Presenting to multi-cultural groups

Tom: Hi Dan. How’s your presentation going.

Dan: Well I know what I want to say and I have all the materials ready but, to tell the truth, I’m nervous about making the presentation. The group I’m making the presentation to is made up of people from different parts of the world and I’m afraid that with the cultural differences I may not be able to make myself understood.

Tom: It can be quite challenging addressing a multinational audience, it is easy to be misunderstood. Here are few simple guidelines for getting your point across.

1. Keep it simple. Think from the audience’s point of view. Never assume that participants speak or understand the English that you use.

2. Do not use double negatives. For example, ‘I’m not suggesting you couldn’t solve the problem, but…’ could leave the listener confused. Try changing it to, ‘we all know you could solve the problem but…’.

3. Expect to take more time to achieve your objective.

4. For key messages use alternative media such as visual aids, images, handouts or translations to make sure your point is understood.

5. Consider using professional interpreters to enable all participants to contribute equally.

6. Keep to one idea per sentence.

7. Make positive direct statements. For example, instead of saying ‘we don’t want to hurry you but…’ you could say ‘we need this as soon as possible. Is this OK with you?’.

8. Ask others to repeat what they have understood.

9. Look out for alternative interpretations. For example the phrase ‘to table’ a document has a different meaning in England and the USA.

10. Provide regular, concise summaries of a discussion.

11. Paraphrase or repeat a question before answering.

12. If you use humour, make sure it is simple and obvious.

If you follow these suggestions you should be OK. Let me know how you get on.

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