your fascination triggers? People pay up to four times more for a fascinating brand, says Hogshead. When the audience heard that, they were fascinated.

Post-reading activity 1 (Comprehension)

Read the statements below and say whether they are true or false:

1.Sally Hogshead thinks personality traits can be exploited in order to surprise someone thoroughly. T F

2.Her audiences usually feel deceived by her enchanting words T F

3.Some triggers used to transform a utility into a product are the same that can be used for people T F

4.People are rarely aware of their best qualities T F

5.Boringness is the worst enemy to people’s fascination T F

6.People fascinate the others all in the same way T F

7.Hogshead’s advice to her trainees is to find out what are the fascination triggers associated with their personality in order to make the most of them. T F

8.Hogshead says that fascinating brand have a higher value for which people are willing to pay much more T F

Post-reading activity 2 (Speaking)

Do you think Sally Hogshead’s secrets to fascinating people are good advice? Do you think there are good strategies and techniques in order to be admired and highly-valued? Discuss

Grammar revision

PRESENT SIMPLE

I CLEAN (Habitual action, repeated action, scientific truth)

In her book Hogshead says that triggers transform a brand

Many people don't recognize their special qualities

But different people fascinate in different ways

Some use emotion, some arouse curiosity, some inspire respect

I always seek advice and feedback.

Change always brings me new opportunities.

Subject + Base form of verb (+s/es for 3rd singular)

Do/does + subject + Base form of verb

Subject + do/does + not + Base form of verb

_ _ _ ______I______ _ _ _

Now

PRESENT CONTINUOUS

I AM CLEANING

(Action taking place at time of speaking)

Context: It’s 11 a.m. and we are attending one of Sally’s sessions

Sally is welcoming the audience.

She is introducing herself to us.

Now she is smiling to someone in the first row who probably has asked for her autograph.

Now she is writing something on the board.

Subject + Am/are/is + -ing form

Am/are/is + subject + -ing form

Subject + Am/are/is + not + -ing form

_ _ _ ___IIIIII ______ _ _

Now

Be careful! Some verbs cannot be generally used in the continuous form. Some of them are like, love, want, know, understand, depend, prefer, remember, hate, mean, believe, forget. They require the Present simple.

Grammar exercises

1. Check the correct form of the present (simple or continuous):

1.At the moment we (analyse/are analysing) the situation and we will soon be able to give an answer to stakeholders

2.I (am seeing/see) my clients most afternoons

3.The sun (sets/is setting) in the west

4.I can’t help you right now. (I’m talking/talk) on the phone with a client.

5.I (don’t usually have/am not usually having) a coffee but I (have/am having) one this morning because there is nothing else

6.Where is Ben? I think (he is smoking/smokes) a cigarette

7.The Robinsons are in New York at last. They (are staying/stay) at the Royal Palace.

8.(I’m not liking/don’t like) this kind of music. It horrifies me.

9.(I believe/am believing) in the power of self-motivation

10.I don’t understand what (you say/are saying)! What (do you mean/are you meaning) by lack of enthusiasm?

2. Answer the following questions (in writing):

1.What do you do?

2.What does your job involve?

3.What time do you usually get to work (university)?

4.Do you go to work by bus or by car?

5.How often do you eat out at lunch?

6.When do you finish work (studying)?

7.How often do you watch TV after dinner?

8.How many hours do you sleep a day?

9.Where do you have breakfast?

10.Do you read a newspaper every day?

3. Choose the correct form: present simple or present continuous

The housing crisis

England (1) suffers/is suffering a massive housing crisis. There simply aren’t enough decent, affordable homes.

✵More than two million people (2) find/are finding their rent or mortgage a constant struggle or (3) fall/are falling behind with payments.

✵Against a background of mounting debt across the country, huge numbers of homeowners (4) have/are having their homes repossessed, because they are no longer able to keep up with their mortgage repayments.

✵Second home ownership (5) is pricing/prices local people out of many rural areas.

✵Over 1.7 million households (6) are currently waiting/wait for social housing.

✵Some homeless households - many with dependent children — (7) wait/are waiting for years in temporary accommodation.

✵Families renting privately on low incomes (8) are having/have to put up with poor living conditions and little security.

✵The number of new households (9) increases/is increasing faster than the number of house builds.

✵And at the sharpest end, many hundreds of people (10) sleep/are sleeping rough on the streets every night, cold and fearing for their safety.

Shelter (11) is believing/believes this situation is unacceptable.

4. Rewrite words containing possible mistakes:

1.I had never though about it before

2.You will achieve your target thorough hard work and commitment

3.People should be honest and straightforward. I don’t like people who don’t tell the true

4.The trough is that you don’t want to work hard

5.Even thought she is a good employee she spends much time at the coffee machine

6.When the going gets thought, the thought get going