Adding Impact: Word Stress, Body Language,& Eye Contact (Video 8)

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From the course by University of Pennsylvania

English for Business and Entrepreneurship

1287 ratings

University of Pennsylvania

English for Business and Entrepreneurship

1287 ratings

Welcome to English for Business and Entrepreneurship, a course created by the University of Pennsylvania, and funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of English Language Programs. To enroll in this course for free, click on “Enroll now” and then select "Full Course. No certificate." This course is designed for non-native English speakers who are interested in learning more about the global business economy. In this course, you will learn about topics and language necessary to succeed in the international workplace. You will explore business English through authentic readings and video lectures, while learning about business vocabulary, concepts, and issues. Unit 1 will provide an introduction to entrepreneurship by examining ideas, products, and opportunities. In unit 2, you will learn about the basics of market research, including how to identify an opportunity. The next unit in the course will focus on business plans, why these plans are important, and will give you a chance to practice composing a business plan. In the final unit of the course, we will present basics for funding a business and will help you create a persuasive presentation, or pitch, based on a business plan. Unless otherwise noted, all course materials are available for re-use, repurposing and free distribution under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution license. Supplemental reading materials were provided by Newsela, which publishes daily news articles at a level that's just right for each English language learner.

From the lesson

Unit 4: Attracting Investors and Obtaining Financial Support

In this unit, we will discuss different ways to get the money needed to start a business. At the end you will create a "pitch" to present your business ideas.

Financing a Business: Bootstrapping versus Outside Funding (Video 1 Part 1)4:32

Financing a Business: Bootstrapping versus Outside Funding (Video 1 Part 2)3:10

Unlockable Achievement0:09

Debt-Financing: Bank Loans and Microloans (Video 2 Part 1)4:26

Debt-Financing: Bank Loans and Microloans (Video 2 Part 2)3:23

Equity-Financing: Venture Capital (Video 3 Part 1)5:08

Equity-Financing: Venture Capital (Video 3 Part 2)2:41

Finding Investors in the Social Network (Video 4)4:57

Crowdfunding (Video 5 Part 1)4:15

Crowdfunding (Video 5 Part 2)3:57

Listening: Crowd-sourced funding provides kickstart to new business ventures2:38

Making a Pitch to Attract Investors (Video 6 Part 1)5:03

Making a Pitch to Attract Investors (Video 6 Part 2)5:39

Creating an Effective Hook (Video 7 Part 1)5:31

Creating an Effective Hook (Video 7 Part 2)4:19

Adding Impact: Word Stress, Body Language,& Eye Contact (Video 8)5:50

Listening: How to Pitch a Business2:14

Meet the Instructors

Amy Nichols
Manager of International Research and Program Development
English Language Programs
James Riedel
Executive Director
English Language Programs

Welcome to Unit 4, Video 8.

In this video, you will learn how entrepreneurs make their elevator pitches

stronger, by using their voice, body language and eye contact.

In Video 7, you learned how entrepreneurs used effective hooks to

get the attention and interest of investors.

In this video, we will not look at what they say in a pitch, instead,

we will look at how they say it.

How speakers use their voice, body language, and eye contact, all play

an important part in helping people understand and remember an elevator pitch.

Let's start with voice.

Entrepreneurs can use their voice to stress important words in their pitch.

Remember that stress makes words sound louder, longer, and higher pitch.

Specifically, it's a good idea to stress the intensifiers.

As you remember from Unit 3,

the intensifiers are the words, much, very, and even.

Let's look more closely at three sentences from a pitch for

Best Bicycle Delivery Service.

I'll say each sentence twice.

The first time, I will not use much word stress.

The second time, I'll put a lot of stress on the intensifier.

Our service is very easy to use.

Our service is very easy to use.

We deliver important packages seven days a week, even in heavy traffic.

We deliver important packages seven days a week, even in heavy traffic.

It's much faster than a delivery truck.

It's much faster than a delivery truck.

Do you here the difference?

When you practice your own pitch for Assessment 2,

try to stress the intensifiers in order to persuade your listener.

In addition to voice, an entrepreneur's body, hands, and

eyes are important for communicating their message.

These types of body language and

eye contact can be very different depending on your culture.

In North America, people expect entrepreneurs to be trustworthy,

which means that people will believe the message and

feel comfortable investing with the business.

People also expect entrepreneurs to appear confident.

Which means that the entrepreneur looks certain that the business will succeed.

Here are three ways that North American entrepreneurs show

that they are trustworthy and confident.

First, they use their hands and arms to make gestures while they speak.

They do not put their hands in their pockets.

In North American culture, people may think that hands in pockets

means someone is too relaxed or informal.

Similarly negative,

people may also think that hands in pockets means someone is hiding something.

Because they will not show their hands.

Second, entrepreneurs in North America try to smile a little.

Research shows that a small smile means someone is trustworthy.

Third, entrepreneurs look directly into people's eyes.

If an entrepreneur is talking to more than one person, he or

she tries to look at each person equally.

If an entrepreneur is making a video, he or she looks straight into the camera,

then the audience will feel that the entrepreneur is looking at them.

This behaviors communicate trustworthiness and

confidence in the North American business culture.

Is it the same in your culture?

Is it okay to make direct eye contact and smile at people you don't know well?

Or is there another way to show that you are friendly and trustworthy?

You can discuss these questions in the optional discussion board

on your course site.

In this video, we discussed how word stress, body language and eye contact

can help make an entrepreneur's pitch stronger and more persuasive.

Now, you're ready to write and record a pitch for a new product or business.

Watch Video 5 again if you want to review the 4 parts of a strong pitch,

and don't forget the language and

strategies you've learned from making a pitch more persuasive.

You can find detailed instructions and an example in your course materials.

Have fun and good luck.

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