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.
Creating Simple, One-Sentence Product Descriptions (Video 8 Part 1)
Loading...
來自 University of Pennsylvania 的課程
English for Business and Entrepreneurship
1393 個評分
從本節課中
Unit 1: Becoming an Entrepreneur
In this unit, we will introduce course goals and logistics, then discuss basic concepts and vocabulary related to entrepreneurship.
與講師見面
Amy NicholsManager of International Research and Program Development
English Language Programs
James RiedelExecutive Director
English Language Programs
Welcome to unit one, video eight.
Creating simple, one-sentence product descriptions.
You recently read two articles.
One about a taxi service, and one about a coffee maker.
These new successful products started as ideas.
At some point, the entrepreneurs had to describe their ideas to family,
friends, consumers, and investors.
In this video, we will explore a sample sentence structure for
simple one-sentence product descriptions.
Before we look at sample sentences, let's take a moment to talk about why
simple product descriptions are an important first step
when an entrepreneur wants to take an idea and make a potential product.
First, the action of putting an idea into it, one simple
specific sentence, helps entrepreneurs think clearly about their product.
Second, entrepreneurs can use the one-sentence product description,
do have easy, helpful conversations about the new product
with family, friends, consumers, and investors.
And get their opinions about what they like or what they want.
Let's look at three simple one-sentence product descriptions,
as you see the sentences on your screen, you will notice different colors.
These colors represent important parts of the product description.
As you read them, think about what kind of information is presented with each color.
We will review each part of the sentence in just a minute.
Here's the first sentence.
A paperclip is a tool that will help teachers and
office workers hold papers together.
Before you read the next sentence, what kind of product is a paperclip?
Is it a good, a service, or hybrid product?
It is a good, because it is tangible.
Here is the second sentence.
A taxi is a travel service that will help people in cities move from place to place.
It's easy to guess what kind of product that is.
Here's the last sample sentence.
Drybath is a personal product that will help people in dry places get clean and
save water at the same time.
Is Drybath a good, a service, or a hybrid product?
It is a hybrid product because it is both a good and a service at the same time.
Let's look at the sentence structure for these descriptions so
we can understand what these colors mean.
In this simple sentence structure
each color represents a different kind of information.
The red part product represents the name of the product.
The green information, type of product,
should describe what kind of product it is.
Try to be more specific than using the word good, service, or hybrid.
So that your word choice shares more information.
For example, good is very general.
If I say a paperclip is a good, the word good does not add much information.
That is why the description says a paperclip is a tool.
A tool is a type of good and shares more information about this product.
The blue, group of people who are likely to use this product
represents the target market.
Again try to be as specific as possible trying not
to use one general word like people, because that means all people.
Young and old.
Not many products are for all people.
Try to choose a specific noun, like teachers and office workers, or parents.
Or noun phrase like people in cities,
that describes the group as specifically as possible.
The purple, general function information,
should explain what your product will help people do.
In other words, most products help people with one simple need.
For example, people use mobile phones for the simple need of easy communication.
Describing how a product helps people is a very
important step in new product development.
If entrepreneurs can think about and describe the general
function of a product they can also begin to answer these three questions.
First, who needs what the product can do?
This question, helps entrepreneurs think about the target market, more clearly.
Second, what other products can do the same thing, as this new product?
This question helps entrepreneurs think about competitors.
Third, who produces or sells products that may be related to
this new product, and therefore, may be interested in supporting
the new business either financially or operationally?
This question helps entrepreneurs think about where he or
she might find investors.
Let's use Drybath as an example.
What does Drybath help people do?
Be clean.
Who needs Drybath?
People who live in dry places.
What other products can do the same thing as Drybath?
Soaps and shampoos, but they also require water.
Who produces or sells products that may be related to Drybath, and
therefore, may be interested in supporting the new business,
either financially or operationally.
Soap and shampoo companies.
