I just learned about the companion site to LinkedIn called SlideShare. There are thousands of presentations and other items posted there, on a variety of topics.

A few months ago I wrote a blog posting about "Tips for Presenting to an International Audience", and it received some pretty good feedback.

I decided to give this a try, using the same material, but in a different format. Of course the content of a short presentation like this is not going to have as much information as a longer article, so the last slide in the presentation contains links to my blog posting and to this web site.

The site is called SlideShare.net, and here is a direct link to my presentation.
http://www.slideshare.net/AlanHood2/tips-for-presenting-to-an-international-audience?qid=da3bbb1b-9257-4ac7-ad34-514bb19e6175&v=&b=&from_search=1

Maybe in the future I can use this site to share some more "meaty" technical topics. Those would be topics that would be appropriate for a public forum - i.e. of general interest, and without proprietary information.

Even though the site claims to have three publication modes, Public, Private with a Link, and Private, I think I would be very careful to only post information that would not cause harm if it was accidentally published to the public. (A general guideline for anything you put out onto the internet.)

Please let me know how you like it, and if there is a topic you would like to see in the future.

It has been a few months since my last blog posting. I told myself I wouldn’t do that, because I hate it when someone starts a blog – especially one that seems to have some interesting content – and then they don’t keep up with it.

What can I say? I’ve been busy, but I’ll try to do better in the future.

Since the previous entry two papers I have written for Unisys have been published. One on Agile Development with Agile Business Suite, and the other on AB Suite in the Application Lifecycle.

Both of these papers deal with application development, and ways to do it better. Even if you are not an AB Suite user you may find the paper on Agile development useful because it gives a summary of The Agile Manifesto, which is the core of all that is currently called “agile” development.  
Even though the agile development methods have only been popular for a relatively short time, most of the concepts have been around for many years. People who have been following what we previously published as the “LINC Development Methodology” were practicing something very close to modern agile development processes. These include short iterations, frequent delivery, early and continuous involvement with the users, continuous testing, feedback, and ongoing improvement. In recent years development tools have evolved, or new tools developed to assist with agile development and release, and that is essentially what these two white papers address.  
Agile Development with Agile Business Suite

AB Suite in the Application Lifecycle.

It’s a small world. With the relative ease of international travel, outsourcing and offshoring, and the increasing global economy, it seems to be getting smaller. Even if you don’t travel, it is possible you will need to interact with clients or third party suppliers, or have visitors in your office from another country. You may participate in an international teleconference or webinar, or even do a short ad or training video for YouTube or a social media site.

This isn’t just a question of presenting to people who speak a different language. We might all be speaking English, but come for very different cultural backgrounds, with different experiences. So we may not be speaking the same “language”.

The tips should help you prepare a presentation that will not only play in Peoria, but be positively received in Paris or Prague, Perth, or Sao Paulo.

• Start with the basics

The general guidelines for a good speech or presentation apply. If you start with a good presentation that is well organized and conveys your message clearly and concisely in your own country and culture you will be well on your way to a presentation you can give anywhere. On the other hand, a disorganized presentation, with no decent flow and cluttered slides won’t get better just because you “internationalize” it.

• Know your audience and watch their reactions

If it is possible for you to learn about your audience as you prepare your presentation that will help. It will make it easier to tailor the presentation to their interests and needs. But even if not, if you can learn a bit about them before, or during your presentation, it will enable to you to adjust your presentation style to suit their needs.

               If you are in a conference room or small auditorium you may be able to see if they are getting the message or not. If they seem to be spending a lot of time talking to one another that might be a sign that they are having trouble understanding. You might need to slow down, or even back up to review some important point they may have missed.

               If you are in a larger auditorium or remote broadcast – as in a teleconference or webinar – it may be harder to get that feedback. You may need to rely on questions or polls in your presentation, if the technology allows it.

               If the presentation is prerecorded, this is the hardest, because you won’t be able to get any feedback until well after the fact.

• Be careful about jargon, slang, and sports and cultural references

Contrary to popular belief, the game called “football” is not the same around the world. A reference to the Manning brothers in the NFL may go down fine in a sports bar in Denver, but will result in crickets chirping in Denmark. Or comparing your company and the competition to the finalists in the 2014 FIFA World Cup might resonate in Hamburg, but in Houston could get questions like, “what World Cup are y’all talking about?”

In a similar vein, you can’t assume that everyone in your audience is fully aware of the latest singers in pop music, or the political intrigues in your local, or even national elections. So unless this is the topic of your presentation (and you will be explaining it in detail) it’s best to avoid these references all together.

The things people in your audience don’t know may surprise you. In one presentation I was explaining the Object Oriented concepts of Class and Instance, and by way of example I said “Paul McCartney is an example of an Instance of the Class of Famous Musicians.” One of the people in the audience raised his hand and asked “Who is Paul McCartney?”

