Table of Contents
BEST IELTS General Reading Test 454
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 454 – PASSAGE – 2
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 454
READING PASSAGE – 2
Giving Business Presentations
In business, we often find ourselves in situations where we have to present information formally to others. One of the most important aspects of communicating effectively is shaping both content and style to fit your audience. In meetings, if you can communicate in a way that is both comprehensible and interesting to your audience, their understanding of what you are trying to communicate will be greatly enhanced.
Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication
Find out all you can about the room in which you will be presenting. Visit the room ahead of time to familiarise yourself with its size and layout, as well as the type of chalkboards, chalk, erasers, and multimedia available. In addition, obtain any necessary training on the multimedia.
IELTS General Reading Test
Use the room as a stage. Move around to engage and interact with your audience. Do not stand in one spot the entire time. Move with purpose; do not walk aimlessly.
Prepare. Preparation is essential. Practice in the room if you can, especially if you are new to the topic you’re presenting. In addition, prepare yourself emotionally and psychologically by taking the time to organise your thoughts.
Speak loudly and clearly. Project your voice and face your audience when you are speaking. Speak slightly louder than you do in a normal conversation. You might choose to use a microphone in a medium to large room.
IELTS General Reading Test
Modulate the tone, pitch, and speed of your speech. Do not talk in a monotone. Vary the pitch and speed of your voice for emphasis and effect. Use appropriate pauses. Rather than using sounds such as “uh”, simply pause before moving on to the next idea or point.
Use gestures and facial expressions to help you explain, emphasise, and communicate the material. However, be careful not to develop distracting habits such as pacing or repeatedly adjusting your glasses or hair. To find out if you are doing anything that may be distracting to your audience, have a colleague observe you or have your class videotaped.
IELTS General Reading Test
Show passion and enthusiasm for the topic. If you are not interested in the subject, you cannot expect your audience to be interested, either. Point out the fascinating aspects of what you are talking about.
Do not read your notes or slides. Doing so will lower your impact and lead your audience to feel less engaged.
Interact with and pay attention to your audience. Make eye contact with the audience, not with the wall or chalkboard. If people appear to be lost, take additional time to explain points and to ask and answer questions.
IELTS General Reading Test
Do not take yourself too seriously. Be able to laugh at yourself and your mistakes. Feel free to bring humour into the presentation where suitable, but direct it at yourself, rather than at your audience’s questions and ideas.
Keep track of the time. Do not start early or end late. People are busy and need to keep to schedules.
Using Visual Aids, such as PowerPoint Slides
– Do not use visual aids unless they serve a clear and important purpose. Visuals should aid quick comprehension and support the main points.
– Book and check out the presentation equipment in advance.
– Talk to your audience and not to the screen.
– Use the visuals to enhance your presentation, not as a substitute for a verbal presentation.
– Use a pointer, if necessary.
– Design your visuals with clarity and simplicity in mind.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 15-20
Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the text for each answer.
15. A successful presentation will combine the …………………. with how you present it in order to suit the people listening.
16. A …………………. might be a useful tool if presenting in a big area.
17. Presenters should adjust how they speak, so that they avoid speaking in a ………………….
18. Directly reading to an audience from a presentation can reduce the presenter’s ………………….
19. …………………. can be a useful rhetorical technique if used appropriately.
20. A …………………. is a useful tool to help indicate key areas on slides.
IELTS General Reading Test
Read the text below and answer questions 21-27.
Business Continuity Planning
When business is disrupted, it can cost money. Insurance does not cover all costs and cannot replace customers that go to the competition. A business continuity plan is therefore essential.
Firstly, a business should conduct a business impact analysis (BIA) to identify time-sensitive or critical business functions and processes and the resources that support them. A BIA predicts the consequences of disruption to a business function and process and gathers information needed to proceed. There are many possible scenarios that should be considered.
The BIA also considers the timeline when a business function or process is disrupted, which can have a significant bearing on the loss sustained. A short disruption of production may be overcome by shipping finished goods from a warehouse, but disruption of a product in high demand could have a significant impact.
IELTS General Reading Test
One way to help conduct a BIA is to involve a BIA questionnaire, which can be used to survey managers and others within the business. The survey should include those with detailed knowledge of how the business manufactures its products or provides its services. Ask them to pinpoint the possible impacts if the business function or process that they are responsible for is interrupted. The BIA should also identify the critical business processes and resources needed for the business to continue to function at different levels.
The next stage is for a business continuity team to be assembled. This needs to involve key players from all parts of the business process and will often involve those who have taken part in the BIA questionnaire. Training is essential to ensure that everyone knows what to do when there is an emergency or disruption of business operations. Team members should receive training to become familiar with safety, building security, information security and other loss prevention programs.
IELTS General Reading Test
Members of emergency response, business continuity and crisis communications teams should also be trained, so that they are familiar with their roles and responsibilities as defined within the plans. Team leaders should receive a higher level of training, including incident command system training, so they can lead their teams. Review applicable regulations to determine training requirements. Records documenting the scope of training, participants, instructor and duration should be maintained.
When the business continuity team is assembled, a risk assessment should be completed. This identifies potential hazards, and analyses what could happen. There are numerous hazards to consider, and for each hazard there are many possible scenarios that could unfold depending on timing, magnitude and location. While the business continuity team conducts the risk assessment, they should look for vulnerabilities that would make a resource more susceptible to damage. These can include deficiencies in building construction, process systems, and loss prevention programs. All these factors contribute to the severity of damage when an incident occurs.
IELTS General Reading Test
The business continuity team’s next job is to design plans to deal with potential problems. These are alternate means to restore business operations to a target point following a business disruption and are prioritised by what is known as recovery time objectives. The business continuity team should have members who have the in-depth knowledge of business functions and processes, so that the team will be in the best position to determine what will work.
The plans require resources including people, facilities, equipment, materials and information technology. Plans also may involve contracting with third parties, entering into partnership or reciprocal agreements or displacing other activities within the company. An analysis of the resources required to execute the plans should be conducted to recognise gaps.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 21 – 27
Complete the flow chart below.
Write NO MORE THAN ONE WORD from the text for each answer.
Business Continuity Planning
1. Perform A Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
– This is used to identify important business factors and the (21)………….. used to maintain them.
– BIA’s can forecast problems and develop solutions.
– An important factor to consider is the (22)………….. of a business problem, as this will influence many other factors.
IELTS General Reading Test
2. Make Use Of A BIA Questionnaire
– The BIA questionnaire can be a very useful tool as it surveys key workers.
– Workers surveyed should identify potential (23)………….. of various problems and also essential business processes and resources.
3. Assemble A Business Continuity Team
– The business continuity team needs to include workers from a broad spectrum of the business’ process – often those who did the BIA questionnaire.
– Training in various fields is vital for the team.
– Team leaders should have more complex training.
– (24)………….. should be kept.
IELTS General Reading Test
4. Do A Risk Assessment
– The risk assessment identifies potential threats, including (25)………….. that make a business asset more liable to be affected by a problem.
5. Prepare Recovery Strategies
– Recovery strategies will seek to re-establish a (26)………….. level, which is measured by recovery time objectives.
– The business continuity team should include people with all the right know-how.
– Recovery strategies include many variables and research should also be done to identify (27)………….. in required resources.
IELTS General Reading Test
IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS
15. CONTENT
16. MICROPHONE
17. MONOTONE
18. IMPACT
19. HUMOUR
20. POINTER
21. RESOURCES
22. TIMELINE
23. IMPACTS
24. RECORDS
25. VULNERABILITIES
26. TARGET
27. GAPS
IELTS General Reading Test