Activities

Suggested answers:

1. According to the text, a fair deal is a fair price for the producers’ goods, long term contracts which provide real security and support to learn the knowledge and skills required to develop their businesses.
2. The fair trade movement started at least 30 years ago.
3. Three objectives of the fair trade movement are to improve the livelihoods and well-being of producers, to promote development opportunities for disadvantaged producers and to raise awareness among consumers of the negative effects of international trade.
4. The purpose of the Fair Trade labelling is to guarantee that the businesses that have it sell Fair Trade products with a guarantee to consumers.
5. The difference is that Fair Trade involves working in partnership with producers whereas Ethical Trade means the assumption of responsibility by a company for the labour and human rights practices.

1. Yes, I am / No, I’m not.
2. Yes, I have / No, I haven’t.
3. Yes, I am / No, I’m not.
4. Yes, I have / No, I haven’t.
5. Yes, I do / No, I don’t.
6. Yes, I have / No, I haven’t.
7. Yes, I do / No, I don’t.
8. Yes, I am / No, I’m not.

Suggested answers:

1. a) They dread speaking in public because they are afraid of looking foolish or stupid / b) They dread speaking in public because they are afraid that their mind will go blank or that their lack of speaking skills will lower the opinion others have of them.
2. It is the art and science of public speaking.
3. A glossophobic person can experience two types of symptoms: physical and verbal.
4. Preparation eases public speaking because you won’t get lost during the presentation.
5. He advises to avoid bullets because your material should be the focal point of the talk.
6. They visualise a positive outcome and use deep belly breathing.
7. Interaction reduces boredom.

Transcription:

Do you dread speaking in public? People are sometimes afraid of speaking in public. The primary reason is that they are afraid of looking foolish or stupid in front of many of their peers and important people. They are afraid that their mind would go blank or that their lack of speaking skills will lower the opinion others have of them.

The art and science of public speaking is known as forensics and the fear of public speaking is called glossophobia. A glossophobic person quite often tries to evade public events, especially those where he or she is required to speak. People who suffer from glossophobia tend to freeze in front of any audience and the physical symptoms of their disease, also known as ‘speech anxiety’, include increased blood pressure, heart beats, increased sweating tendency, stiffening of neck and upper back muscles and dry mouth. The verbal symptoms include a quivering voice and repetition of ‘uhms’ and ‘ers’. In order to overcome glossophobia, some organisations offer help to reduce this fear.

Darrell Zahorsky, in his article ‘Master the Art of Public Speaking, suggests seven tips to master the art of public speaking. The first one is to start small: you should begin by speaking to smaller groups and build up from there. The second one is: prepare. He states that the ability to connect with your audience comes from having the confidence you won’t get lost during your delivery. You should rehearse several times before the big talk and time your presentation. His third tip is: don’t memorize. Mastering the art of public speaking comes not from memorizing word for word during the entire speech, he says. The real pros know their material by remembering key points and prompts on sub topics and examples to cover. Another tip is to avoid bullets: the majority of business presentations and speeches are boring monologues filled with endless PowerPoint slides and bullet points. He advises to trash the PowerPoint presentations and make your material the focal point of the talk. A fifth tip is to reduce stress: he reckons that the most fearful moment of any presentation is the one minute before stage entrance. He advises to use the tactic of elite athletes, which is visualising a positive outcome and using deep belly breathing to reduce stress and build confidence. The next tip is to find a friend: pride your public speaking on stage, introduce yourself to a few members of the audience in the front row so that during your talk you can look at these people in the eyes to ease your nerves and connect with your audience. His last tip is to engage the audience. He suggests you make your talk a two-way interaction with questions and participation to reduce boredom and speak with ease. In addition, having the group involved also gives you time to reorganise your thoughts if things are going off track.

Remember: public speaking is a skill so anyone can learn to do it. Why don’t you have a try? This is your chance.

1. Fine, thanks, (and you?)
2. Hi! / Hello!
3. Good evening
4. You too!
5. Bye! / Goodbye!
6. How do you do.
7. Nice to meet you too
8. A pleasure for me too

1. My brother doesn’t speak French.
2. I’m not driving home.
3. It isn’t very hot.
4. We don’t go to France every summer.
5. Those people aren’t going to the concert.
6. They haven’t got many employees (BrE.)/ They don’t have many employees (AmE.)
7. There isn’t anyone waiting for you / There’s no-one waiting for you.
8. She never calls me in the mornings.
9. Mr Holmes isn’t attending a meeting right now.
10. He doesn’t arrive too late to the office.

Notes:

• In sentence number 7, the word someone must change to anyone when the verb is in the negative form.
• In sentence 8, the adverb always changes to its opposite never in a negative sentence, but the verb remains in the positive form. Never cannot go with a verb in the negative form.