Pete Sharma Associates

Only three things in life are certain. Death, TAXES and the fact that Barca will not be in the 2012 Champions League final

The UK government has recently (and anonymously) investigated the tax returns of a number of wealthy individuals. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the UK finance minister, is apparently ‘shocked’ that is many of them pay little or no tax. Just how do they do it?

How indeed! I wish I knew! For the rest of this new blog post, please visit Macmillan In Company site

Coming soon…………….PSA symposia in Madrid and Bar…..

The new iPad: is the tablet changing the face of business?

It’s here: the new iPad, the first product launch from Apple since the death of Steve Jobs. It’s the higher screen resolution that most tech reviewers are gushing over. This has been described as: “simply stunning”.

For the rest of this business e-lesson blog, please visit: http://www.businessenglishonline.net/resources/in-company-second-edition-resources/elessons

Macmillan In Company

2012 Resources

In 2012 Macmillan’s monthly e-lessons will be based on an article by myself, Pete Sharma, for you to use in class. Each article will investigate something topical to the business world and provide links for further research, information and discussion.

These articles will offer you flexibility in how you use them. Whether they form the basis of a reading lesson, a discussion activity, vocabulary presentation or extra homework you’ll find them an invaluable, relevant and practical tool for your business English teaching.

The first article is called ‘Blue Monday’.

The third Monday of the year is supposed to be the most miserable day of the year, partly due to the weather (in the UK, anyway!) and the fact that our personal debt is usually high just after Christmas.

For the rest of this lesson idea and a pdf of the article  available for you to download and share with your students, see:

http://www.businessenglishonline.net/resources/in-company-second-edition-resources/elessons

The latest In Company business English blog post has been uploaded by Macmillan. It re-visits the e-lesson: The best presentation….. ever?

Users of Prezi pass the five million mark: is this business tool changing the way we deliver presentations?

Last month, the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies announced its list of ‘Top 100 Tools for Learning, 2011′. What made me take notice was that fact that Prezi had risen to number 7. PowerPoint, on the other hand, had slipped down the chart, to number 19.

To read the complete blog entry, simply visit: http://www.businessenglishonline.net/resources/in-company-second-edition-resources/elessons

You can also download the original e-lesson. Enjoy………..

Once again, the Macmillan business English website invites teachers to revisit an e-lesson from the past. This time, the lesson is: Salaries

Salaries Revisited

FTSE directors’ earnings rise by nearly 50%

Once again, directors’ pay is back in the news. A new report from a research company, the IDS (Incomes Data Services), has revealed that last year the earnings of UK directors of the top 100 FTSE companies rose by nearly 50%. The average increase in CEO salaries was 43%. What’s more, directors’ bonuses have reportedly risen by 23%, making the average bonus a staggering £900,000!

To read the rest of this blog post,  as well as to download the orginal e-lesson and Teachers’ notes, please visit:

http://www.businessenglishonline.net/resources/in-company-second-edition-resources/elessons

I woke up this morning to an IM from my daughter in Spain with the sad news about Steve Jobs. She started her text with the words: “Possible E-lesson”. Indeed!

Meanwhile, in these days of financial woe, here is the start of the latest blog entry on Macmillan’s Business English website:

IMF warns of threat to global banking system

The e-lesson ‘Banking Crisis’ went out exactly three years ago, in September 2008. It described how share prices plummeted after the collapse of the US bank Lehman Brothers. Following a summer where we have witnessed similar volatility in the financial markets, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the ‘global financial system is more vulnerable now than at any time since the 2008 financial crisis’. Once again, it seems the world is facing economic meltdown. Why?

For the complete blog post, and access to the original e-lesson please visit:

http://www.businessenglishonline.net/elesson/banking-crisis-revisited

To celebrate the latest e-lesson on Presentations, I thought I’d share five moments in my life as a presenter, moments which ‘kicked me upstairs’ in terms of my personal development as a trainer. In no particular order…

1.Plenary at LABCI-ABCI conference

Want to know sheer terror? Seeing five gigantic screens behind a microscopic David Graddol in Sao Paolo as he did his plenary in a room laid out for over a thousand. Gulp. I fled to my room and spent eight hours the following day re-working my material to make it work in context. Need a 20 second-hook to capture the attention of the audience. I found one – the Brazilian wave…..

2. Post-course chat

After one of our courses in Stratford, well-known trainer Seth Dickens stayed behind and spent an hour telling us what makes a good PPT slide. I now fill the screen with my photo, and have become addicted to white text on black backgrounds. PPT will never be the same again – thanks, Seth…..

3. Angst at ESP conference, Stuttgart

Nick Brieger finished his talk and then the computer and projector (sorry, beamer) broke. Just like that. I started my session with no PPT, while someone behind me fiddled with incomprehensible cables. Whatever I do now, knowing what I will do if the technology goes pear-shaped is crucial. Roll on Plan B……

4. De-mystifying digital

Watching my colleague’s presentation on this course made me realise there are two types of people in the world. Those who know nothing about photograph libraries (like me) and those that do. The graphics he used were from a designers nirvana. Slides involving one or two key-words.  I really experienced the power of design….

5. Buying a clicker on Amazon

Buying that wireless clicker has transformed my presentations. Like Mark Powell, I have great difficulty in standing in one place and exuding calm and serenity. (Like it tells you in the manuals). I hop around like an epileptic spider on heat, but secretly, in my pocket, nestles my clicker….

I was baffled as to why you try and stick to the rules (give an overview, divide the presentation into  five parts…) yet all those great TED.com presentations break the rules! So, this e-lesson is about breaking the rules. It is also a homage to a lot of great presentations and presenters I have witnessed over the years which have helped me. You may even guess some of the presenters in there! Hope you enjoy it!

You can download the latest business English e-lesson from Macmillan  - “Best Presentation ever…” here: http://www.businessenglishonline.net/resources/in-company-second-edition-resources/elessons

I have just discovered that the archive of Business English e-lessons is now searchable by date, level and by topic.

Topic categories include: current affairs / global economy/ technology / environment / office & management…….

As a good Brit, I cannot blow my own trumpet, but this resource is seriously worth checking out!

http://www.businessenglishonline.net/resources/in-company-second-edition-resources/elessons