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BEP 137 INT – Showing a Visitor Around

Welcome back to Business English Pod. My name’s Jennifer and I’ll be your host for
this episode on showing a visitor around your office or factory.

There are many reasons that someone

might visit a factory and take a tour.
They might be a prospective client who
wants to see where the products are
made, or perhaps someone from head
office is on an inspection tour, or it could
be an official inspection to make sure you
are following government or internal
standards. If it’s your job to give the tour,
you’ll want to make sure everything goes
smoothly. So in today’s episode we’ll
looking at language for guiding people on
a tour and pointing out areas of interest.

We’ll be listening to Ingrid taking Carl on a tour of a factory where GC cleaning

products are produced. Carl is from the head office of GC and he’s inspecting the
factory where Ingrid works. His job is to make sure that the company’s factories
are all up to standard and capable of handling future orders. As the dialog starts,
Carl has already arrived at the factory and met Ingrid, who is ready to start the
tour.

As you listen, try to answer the following questions. The answers will be posted in a
few days on our website:

Listening Questions

1) What time of day does Carl arrive for his tour?

2) What is the problem with the detergent production line?

3) What role does newspaper play in the production of detergent in this factory?

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BEP 137 INT – Compan y Tour: Sho wing a Visitor Around

Vocabulary

to be on: to be planned. “Tell them that dinner is definitely on, but we’ll call later
and confirm a time.”
to be set up: to be made ready or arranged. “40 chairs will be set up in the largest
meeting room for the presentation.”
to head down (somewhere): to go in the direction of a place. “We can head down to
the canteen for lunch right after the presentation.”
inspection: a formal examination. “In order to maintain our safety standards, we
have inspections each month.”
detergent (liquid detergent): a product used for cleaning. “Today many people use
liquid detergent for laundry, rather than powdered products.”
line (production line): mechanized system for manufacturing products and moving
them through the factory. “We have to shut down line 2, because the packages
aren’t being sealed properly.”
downtime: a period of time in which something is not operating. “We avoid
downtime as much as possible during peak periods.”
antiquated: old and out of date. “Our office equipment is extremely antiquated and
will have to be replaced soon.”
to phase out: to slowly eliminate something. “We expect to bring in a new model
this year and phase out the old model next year.”
state-of-the-art: the latest and up to date. “Everyone’s waiting for our latest
smartphone, which has state-of-the-art connectivity.”
laser-guided: technique of guiding a process using laser beams. “Our specialty is
laser-guided missile systems.”
environmentally sustainable: safe for the environment in the long-term. “It’s no
longer environmentally sustainable to produce so much plastic packaging.”
cutting edge: very new and advanced. “We invest a lot in R & D, so we can stay on
the cutting edge.”
recycled: used materials that have been processed into new products. “We only
used paper with at least 80% recycled content in our office.”
CSR policy: guidelines for Corporate Social Responsibility. “Our CSR policy has
standards for energy use in each factory.”
green: environmentally aware. “This office is really green and we use recycled
paper and plastic wherever possible.”
to retool: to adjust equipment so it can make similar, but not exactly the same
product. “It takes about two hours to retool the line for the deluxe model, so we
plan production runs carefully.”
changeover: switch from an old system to a new one. “Our changeover to green
energy for the factory took about 6 months.”
lab/laboratory: a place where scientific research is carried out. “Our R & D
department has an excellent testing laboratory.
warehouse: a place where goods are stored. “Our warehouse is filled to capacity
and we have to move out some product soon.”
(power) generator: a machine that makes electricity. “We have a backup power
generator in case there’s a blackout.”
hub (of operations): central point (of activity). “The hub of our Asian operations is
in Seoul, with branch offices all over Asia.”
(to get a) bite to eat: something to eat. “Let’s get a bite to eat before the meeting
or we’ll be too hungry to concentrate.”

