Describe a person who works in a successful company: IELTS Speaking Part 2 Cue Card and Part 3 Questions
Part 2 cue card
Describe a person who works in a successful company
You should say:
- Who he/she is
- What he/she does in the company
- What business the company does
- And explain why you think it is a successful company
You will have one to two minutes to talk about this topic.
Preparation status: Predicted topic cycle. This independent practice resource is not an official IELTS paper, and the questions in your test can be different. How topics are labelled.
Part 3 discussion questions
Move one question at a time: listen, answer, compare and retry. The complete question text remains in the page HTML for accessibility and search.
- 01Do you think governments should provide financial support to companies?
- 02Do you think companies should donate money to help society?
- 03Do you think customer satisfaction is important for a company?
Model answers, heard side by side
Start with the simpler answer, switch bands to hear how the same task can be developed, then record a personal response. These are teaching examples, not official answers or score guarantees.
Part 2 — Model Answer
Part 2 cue-card response
I want to talk about Maya. She works at PureWrap, a company that produces eco-friendly packaging. Maya is a production supervisor. She checks machines, organises shifts and makes sure products meet standards. PureWrap makes cardboard boxes and compostable padding for online shops. They sell to businesses in several countries. I think it is successful because many shops keep buying from them and their sales have grown every year. Also they get good feedback from customers about quality and delivery. Maya helps a lot by solving problems quickly and keeping the production line running, so the company can meet orders on time.
Her name is Sophia and she’s the chief operating officer at GreenBox, a mid-sized company that makes sustainable packaging for online retailers. She comes from an engineering background and worked in logistics before joining the company, so she understands both product and process. In her job she oversees production, supply chains and quality control, and she coordinates between the design and sales teams to make sure new products reach customers on time. For example, last year she led a project to replace single-use bubble wrap with a compostable alternative; that change cut costs, reduced waste and helped GreenBox win a contract with a national supermarket chain. GreenBox sells biodegradable boxes and packing materials to businesses across Europe and beyond, focusing on e-commerce clients who want eco-friendly options. They also run an online portal where wholesale customers place orders and track deliveries, which makes ordering straightforward. I think the company is successful because it has steady growth, loyal clients and strong environmental credentials, which are a big selling point today. Their financial reports show year-on-year revenue increases and a high client retention rate, so the business seems well managed and future-proof. She manages a cross-functional team of about fifty people across three countries and is proud that GreenBox recently won a regional sustainability award.
Amira is the head of product at LumenTech, a company that designs and sells smart-home devices. She leads the product strategy, sets priorities for the engineering and design teams, and translates customer feedback into practical improvements. For instance, she introduced a firmware update process that cut device returns by 30% within six months, which saved the company significant costs. LumenTech develops connected lighting, thermostats and security cameras for domestic and small-business markets, and they sell through both retailers and a subscription-based online platform. They partner with several well-known retailers and have a robust after-sales service, which strengthens their market position. I think LumenTech is successful because it combines clear technical expertise with attentive customer care; their product reliability and recurring revenue from subscriptions produce stable cash flow. Financially, the company has reported consistent profit margins and expanding international sales, while its Net Promoter Score is above industry average, indicating strong customer loyalty. Taken together, competent leadership, disciplined operations and a focus on user experience explain why the company is doing well. She manages a cross-functional team of about forty people across the UK and Poland, and she led the launch in Germany last year, which delivered a strong first-quarter performance. The company has grown revenue by around 40% year-on-year and retains over 90% of its subscription customers, evidence that its model scales well.
Part 3 — Model Answers
Do you think governments should provide financial support to companies?
Yes, I think governments should help companies sometimes. Support can save jobs when a big employer is in trouble. It also keeps essential services working, like transport or energy. But the help should not go to companies that just waste money. Governments should check the reasons and ask companies to improve.
I think governments can and should provide financial support in particular circumstances, for example during an economic crisis or when strategic industries are at risk. Targeted help — such as short-term loans, wage subsidies or guarantees — protects jobs and prevents wider damage to the economy. However, it’s important the support is temporary and conditional, so it doesn’t prop up failing businesses indefinitely or distort competition. A clear plan for repayment or restructuring and transparency about the terms helps ensure the money is used responsibly.
