Communication is Key

10 Techniques for Presenting Successfully to International Audiences

True or false: The successful presentation you just delivered in your home country will be equally successful when you deliver it to an international audience next month.

I wish the answer to this question were a resounding ‘True!’ Achieving success while presenting to international audiences requires you to analyze your current presentation and make adjustments for language, culture and style.

How do I know this? Because I’ve been living and working outside my home country, Canada, for over 20 years. And I’ve spent the last 13 of those years living in Europe and training and coaching professionals from over 30 countries. That gives me an advantage.

I learned by doing, and making lots of mistakes along the way. But after a while, it became second nature to write and present for international audiences. Do I still work at it? Yes, every single day.

What happens when you don’t do your research, reassess your presentation, and make the required adjustments? If you’re lucky, someone will take you aside and share their observations and feedback with you so you can do better next time. If you’re not lucky, those observations get shared with everyone EXCEPT you. Are they whispering statements like these?

• ‘Tracie, we had a colleague here from America, and she spoke so fast, we had no idea what she was saying most of the time.’
• ‘His style was so pushy. We don’t like that here.’
• ‘She talked like she had food in her mouth!’
• ‘The presentation was good, but when we invited him for dinner, he said he was tired and wanted to go back to the hotel. We won’t do business with him.’

Will a direct, hard-selling style work the same in China, Germany and the U.S? What about the level of detail in your presentation… too much or too little? Are you using the same vocabulary abroad as you would at home? Are the images in your slides appropriate for this international audience? Is your style too informal?

While you reflect on these questions, here’s a list of strategies and techniques you can use when preparing for your next presentation:

Language

Non-native speakers tend to have a smaller vocabulary than native English speakers. They also tend to put more value in the actual words you say rather than in the underlying meaning… reading between the lines is a huge challenge unless your audience is fluent in English.

1. Grade your language. Get rid of all the complex words and long sentences. Choose language that a sixth grader would understand. If you do, you’ll be on safer ground.
2. Speak slowly. There’s nothing worse than a native English speaker giving a presentation in English in a foreign country, at the same speed of delivery as they would at home. S-l-o-w d-o-w-n.
3. Illustrate concepts with images. Pictures actually do paint a thousand words, and when presenting to non-native speakers of English, images can really help your audience understand a concept. So choose images that represent your ideas clearly and that resonate – in a positive way – with your international audience
4. Avoid idioms, metaphors, slang, and jargon. If you’re lucky, ‘killing two birds with one stone’ might translate into the native language of your audience. If not, it just sounds as if you are good at killing small animals with hard objects, which is NOT the impression you want to give.
5. Signpost for structure. Ease your audience’s journey by taking them by the hand with your language. ‘My next topic is …’. ‘That takes us to my third point, which is …’.

Delivery

Adjusting your delivery beyond language will also increase your results. Research your audience, the organization and the region/country to make sure you cover your bases, including culture and style.

1. Stop talking. Pausing is widely accepted as a technique to add emphasis in a presentation. It also gives your audience a moment to take in and process what you have just said.
2. Enunciate clearly. Avoid mumbling, mispronouncing, or speaking too fast by articulating your words clearly.
3. Tread carefully with humor. Unless you are very certain the joke will make sense to that particular audience in those particular circumstances, avoid jokes. Causing offense can kill the business partnership before you even sit down at the negotiating table.
4. Avoid sarcasm and irony. It doesn’t translate well and may not even be recognized by your international partner. Awkward!
5. Repeat key concepts in different words. Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself. Because of language barriers, repetition can help ensure that your audience is on the same page regarding your main points.

These techniques and strategies should be applied taking into account context: If you are speaking to a room of non-native English PhD graduates who are all very knowledgeable about your topic in English, chances are you don’t have to grade your language very much. You might still want to slow down your delivery though.

You’ll also need to take into account whether you’re speaking to a diverse audience from around the world rather than an audience from one country. If the audience is diverse, the ‘middle road’ of polite and professional is a good guide.

Whatever your particular situation, do your research and analysis, and adapt accordingly so that you can deliver a successful presentation and achieve amazing results for both you and your international audience.

All the best,

Tracie Marquardt

This article originally appeared on Quality Assurance Communication.

Action

5 Ways to Keep the Peace on Vacation or at Work

I’ve just spent a month with family. What struck me during this trip home is how different we all are. How varied our beliefs or ‘truths’ are. And how differently we communicate with each other.

There is the peacemaker, the influencer, the negative nelly, the researcher, and the know-it-all. It makes for interesting and stimulating dinner conversations, sometimes to the extreme. At times, the role we take on varies depending on how we feel or whose company we are in.