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BEP 137 INT – Compan y Tour: Sho wing a Visitor Around

Dialog

Carl: No, no problem at all … the directions you gave me were excellent.
Ingrid: Good to hear. Uh, before we get started, is there anything I can get you –
water, coffee or a coke perhaps?
Carl: Thanks, I’m fine. Is lunch still on for after the tour?
Ingrid: Yes, of course, it’ll be set up in the conference room. Shall we get
started? Follow me and we’ll head down to the factory floor.
Carl: Thanks, this is my third inspection this week and I must say I’ve been pretty
impressed with everything I’ve seen so far…

Ingrid: …so, this is our main production area and here on the left, you can see the
liquid detergent line.
Carl: You said this line has the most downtime?
Ingrid: Yes, unfortunately. The equipment is pretty antiquated.
Carl: Indeed, it’s been phased out elsewhere.
Ingrid: Yes, and we’ll be replacing it before the end of the month here too. Now,
just over here we have our newest, state-of-the-art piece of equipment. As you
can see, it’s a laser-guided machine for environmentally sustainable
packaging.
Carl: Hmm, it looks really cutting-edge. It uses recycled newspaper, right?
Ingrid: Exactly. We’re doing our best to follow company CSR policy by switching
over to green production techniques wherever possible. Have you any other
questions before we move on?
Carl: How long does it take to retool the line?
Ingrid: Er, less than a week usually.
Carl: I see and what happens when the tank runs low?

Ingrid: …so, you can see that making the changeover happens pretty quickly.
Okay, so now you’ve seen the factory floor, let’s head back to my office. We’ve got
about half an hour before lunch so maybe we can discuss the new order you
mentioned.

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BEP 137 INT – Compan y Tour: Sho wing a Visitor Around

Debrief

It sounds like Ingrid has given quite a few tours of this plant and that she’s very
knowledgeable about the processes carried out there. She’s familiar with the
various production lines used to make and package GC cleaning products and
knows all the equipment well. You should be just as prepared when you take
someone on a tour of your factory.

After Ingrid greets Carl, she offers him a drink. This is a formality that shows
hospitality and gives visitors a moment to relax and recover from the trip to the
factory.

Ingrid: Good to hear. Uh, before we get started, is there anything I can get you –
water, coffee or a coke perhaps?

In certain seasons, it may be appropriate to take a person’s coat. In other cases,

such as after a long journey, you might want to offer a visitor a chance to “freshen
up”, which is a polite way of offering the use of a bathroom. Let’s practice a few
more ways to make offers:

 May I offer you something?

 Would you like something to drink?
 Can I take your coat?
 Perhaps you'd like to freshen up before we start?

Once you and the visitor or visitors are ready, it’s time to start the tour. You will
need some friendly words to indicate that you are ready to begin, as we hear in
Ingrid’s example.

Ingrid: Yes, of course, it’ll be set up in the conference room. Shall we get
started? Follow me and we’ll head down to the factory floor.

Ingrid first indicates that she’s ready by asking if they can “get started”, or begin.
She asks Carl to follow her and says they’ll “head down” to the factory floor,
meaning that they will go in the direction of the factory.

What other ways can you indicate to a visitor that you are ready to start the tour?

 Please walk this way, and I'll start the tour.

 If you'll follow me, we can begin our tour.
 If you're ready, we can make our way there now.
 We should get moving because there’s a lot to see.

Once you’ve got your tour started, you will have to indicate where things are
located, using expressions for location and prepositions of place, such as “in front of
us”, “on our right”, “above us” and “below us”. We can hear Ingrid indicating the
location of a particular production line, where liquid detergent is produced and
packaged.

Ingrid: … and here on the left, you can see the liquid detergent line.

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BEP 137 INT – Compan y Tour: Sho wing a Visitor Around

If you take a visitor on a tour, you’ll have to be familiar with many of these
different ways to indicate where things are located. Listen to the way the locations
of these parts of a factory are described:

 Behind this door is the control room.

 Just ahead of us you'll see the lab.
 Off to the right we’ll find the warehouse.
 Below us is the power generator for the entire system.
 Just beyond the workshop is the quality control department.

In general, during a tour you’ll want to show as much as possible in a fairly short
period of time, but you and your visitor may want to focus on certain areas or
functions in the factory. Carl and Ingrid pause near a particularly interesting piece
of equipment.

