By Benjamen Bauer
or, just because you are all speaking English doesn’t mean that you are speaking the same language
I recently had the pleasure to be engaged in an international project. Nothing seems more glamorous (from the outside at least) than jetting from one major European metropolis to another, dealing with difficult strategic topics in a team of exotic consultants and high powered executives. Imagine telling your co-workers and friends this: I'm off to Rome for the day to meet with the head sales for product X and then will be flying tomorrow onto Madrid with a short stop the next day in Frankfurt. But I should be back by Friday. You want anything from Duty Free? It has a nice sound doesn’t it?
Well, the brutal reality of working in this kind of international project is that, beyond the cumbersome travel (yes, travel can get cumbersome); working in an international context can be more stressful and more difficult than anything else you may have done previously. One major contributing factor for this is that there are different kinds of presentation and communication techniques taught abroad. That’s right. All those articles and speaking coaches which told you the correct way to present something may not have known it all, at least as regards business presentations in an international context.
Here are a few things that I learned, on the ground, on the front lines, the hard way. Profit from my experience and keep these 7 points in mind when preparing for and presenting to an international audience.
1) Jokes don’t always translate and in many cases aren’t wanted in business meetings and presentations. Most Northern European countries compartmentalize social time and business time and never the two shall meet. Starting with a joke can be uncomfortable and at worst seen as a sign that you are neither serious nor competent, otherwise you wouldn’t resort to such a cheap distraction technique.
2) Don’t skimp on the detail. A few slides in 30pt font, each with six bullet points is not going to hack it in countries like Germany. Many cultures expect to hear all the details in order to judge whether you have come to an appropriate conclusion or not. It’s not enough to say, in my experience, or we find that, and testimonials like it worked in our other market, are all considered weak argumentation points. If you want to convince abroad, you sometimes have to be ready to dig out the numbers and talk your way through them explaining how you got to your conclusion. Better yet, you have the details ready in the back-up portion of your presentation.
3) Remember to speak slowly and clearly, always recap and always allow for questions. No matter how well your counterparts speak English, listening and speaking in a foreign language for an extended period of time (about the time of a normal workshop or strategy meeting) can be extremely exhausting mentally. Therefore, do your foreign colleagues a favor and slow down. Take the time to ensure that everything is understood by recapping at the end of long presentations and allowing for questions.
4) Don’t use cultural insider analogies or references. Once again, your international colleagues may seem to speak seamlessly in English but that does not mean that they are privy to all our cultural references and phrases. Do your best to speak cleanly, as apposed to colloquially, and you will achieve much greater understanding in your audience.
5) Learn about your audience and how they present in their culture. You don’t have to completely try to be one of them, but do make an effort to understand the important points in their rhetorical styles.
6) Mind your Ps & Qs. Nothing is more embarrassing than having your English spelling, grammar or otherwise, corrected by a non-native English speaker. Believe me. Apologizing for mistakes in your presentation can be seen as a weakness, so don’t over do it. A quick sorry about that will suffice. Acknowledge a mistake that you may see (co-opt any sharp-shooters in your audience), correct it verbally and move on. Do the same if someone brings a mistake to your attention.
7) Reading from your slides is boring in ALL cultures. Do I really have to elaborate on this point?
Last but certainly not least, you should be ready and aware of differences in rhetorical style of your foreign colleagues. As an audience member, do your best not to squirm and yawn when listening to someone else’s presentation. You’re not 6 years old anymore, for heaven’s sake! Some cultures teach a more strict and formal rhetorical technique than our Anglo-American style. Be patient and wait it out. Also, don’t get offend if your question is waved off till the end. As mentioned before, different strokes for different folks.
Participating in an international project or just having the chance to present to an international audience can be an exciting and rewarding career step. It can even be successful too, if you are mindful of the differences in presentation and communication style. Remember, just because you are all speaking English doesn’t mean that you are all speaking the same language.
Benjamen Bauer is the pen name of an active management consultant who enjoys discussing and writing about good (and bad) presentation technique. Since he currently is in the employ of a big-name consultancy, he prefers to remain anonymous whilst writing about of contemporary business presentation culture from the front lines. You can read his blog and tutorials at http://www.professional-powerpoint.com
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