Tips for presenting to an international

audience

¡Hola!

Today, nearly every business is “international”.

Even if you don’t travel for work, you will probably encounter people from other countries or other

cultures, right in your own office.

It’s a small world…

The following tips should help you prepare and deliver your presentation, webinar, or speech, to

an international audience, and make sure your message is received.

How can we get our message across, even when we don’t speak the same language?

1 – Start with the Basics

A Good Presentation that is

Well Organized and is

Clear and Concise is a great starting point.

A poorly organized presentation that doesn’t flow well won’t get better just because you “Internationalize” it.

AB

C

2 – Pay Attention

BeforeTry to learn about your audience before your presentation

• Talk to your host or organizer to find out if they have specific goals or needs from your presentation

• How well do they understand your language?

If you can’t get information before you start, try asking questions during your introduction to learn what you can

2 – Pay Attention

DuringWatch their reactions and body language

If they seem to be having trouble understanding, slow down, review, ask questions to be sure they are following you

Don’t be afraid to stop, or back up

Remember: Your goal is to convey a message

– not just get through a presentation

3 – Be careful about jargon, slang, and sports and cultural references

If your presentation is filled with references to sports, or politics, or your local current events, you may spend more time explaining the references than making the point they were meant to express

Football, anyone?

Depending on what part of the world you are from, the game we call “Football” may be very different

4 – Too many TLAs

Every industry has them, and nearly every presentation uses them, but if you don’t explain them, your international audience may get bogged down trying to understand your Acronyms

They can be confusing

If you must use them, be sure to explain them

TLA: Three Letter Acronym (sometimes four or more)

5- Brief bullet points vs. long, wordy sentences• Be sure to use words on your slide – it will help

your audience understand – but keep it short and simple

Once upon a time there was a dog. He was a lazy dog, brown in color. He liked to sleep all day. His favorite spot was next to a fallen tree, deep in the forest. He could spend hours there, snoring away, completely oblivious to the rest of the world.

On this particular day there was a hunt taking place in the neighboring farms and forests. “Oh my”, thought the dog. “I really don’t want to be bothered with that.” So he went back to sleep.

After some time there was a ruckus nearby, and the sound of horses, and hounds, and hunting horns. The dog continued to snooze.

Suddenly a fox came crashing through the nearby bushes. He was a beautiful red color, with a thick bushy tail. He was obviously in a great hurry. As he rushed to escape the hunters he spotted a large log, lying on the ground, with a perfect hiding spot in thebrush just beyond.

He leapt over the log and zipped into the cover of the brush. In his haste he didn’t even notice the lazy brown dog, sleeping next to the log. And the dog continued to snooze, completely unaware of the excitement around him.

The quick red fox jumped over the lazy brown dog.

Red fox jumps sleeping dog

6 – Use Pictures – if appropriate

• “A picture is worth 1000 words” but only if it is relevant to your message.

• Don’t use drawings, clipart, or photographs just to make your presentation look good.

• But a diagram or image can really help your audience understand, more than several sentences on a slide.

7 – Notes and handouts

Trying to read your slides, listen to you speak, and translate it, all at the same time, can be difficult

Handouts are very helpful, especially if you have a lot of detail

Provide notes so they can refer to them later

Consider electronic versions if the environment and subject allows

8 – Working with translatorsIf you and your audience do not speak the same language, you may need an interpreter.

That may be a local colleague, someone from your audience, or perhaps even a professional translator.

They will probably not be an expert in your field – to help them help you, here are a few extra suggestions.

Go over your presentation with the translator beforehand –especially technical terminology and acronyms.

Provide a list of key points, words or phrases that may require clarification from you. Remember those TLAs!

Write a script for the translator ahead of time, or include notes in PowerPoint.

Speak clearly and slowly.

It is especially important when you are being translated.

Recap

1. Start with a good presentation or speech

2. Pay attention to your audience

3. Be careful with local/sports/political or cultural references.

4. Explain your acronyms and industry-specific terminology

5. Use clear, concise bullets…

6. … and images if they enhance the message

7. Provide handouts if the venue is appropriate

8. Work with your translator. They are there to help you.

Have fun with it.

The fine print

About the author

• Alan Hood is a senior technical consultant specializing in application development, modernization, and software development technologies, and is the founder of Hood Software Solutions LLC

• He has traveled extensively, and given hundreds of presentations, webinars and Lync/Skype sessions mostly involving people from a different hemisphere

More information about this topic

• Blog: http://www.hoodsoftwaresolutions.com/blog/tips-for-presenting-to-an-international-audience

• LinkedIn posting: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tips-presenting-international-audience-alan-hood?trk=prof-post

• Web site: http://www.HoodSoftwareSolutions.com/

Copyright © 2016 Hood Software Solutions LLC