Ingrid: Yes, and we’ll be replacing it before the end of the month here too. Now,
just over here we have our newest, state-of-the-art piece of equipment. As you
can see, it’s a laser-guided machine for environmentally sustainable
packaging.

Carl and Ingrid discuss this particular machine because it is state-of-the-art, or

features the latest technology. It uses a laser for part of its operation and produces
packaging that doesn’t harm the environment. This is obviously something that is
interesting to both Carl and Ingrid and probably important to the company itself.

You may have to find out about the specialized interests of your visitor or highlight
something that you think they should take a closer look at. Here are some ways to
do this:

 If you're interested, I can show you the lab.

 This, of course, is the highlight of the tour.
 Coming up is something I know you’ll want to see.
 This area is the hub of operations for all assembly work.
 Let me just draw your attention to the new production line we’re setting up.

Visitors are likely to have questions even during an excellent tour such as Ingrid’s,
and it is important to acknowledge this and not make a visitor feel that they are
interrupting you to ask a question. As the tour progresses tour, it’s a good idea to
check if there are any questions, as Ingrid does hear with Carl.

Ingrid: Exactly. We’re doing our best to follow company CSR policy by switching
over to green production techniques wherever possible. Have you any other
questions before we move on?

Ingrid and Carl are discussing “green”, or environmental issues, and Ingrid
mentions the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR, policy, which
encourages production techniques that don’t harm the environment. Ingrid knows
that they will be moving to another area at this point, so she asks Carl if he has any
questions before they do so.

You can check to see if your visitors have questions using expressions like these:
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BEP 137 INT – Compan y Tour: Sho wing a Visitor Around

 Is everything clear?
 Feel free to ask questions whenever you like.
 Would you like to know anything else?
 Perhaps you’d like to ask a question or two?
 Let me know if there’s anything you want more detail on.

After visitors have seen everything and asked all of their questions, it’s time to
conclude the tour. Ingrid and Carl have lunch planned for after the tour, but even
without such a time limit, a tour cannot go on for too long, if only because you have
other work to do! Ingrid ends the tour by mentioning that they should go back to
her office before lunch.

Ingrid: …Okay, so now you’ve seen the factory floor, let’s head back to my office.
We’ve got about half an hour before lunch so maybe we can discuss …

You need to signpost the end of the tour and indicate clearly that it is over. How
can you do this?

 That's the end of the tour, so let's go back to the office.

 We've covered just about everything there is to see, so how about some
refreshments.
 Well, we've just about seen it all now. Why don't we get back to the office?
 That’s about it for the tour. Would you like to get a bite to eat?

Now, it’s your turn to practice some of the language we’ve looked at today.

First, let’s review the language of indicating locations. Imagine you are taking
someone on a tour of a factory. You will hear a question about a place associated
with a factory, plus a location. Make a statement that starts with the location given.

For example, if you hear:

Example cue: Where’s the warehouse?
Prompt: on our right <beep>
You can say:
Example answer: On our right you can see the warehouse.

Are you ready? Let’s give it a try.

Cue 1: Where’s the loading area?

Prompt: at the west end of the factory
Learner 1:

Cue 2: Where’s the control room?

Prompt: behind this door
Learner 2:

Cue 3: Where’s the lab?

Prompt: to the right
Learner 3:
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BEP 137 INT – Compan y Tour: Sho wing a Visitor Around

Cue 4: Where’s the inspection point for this line?

Prompt: just ahead
Learner 4:

Now, let’s listen to some example answers.

Cue 1: Where’s the loading area?

Answer 1: At the west end of the factory we’ll find the loading area.

Cue 2: Where’s the control room?

Answer 2: Behind this door is the control room.

Cue 3: Where’s the lab?

Answer 3: To the right you can see the lab.

Cue 4: Where’s the inspection point for this line?

Answer 4: Just ahead is the inspection point for this line.

Now we’ll review some of the vocabulary from this episode. You’ll hear a series of
sentences with a word replaced with a beep. Repeat the whole sentence saying the
missing word.