• Too Many TLAs

No matter your industry you probably have a huge number of acronyms that may seem perfectly natural and commonplace to you, but will be completely incomprehensible to others. I’m not saying you shouldn’t use acronyms, but be careful. If you use an acronym, try to explain what it means. As an example, most business people will understand ROI mean Return On Investment, but unless they are in the IT industry they may not know that SOA stands for Service Oriented Architecture, or SaaS means Software as a Service.

The first time you use an acronym in your presentation it is a good idea to explain it. Alternatively, you might think about providing a list of acronyms at the end of your presentation, especially if you are providing handouts, so people can have them for later reference.

A colleague from the UK was leading a seminar in Russia, and describing products that were examples of CASE tools (Computer Aided Software Engineering). His presentation described UpperCASE and LowerCASE tools. He said CASE-this and CASE-that… but it wasn’t until he was finished that he learned the translator did not know about that acronym, and was translating the word CASE as a valise or suitcase. It’s no wonder his audience was confused, and couldn’t see any point to “upper suitcase” and “lower suitcase” tools.

• Brief bullet points vs. wordy and verbose

By all means, use words on your slides, but try to keep the content clean and simple, and to the point. Concise bullet points that are relevant to what you are saying will be easier for your audience to grasp than a long paragraph on the screen. If you put too many words on the slide the viewers will be distracted trying to read and understand that text to listen to what you have to say about it.

Some text is a good thing, because it will help them understand, and reinforce your message. Slides that some presenters describe as an “eye chart” – so much text that you can’t even read the words from the second row – should be avoided at all costs. If you have a lot of data that needs to be displayed, it is far better to spread it out across two or more slides, or provide it as a handout.

• Pictures - if they’re appropriate

They say “a picture is worth a thousand words”. Maybe even more so when the words are in an unfamiliar language. Pictures that reinforce your point, or diagrams to help illustrate a complex architecture or concept can be very helpful.

Pictures that are not directly related, or obscure, may only serve to distract the audience. So don’t use photos or artwork just to make the presentation visually interesting. Use it is if it going to help convey the message.

• Notes and handouts

For many people, trying to read slides or listen to a discussion in a foreign language is difficult. If they have a written document they can refer to, and perhaps takes note on, it will help their understanding. As an alternative to paper handouts, if you want to save paper, or if it isn’t practical (as in a webinar or video conference)  you can provide an electronic version of your presentation or handouts, say in PDF format.

There are drawbacks to providing handouts. Some people will read ahead, and won’t be paying attention to what you are saying now. Or you may have concerns about proprietary information falling into the wrong hands. So handouts are not always an option, but if it is appropriate, they may be useful.

• Working with translators

I have worked with a lot of different translators, and I think they tend to fall into three broad categories.

First, is someone from your team repeating what you say in their language. That could be a local sales rep or support person. In this case you can probably rely on the translator having at least a basic understanding of your topic and material. This often happens when you are the one who is traveling.

Second, is a member of the recipient’s team doing the translating for their people who don’t speak your language. Often this is the case when people from another location come to visit you in your office, or at a conference. In this case the person acting as translator might be anyone in the team, and may not have a thorough grounding in the topic you are presenting. It may even be a third party translator they hired or brought along expressly for that purpose.

In both of these cases you will need to time the delivery of your presentation to allow frequent breaks so the translator can repeat what you have said. If possible, especially if the group is smaller, try to allow time for discussions.

You may find that you say something, like “this computer system is designed for high volume transaction processing” and find your audience going off for several minutes discussing what is meant by “high volume”, or what their systems can do now, or other related topics. Hopefully your translator will keep you in the loop about what they are saying. If you can participate in the discussion that’s great. If not, be patient.

The third type of translation is simultaneous translation, usually by a professional translator. I respect anyone who is fluent enough in two or more languages to be a translator, but these people just astound me. The ability to listen in one language, translate and speak in another language, and do it fast enough to keep up with the presenter is a very special skill. (I would include Sign Language translators for hearing impaired in this group.)

With a good professional translator you may not need to do a lot, but even with the best you should still be sure to speak clearly and go a bit more slowly than you might in normal conversational speaking. Give them time to translate – remember that some words or phrases in English take a bit longer in the local language. It is also a good idea to arrange for a signal with the translator so they can let you know if they want you to slow down or repeat or clarify anything.

Top tips for working with a translator-

•  Go over your presentation with the translator beforehand – especially technical terminology and acronyms. If you can provide a list of key points for them that will help greatly. They may also have a list of words or phrases that are unfamiliar or require some clarification from you.
  
  
• Write a script and give it to the translator ahead of time. You may not need to stick exactly to the script, but if they have a good idea of what you plan to say it will help them translate the key points before you get there.
  
  
• Speak clearly and slowly. I know, I have said this many times already. It is especially important when you are being translated.
  
  

Most important points to remember

• Start with a good presentation or speech.
  
  
• Be careful with local/sports/political or cultural references.
  
  
• Explain your acronyms and industry-specific terminology.
  
  
• Use clear, concise bullets, and images if they enhance the message.
  
  
• Work with your translator. They are there to help you get your message across.
  
  
• Have fun with it.
  
