In Company – Intermediate

Regarding the workshop given by Mark Powell on May 5, 2003 in Munich, I would like to offer some critical comments on the presentation of his book entitled “In Company – Intermediate” published by MacMillan. The conference had been organized by MELTA, which is the Munich English Language Teaching Association, of which I have been a member since 2003. Mr. Mark Powell deliberately focused on some specific issues related to his book. Later, all MELTA members were asked to make a contribution to his book launch. I have divided my critical analysis into three sections dealing with its general presentation, some distinctive aspects of its contents, and finally my personal opinion.

1. READING – overview

From my perspective, I can conclude that the way Mark Powell presented his ideas was quite effective despite the fact that he had, due to the obvious time constraint, to tackle as many problems as possible in two hours. Therefore, it would have been more advantageous for him to have been allowed to design his presentation for a 3-hour workshop, to be advantageously offered through the Melta organization.

Mainly, I do not agree at all with the opinion of some other participants, who described Mr. Powell’s presentation as ineffective. I didn’t get the impression that Mark Powell, being such an experienced specialist in his field, had little to say.

Eventually, it’s always a question of how you can convince your audience; In achieving this goal, you need to stick to a specific methodology from time to time. Depending on the situation, you are sometimes forced to switch from sail to steam as Mark perfectly implemented that day.

2. CONTENT – choose some subject fields as follows

a) Use of language

Overall, I liked the wise way Mark Powell played with words and juggled them for practical educational purposes, for example, weighing their importance and relevance against user need and benefit. The choice of topics such as ‘speed of language, the appropriate application of implicit and explicit linguistic fragments in an international context and the relevance of cultural influences’ caught my attention, not to mention the fruitful suggestions on the lexical approach that is closely related to that problem. Basically what I learned from this was to focus on the critical aspects of a conversation or discussion, i.e. emphasizing the meaning of certain words and becoming aware of what needs to be understood from the listener’s perspective. Since I also favor the proper use of the language for my English classes, I definitely support your procedure and your quite creative way of practical realization.

b) The world of business meetings

Basically, I found the handouts related to this topic very useful, giving you a clearer view of what happens in a typical classic meeting that should be beneficial and effective for the participants. Mark ably pointed out that we must be aware of the fact that the formulas once learned and used do not play the most crucial role during this opportune encounter. I would like to put it this way: Why shouldn’t you apply these findings to a more advanced approach to the meaning of meetings and transfer this knowledge to your own model of teaching or behavior?

So it’s always good to know what real life is supposed to be like. Having already been working at a leading international company for over 15 years, I can confirm how important it is to stick to the proven rules of thumb that must be upheld in order to manage well in terms of myriad different meeting cultures.

c) What is happening in a presentation?

Regarding this part of the lecture, Mark Powell seemed to be well into this topic by illustrating and showing the basics of presentations in an animated way through practical references to well-selected exercises from his book. Since today’s business world primarily requires preparing and delivering presentations, it was certainly very interesting and engaging to dive into this topic by getting a precious sample of an excerpt from Mel Gibson’s Brave Heart as well as Dirty Harry from Clint Eastwood. This would definitely be an appropriate way to practice one’s skills with regard to gaining a proper level of proficiency. In some cases, adult education centers also offer this type of rhetorical education and training. Since the demand would be significantly high, I wouldn’t mind signing up even for the sake of my own progress.

3. PERSPECTIVE – personal opinion

Recalling all the workshops that I have been able to attend over the years, I would like to point out that this type of presentation by Mark Powell was the only one that I still remember mainly due to its inherent power of enthusiastic persuasion and lecture, efficient use of the body . language and how he managed to tackle so many salient issues in the field of Business English.

I firmly believe that Mark Powell with his quirky charisma will be a real asset to any type of presentation. He definitely has the linguistic power to snap the audience out of his complacency and allow them to basically put his ideas and imagination to work. It’s all about buying and selling anyway and this is mainly true for these types of workshops as well. Due to the variety of educational backgrounds and a wide range of different circumstances, it is quite decisive if and how we can literally gain the solid interest and enthusiasm for knowledge of our audience, students or participants.

Knowing this, he would not reduce Mark Powell’s appearance to a mother’s showmanship, as some other professors had concluded. Very often it is simply useful that you have to act like a person who tends to act on stage, but always appreciating the need for clarity and transparency regarding the contents of the teaching.

However, it should also be noted that a certain amount of hype must also be part of the game in order to finally achieve the intended result and goals.

In my view, this behavior and presentation style has been largely embodied and vitally realized by Mr. Mark Powell on that night in Munich. Above all, do not forget that the subtitle of his lecture was called “A fast and furious approach to Business English”. Therefore, Mark Powell made a sustainable contribution that will surely be etched in the memory of most of the participants.

Overall, I would definitely recommend his book “In company – Intermediate” which is a proven teaching masterpiece covering all kinds of necessary topics required in daily business life.