For example, if you hear…

Example cue: We stay on the cutting <beep> through continuous improvement.

You can say:

Example answer: We stay on the cutting edge through continuous improvement.

After each response, we’ll play the correct answer. Let’s begin.

Cue 1: I’m afraid we had to shut down the production <beep> for an hour.
Learner 1:

Cue 2: We <beep> out that equipment last year, as it kept breaking down.
Learner 2:

Cue 3: Can we <beep> up a tour for Monday morning?

Learner 3:

Cue 4: Only environmentally <beep> products are made in this facility.

Learner 4:

Cue 5: We’re proud of our changeover to making <beep> products.

Learner 5:

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BEP 137 INT – Compan y Tour: Sho wing a Visitor Around

Answer 1: I’m afraid we had to shut down the production line for an hour.
Answer 2: We phased out that equipment last year, as it kept breaking down.
Answer 3: Can we set up a tour for Monday morning?
Answer 4: Only environmentally sustainable products are made in this facility.
Answer 5: We’re proud of our changeover to making green products.

That’s all for this episode on taking a visitor around a factory. We’ve studied
language and expressions for each of the different steps, such as starting the tour,
indicating locations, focusing on an area of interest and concluding the tour.

For more practice, podcast transcripts, and online quizzes head over to the website at
www.businessenglishpod.com.

See you next time, and thanks for listening!

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BEP 137 INT – Compan y Tour: Sho wing a Visitor Around

Language Review

A. Focusing on an area of interest

Put the 2 parts of these sentences together to form useful phrases for pointing out
areas of interest during a tour.

1 This, of course, we’ll find the main inspection point.

2 Just over here the quality control lab is worth seeing.
3 Coming up is is the highlight of our tour.
4 If you’re interested, our state-of-the-art metal-plating
room.

1. _____________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________________

4. _____________________________________________________________

B. Starting and ending a tour

To review useful language for starting and ending a tour, fill the blanks in the
phrases below with words from the box.

covered about Make follow

moving head Bite down

1. We should get __________ because we have a lot to see.

2. Follow me and we’ll head __________ to the production line.
3. Please __________ me and I’ll take you there.
4. We can __________ our way to the factory now.
5. Why don’t we __________ back to my office?
6. We’ve __________ everything there is to see.
7. That’s __________ it for the tour.
8. Shall we get a __________ to eat now that we’re done?

Study Strategy
Does the company you work for have a factory or factories? If you’re familiar with
one of your company’s factories, make an outline of how you would greet a visitor
and take them on a tour. You might want to find or make a floor plan to follow.
Next, with a colleague or a friend, try role playing the tour. Use the language and
strategies we have practiced in this episode to indicate locations. Try to be creative
and highlight points of interest and check if your “visitor” has questions along the
way.

If your business is not involved in factory production, do the role play using a plan
of your office and take your “visitor” on a tour of where you work.

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BEP 137 INT – Compan y Tour: Sho wing a Visitor Around

Answers

Listening Questions
1. Carl arrives in the morning to tour the factory, because they are planning to
have lunch afterwards.

2. The liquid detergent production line uses very old equipment, so it breaks down
a lot, leading to “downtime” – time when the line isn’t operating.

3. Old newspaper is used in the factory by a machine, which makes it into

environmentally friendly packaging. This is a good example of recycling.

Language Review

A. Focusing on an area of interest

1. This, of course, is the highlight of our tour.

2. Just over here we’ll find the main inspection point.
3. Coming up is our state-of-the art control room.
4. If you’re interested, the quality control lab is worth seeing.

B. Starting and ending a tour

1. We should get moving because we have a lot to see.

2. Follow me and we’ll head down to the production line.
3. Please follow me and I’ll take you there.
4. We can make our way to the factory now.
5. Why don’t we head back to my office?
6. We’ve covered everything there is to see.
7. That’s about it for the tour.
8. Shall we get a bite to eat now that we’re done?

Online Practice

Click the “Launch” button to open the online practice:

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