JamieMagee :: Tips for presenting in English as a foreigner...

Tags: Travel DominoPoint Public speaking

I recently presented a version of a popular session, in English, but to an Italian audience. Here are some tips for presenting in English as a foreigner...

- Plan to speak more slowly, so reduce content a little bit from what you would present to an English speaking audience. Practice the timing.

- Remove all slang and strive for simple, short, sterilized sentence structures.

- Include illustrations wherever possible.

- Even though you'll be speaking English, try to have your slides translated into the local language. Google and Altavista translator sites don't really work for technical content, so sit down with a translator who has knowledge of your topic. Make sure to keep enough of your language in fine print or in the speaker notes to remind yourself what each slide is about!

- If you don't have time to translate all the slides, translating only the slide titles and key points is much easier and will still go a long way. For English phrases, choose words that share the same origin as those of the local language.

- Speaking the local language at the very beginning (e.g., for your introduction) shows some respect. Think about how the reverse situation would feel to you. But unless you're a fluent speaker, most audiences who can understand English reasonably well will prefer you to speak in English.

Comments

1 - Practical and very helpful. As an aglophone in France, I notice that to the English speaking world these simple and workable suggestions are rarely even considered.

Posted by Michael de Haas At 02:17:25 AM On 10/20/2008 | - Website - |

2 - Jamie, that's great advice. I'm speaking in Germany next week and I hadn't really thought about doing a translated slide deck.

You're one of the few people I would really take seriously when it comes to advice about speaking. I've seen you do it, and you take a very deliberate and thought out approach that goes over very well.

Posted by Andrew Pollack At 06:26:10 AM On 10/20/2008 | - Website - |

3 - I used to be involved with technical conferences in the US but with many speakers and attendees for whom English was a second language. Your suggestions hit home. A few other observations:
- Don't misunderstand the point about simpler language. Non-US presenters tend to use much more formal language in their presentations and to stick closely to the published paper if there is one.
- The slow down isn't just about language, it's about style. Our US presenters used to flip up a new photograph about every 3 seconds, describing some technical procedure as if narrating a movie. It was too much for many foreign attendees. Don't know why, as the presenters actually spoke slowly, just a short sentence for each photo.
- Outside the US English means British. Many folks otherwise fluent in English cannot understand a southern or southwest accent.

Posted by David Schaffer At 08:57:10 AM On 10/20/2008 | - Website - |

4 - I recently sat through a presentation given by a foreign language speaker.

Sadly whilst he obviously knew his subject the combination of his grasp of spoken English and his accent made it hard for me to understand.

My first thought was "I hope his slides are good". If memory serves they weren't good enough to allow me to relax and just follow along but I appreciate that takes a lot of effort.

Posted by Jason At 11:51:38 AM On 10/20/2008 | - Website - |