  

Clearly, if you are a non-native English speaker reading this you have already answered that question for yourself, and the answer was “Yes”. But what about those who have been raised in an environment where English is spoken exclusively? You never planned to take an international assignment, or travel extensively. You recognize that English is the lingua franca for business, and that just about any place you go there will be someone who can speak English. It that case, is there any career or business benefit from learning another language? I think yes, there is.

There are some industries in which being multi-lingual, if not a requirement, is at least a major advantage. For example in the travel industry there is a strong need for public-facing employees who can speak a variety of languages. In social services, medical offices, government, law enforcement… there is a need for people who can communicate with the local constituents and immigrants who live in the area and may come for assistance or services. But what about day to day, run of the mill businesses? Is there any advantage for a programmer, project manager, or sales executive to be able to speak Spanish, or French, or Hindi?

• Learning another language helps you understand that other person
  
  

I don’t mean just because you can converse in their language. It can help you even when you are both speaking English. A case in point. Early in my career I saw that we were doing a lot of business with our Japanese partner. We had two or three of their programmers in our office working alongside our people. They could all speak English very well. Even so, I thought it would be fun to take an evening course in Beginning Japanese. I took the class for two semesters, and they were happy to help me practice. It wasn’t really enough to become proficient in Japanese, but it was enough for me to learn about the language structure, grammar, and the sounds that make up the language. Now that I had some idea of how their language worked it made it easier for me to understand them when they were speaking English. Since then there have been many meetings in which I have become the “translator” between my Japanese colleagues and the other English speakers in the room. They will say something, and I will repeat it – all in English, but in a sense, different dialects. I have encountered similar situations with clients throughout Europe and Latin America.

• Learning another language may help you understand their culture
  
  

One of the side effects of learning another language is also learning something about the cultural differences in that country. When you are dealing with people, understanding what make them tick, and why they make the decisions they do, can be a real benefit. Not everyone has your background and biases, or ways of doing things. In one country it may be common to waste no time, and cut right to the point, while in another it may be more typical to dance around the edges, cover all of the options before making the final decision. I learned from some of my foreign friends that “no” doesn’t always mean “no”. Sometimes it means “maybe”. If they don’t like the answer they may ask the question again, a slightly different way, to see if the answer changes

• Learning another language can help break the ice

 
Sometimes, just being able to greet your colleagues in their own language can help to put them at ease and set a more agreeable tone for the meeting. I think we have grown to expect that people speak English, but they do appreciate it when someone makes an effort. Starting off the conversation with “Bonjour. Comment allez-vous?”, or “Ohayo gozaimasu” tends to set everyone at ease. I have traveled extensively, and generally when I go to a new country I try to learn at least a few basic phrases, just because it is polite, and helps me adjust to the new environment. Plus it is fun to see the reactions when people don’t expect you to be able to speak their language. (But be careful to not set expectation too high, or come off as condescending.)

• Once you have learned one new language, learning another may be easier
  
  

I think learning a second language changes the way you think. It sort of rewires the synapses in your brain so that learning a new language becomes easier. Of course there are families of languages that are easier to learn because of their similarities. The so called Romance languages, like French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, all have similar grammar and vocabulary. As do the Germanic languages, German, Dutch, and to some extent English. So if you start with French for example, it may be easier to also learn Spanish, than say Dutch.

• Being multilingual can open up new career opportunities
  
  

A big part of doing business is proper communication. When you can speak other languages, and appreciate other cultures, you have taken a big step toward putting yourself in the place of that other person. Once your colleagues and managers realize you have this skill they will begin coming to you for things that are outside the scope of your daily activities. One of my colleagues was fluent in Spanish, and so he would be invited to meetings with Latin American clients to act a translator. Some of these were meetings with participants at much higher levels in the organization than he would normally have dealt with in his position. Once he became known to them, and they saw how well he was able to handle potentially volatile situations they began to invite him to other engagements, even when his translation skills were not required.

• It’s a small world, and getting smaller by the day
  
  

As a result of outsourcing, offshoring, and our expanding global economy, even small businesses are becoming global in nature. If your company has a web site there is good chance that at some point someone from another country will be landing on it, and they may want to do business with you. The better equipped you are to understand them, their language, their culture, and their business customs, the better off you will both be. Learning a new language is one step in that direction.

 

What is the right time to learn a second language? Well, the sooner the better. If you can start teaching children, even before they begin school, they will be well placed to learn more as they grow. Some universities (sadly, not all) require at least one year of a foreign language, and most community colleges offer adult education courses in some languages. Many public libraries and book shops have self-study courses. And of course there are online courses as well. If you are still in school maybe you can look into an overseas internship. The best situation is when you can actually live in the country or visit for an extended period. But if that isn’t practical, find someone you can converse with on a regular basis so that you can correct errors and retain what you have learned. The main thing is, once you star, practice, practice, practice. Otherwise you’ll forget what you learned.

Coming soon… Tips for Presentations to a non-English speaking audience

Please let me know if you would like to see more article like this. And don’t forget to check my blog at http://HoodSoftwareSolutions.com

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