Activities

Reading Comprehension

The objective of the present activity is to use critical reading skills to analyse the content of a written text.

Read the text and answer the comprehension questions.

A picture paints a thousand words

Body language is an important part of communication. The often unconscious subtle messages conveyed without words and that people send and receive include posture, facial expressions, gestures, mannerisms and appearance. Psychologists claim that the impact you make on others depends on what you say (7%), how you say it (38%), and by your body language (55%).


Since how you sound also conveys a message, 93% of emotion is communicated without words. Therefore, it is vital that businesspeople understand and use body language in order to increase the probability of sales success. Body language is a bidirectional movement. Non-verbal communication flows from the salespeople to the customers and vice versa. It implies rules and systems learned through imitation or determined by our culture. Although non-verbal behaviour varies across cultures, the six major emotions (anger, fear, disgust, sadness, happiness and suprise) are common worldwide. When body language is effective, comunication is clear and powerful, and satisfactory outcomes are much more easily attained.


However, you must take care of not misinterpreting body language. Cultural differences create different meanings from gestures. Certaing body language signals migh mean something to one persona and something entirely different to someone else. The OK sign means “fine” in the UK and the USA, in France it means zero, worthless; in Japan it means money; in other cultures, you’d better not use it at all, or else you may end up with a black eye. From this example, we can infer that the misinterpretation of signals will likely end up in a situation where communication is ineffective.


Many of the impressions that you make on other people are created through your non-verbal behaviour. The ability to control and master your body language and to respond sensitively to others’ non-verbal messages is a skill that will improve your effectiveness at work and enhance the quality of your communication. Learning to interpret body language is necessary to improve your communication skills and to be a successful salesperson.

Comprehension questions:

  1. According to the text, what is the percentage of emotion in non-verbal communication?
  2. What is the purpose of learning body language for businesspeople?
  3. Where do people acquire non-verbal communication skills?
  4. Name the six major emotions.
  5. How do cultural differences affect communication?
  6. Why is it advisable not to use the OK sign in some cultures?
  7. Which are the benefits of controlling and mastering your body language?

Sugested answers:

  1. It is 93%.
  2. It is to increase the probability of sales success.
  3. They acquire them by imitation or by their culture.
  4. They are anger, fear, disgust, sadness, happiness and surprise.
  5. Cultural differences create different meanings from gestures.
  6. Because you may end up with a black eye.
  7. They will improve your effectiveness at work and enhance the quality of your communication.

Speaking

The objective of this activity is to practise the speaking skills by talking about your job in the past.

You are at a job interview. The interviewer tells you the following:

  • Now please tell me a little bit about your previous work experience…

Now give a short explanation of your job experience. Record and listen to your voice to check your pronunciation.

Note: there’s no correct answer to this question. To check your pronunciation, introduce your text in the text editor in the website 'Text-to-speech’ and then listen to the correct pronunciation. Practise as much as you like by repeating the words that you hear.

Listening comprehension

The aim of this activity is to check your listening comprehension by listening to a dialogue.

Listen to the job interview and then answer the questions:

Job interview ( 334.1 KB )

  1. What sort of job is she applying for?
  2. Where did she work before?
  3. How does she describe herself?
  4. What are her weaknesses?
  5. Which are the qualities of a good supervisor in her opinion?
  6. What didn’t she like about her former supervisor?
  7. When did they agree to meet again?

Suggested answers:

  1. She is applying for the position of administrative assistant.
  2. She worked for Melvin Inc. for two years.
  3. She describes herself as competent, enthusiastic and productive.
  4. Sometimes she is too sincere and dependable.
  5. She thinks he/she should be determined, communicative and easy-going.
  6. She disliked his/her difficulties to outline the main goals of the department.
  7. They agreed to meet again in two days’ time.

Writing a curriculum vitae

The aim of this activity is to formalize and write documentation related to the job hiring process.

Click on Europass.cedefop.europa.eu to help you write Melanie Water’s curriculum vitae with the information provided in the list below.

Now complete a CV by using the following information:

  • Melanie Water
  • Project manager
  • Business Administration
  • University of Bristol
  • 29/02/1975
  • Business Inc.
  • 666334411
  • Ms Word, Excel and Power Point
  • English (2)
  • Organizational abilities

Note: this activity has no suggested answer.

Writing a cover letter

The objective of this activity is to practise the contents of a cover letter.

Read the following situation and then write an appropriate cover letter.

You work as an administrative assistant in a local company, but you would like to widen your horizon and find a post in a multinational company. You check the British newspaper The Guardian of 3rd March 2015 and see an offer for a job in the Department of Human Resources of a company called HotDogs&Co, which has fast food restaurants in Europe and the USA. You decide to apply for the post.

Include the following information:

  1. Reason for writing
  2. A summary of your studies and qualifications
  3. A summary of your work experience
  4. Other characteristics that may be valuable for the job.
  5. Appropriate closing sentences

Example of letter:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing with reference to your advertisement published on 3rd March in The Guardian. I would like to apply for the position in the Department of Human Resources of your company.

I am currently finishing my studies on Administration and Finance, but I have a long experience as an administrative assistant in different companies. As you will see in my attached CV, I am currently working in the commercial department at Zara and I am getting my degree at the same time. I am also taking a course on English at the EOI (Escuela Oficial de Idiomas) and preparing the exam for the degree of Intermediate English. Working in London will help me improve my English and at the same time I will gain valuable experience in my job.

I consider myself a responsible and highly reliable person with a great ability to adapt myself to different situations. I am willing to learn new things and have new experiences. I believe I will be a valuable asset to your team.

I would be grateful if you considered my application. I am available for an interview in the afternoons and you can reach me on my mobile phone number which appears in my CV.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours faithfully,

[Your name and surname here]

The conditional sentences

The objective of this activity is to practise the structure of the three types of conditional sentences.

Complete the following conditional sentences in an appropriate way:

  1. If I ever lose my job, …
  2. If I had a better salary, …
  3. If I were born again, …
  4. If I had not studied at the IOC, …
  5. If I learn English well, …
  6. If I had not gone to school as a child, …

Suggested answers (the correct verb tense is in italics):

  1. … I will feel depressed but I will look for another one.
  2. … I would move to a bigger house.
  3. … I would do the same things again.
  4. … I wouldn’t have had time to study.
  5. … I will improve a lot in my job.
  6. … I wouldn’t have learned so many things.

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