Governments should offer financial support selectively and strategically, especially during systemic shocks or where market failure would cause unacceptable social costs. Well-designed interventions — for instance bridge loans, conditional grants or equity stakes — can preserve valuable skills, critical infrastructure and supply chains. Equally important is avoiding moral hazard: support must be tied to restructuring plans, performance milestones and oversight to prevent misuse. During the recent pandemic, properly targeted furlough schemes and emergency finance stabilised many firms; replicating that approach for future crises, while combining assistance with clear exit routes, is the sensible way forward.
Do you think companies should donate money to help society?
Yes, companies should give money to help society. It is good to help local schools or charities. Donations make people feel the company cares and can improve the company’s image. But money should be used in the right way.
I do think companies should donate to social causes, but ideally as part of a wider corporate social responsibility strategy. Charitable giving can build goodwill, improve staff morale and strengthen community ties, which in turn benefits the business. Companies that make strategic donations — for instance supporting education related to their sector or funding local health projects — often see better results than those that give randomly. Transparency about where funds go and measuring impact are important to avoid tokenism.
Corporate giving is valuable when it’s aligned with a firm’s core competencies and stakeholder expectations rather than being merely performative. When donations are integrated into a broader CSR or shared-value strategy — for example by funding vocational training tied to the company’s needs — the social and business returns compound. Moreover, clear impact metrics and long-term partnerships with credible charities ensure donations address root problems rather than offering short-term fixes. Ultimately, purposeful philanthropy strengthens legitimacy and can be a powerful complement to responsible business practice.
Do you think customer satisfaction is important for a company?
Yes, customer satisfaction is important. Happy customers buy again and tell friends. If customers are unhappy, the company can lose sales. So companies should listen to customers and fix problems.
Customer satisfaction is central to a company’s success because it affects loyalty, word-of-mouth and repeat business. Firms often use surveys and Net Promoter Score to track satisfaction, and improvements can reduce churn and lower marketing costs. At the same time, companies must balance short-term cost-cutting with long-term service quality — investing in support or product improvements usually pays off over time. Good customer experience can become a key differentiator in competitive markets.
Absolutely — customer satisfaction is a critical KPI that drives lifetime value, retention rates and organic growth. Beyond one-off purchases, satisfied customers generate referrals, provide constructive feedback and are more tolerant when things go wrong, reducing acquisition costs and improving margins. Organisations should embed feedback loops, measure satisfaction quantitatively (eg NPS, CSAT) and tie incentives to customer-centred metrics so that processes and culture align with delivering value. In many sectors, exceptional customer experience is now the main sustainable competitive advantage.
How to answer Describe a person who works in a successful company IELTS Speaking questions
For the Describe a person who works in a successful company cue card, use the preparation minute to build a route through the talk. Choose a clear subject, add two specific moments or details and end with why it matters. Then use the linked Part 3 questions to practise broader explanation and comparison.
Cue-card prompts:
- Who he/she is
- What he/she does in the company
- What business the company does
- And explain why you think it is a successful company
- Opening: identify the person, place, object or event.
- Development: describe two details or moments in a logical order.
- Extension: explain a reason, result, comparison or problem.
- Reflection: finish with why the subject is memorable or important.
Question-by-question approach
| Practice question | Useful answer move |
|---|---|
| Do you think governments should provide financial support to companies? | State a likely view, explain the reason and add one condition or example. |
| Do you think companies should donate money to help society? | State a likely view, explain the reason and add one condition or example. |
| Do you think customer satisfaction is important for a company? | State a likely view, explain the reason and add one condition or example. |
Vocabulary focus
Useful language already demonstrated in the model answers includes targeted support, moral hazard, bridge loan, corporate social responsibility, shared value, impact metrics, retention, Net Promoter Score. Learn each meaning and a natural word partnership, then use the item in a fresh answer instead of copying a complete script.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Giving a memorised response that only partly answers the question.
- Adding difficult vocabulary without checking meaning or collocation.
- Restarting after every error instead of correcting briefly and continuing.
- Reading the model answer before recording your own first attempt.
Describe a person who works in a successful company practice FAQ
How should I use the Describe a person who works in a successful company cue card preparation minute?
Write keywords for an opening, two or three details and a final reflection. Do not try to write complete sentences.
Do I have to cover every cue-card bullet?
The prompts help you organise the talk. Covering them is useful, but a coherent one-to-two-minute response matters more than mechanically ticking off each line.
How are Part 3 questions connected to Part 2?
They develop the same broad theme through reasons, comparisons, social effects or future possibilities, so answers normally need more explanation than Part 1.
