The Art of the Pitch
Grammar: Embedded questions
A Business English English lesson exploring business.
What's in this lesson
A Business English ESL lesson on business, practising embedded questions. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary, a grammar reference with practice and discussion questions.
From the reading: The Art of the Pitch
In September 2023, Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky told a room of Stanford MBA students something that surprised them: the best pitch he ever gave lasted exactly seven minutes and contained no slides. What mattered, he said, was not the deck — it was whether the investor could immediately understand what problem you were solving and why you were the right person to solve it. That clarity, Chesky argued, is rarer than most founders realise.
Vocabulary
- due diligence
- market size
- pitch deck
- secure backing
Grammar: Embedded Questions
- Embedded question
- I'd like to know what the market size is. — statement word order after the question word
- Yes/no embedded
- Could you explain whether the team has prior exits? — use whether, not if in formal register
Discussion questions
- Have you ever had to sell an idea to someone sceptical?
- What makes a person immediately trustworthy in a business context?
- Is confidence in a pitch more important than the facts behind it?
The Art of the Pitch
Grammar: Embedded questions
What's in this lesson:
Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.
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