It’s how we deal with these differences in communication styles and opinions that I find intriguing, because you could compare our family dinner conversations to communicating in a business setting: Five people, different personalities, ages, life experiences, communication styles, needs and goals.

Breaking it down, here are some of the techniques we use in my family to manage our differences and conflicts, consciously or unconsciously:

1. Ask questions.

Sometimes we make assumptions about how someone will react to our opinion or desires, so we don’t ask for their help or opinion. We leap too far into a fantasy conversation and create an end-result that might never have been if we had actually had the conversation.

• For more effective communication, and 100% better results, ask questions to get more information, clarify points or positions, and get agreement (or not!). We might end up where we thought we would, but we also have a chance of a very different outcome.

2. Listen with an open mind AND an open heart.

It’s so easy to listen superficially because we are texting someone not present or reading an article, newspaper or other document. This is a lose-lose proposition.

• When we listen, and I mean REALLY listen, keep an open mind, and connect with empathy, we can truly understand what is being said and WHY. Understanding the motivation behind someone’s opinion can often lead us to a better understanding, a more appropriate insight, and a way to add value to the other person.

3. Be patient.

Occasionally when we are speaking with someone, they haven’t even stopped explaining the situation and we know what they should do. Or our speaking partner is taking forever to get to the point and we are mentally tapping our foot on the floor frustrated that the conversation isn’t going more quickly.

• This is where we turn on the internal control of patience. Doing this allows others to finish what they are saying without feeling rushed. No annoyed facial expressions or verbal cues to signal the other person to ‘move it along’. It’s a sign of respect.

4. Be kind.

Does an unkind thought or word come to mind sometimes when you are speaking to someone? Do you want to tell the truth when the truth could hurt or cause significant damage to your relationship?

• Let the unkind words go, and if you have to say something, choose your words carefully. Kindness is a currency with value than cannot always be measured in dollars and cents.

5. Change the subject

You’re not getting the response or result you want. Or you can see that the other person is simply not going to change their mind, or worse, calm down. It can make for an uncomfortable situation.

• Once in a while, it ‘pays’ to change the subject, agree to disagree, or even walk away. Not all conflicts can be resolved in the moment, whether it’s family or business. So take a step back, rethink your position, and decide on an appropriate course of action. Sometimes you have to pick your battle, and permanently damaging the relationship may not be worth it.

I’ve had a wonderful, refreshing visit with my family. It has enriched me and most definitely challenged me on many levels. I’ll take what I’ve learned this trip back into my work, helping international professionals communicate their key messages more clearly, concisely and persuasively. These same strategies and techniques contribute to communication success in business and with your families, too.

All the best,

Tracie Marquardt

This post originally appeared on Quality Assurance Communication.

Make Your Presentations Successful

Be on top of your writing game...

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Tracie Marquardt

TED Talk: How Great Leaders Inspire Action

A TED Talk from Simon Sinek.

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Tracie Marquardt

Be Persistent. Be Consistent.

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Tracie Marquardt

How to Become a Report Writing Fashionista

What does style have to do with report writing? Everything.

One of the outcomes of my International Audit Report Writing workshop is a style guide for audit report writing. Don’t write audit reports? No problem. If your team issues reports regularly, you can still benefit from the concept.

What is a report writing style guide?

It’s an internal document that provides guidance to your team on tone, content requirements, structure, and language choice. It codifies expectations on what and how each member of the team should write. It results from analysis of issued reports, extensive discussions with management, learning from report writing training, and a shared vision of how reports should look and feel when finalized.

What are the benefits of a report writing style guide?

1. It ensures consistency. Despite a team being in place for years, significant report writing inconsistencies can exist. During my report writing workshops, I highlight inconsistencies and weaknesses to management and the team. These gaps can be eliminated through intentional use of a style guide after training has occurred when combined with constructive feedback and coaching.

2. It increases report writing quality. Because your report represents your professionalism and the quality of your work, it can enhance – or detract – from your reputation and your entire team’s reputation. Higher quality reports from the team result in an increase in real and perceived value of your work to the organization.

3. It serves as a central information source. Every team member has access to the same guidance, any time, from a shared directory. This eases the burden of training new team members, and provides a valuable resource ‘on the job’.

4. It functions as a baseline for the global team. In today’s dynamic business environment, getting international team members to adopt the team’s global standards can be a challenge. This results from having team hubs on multiple continents and is especially critical when English language skills vary at each location. A style guide will that international team members have the resources they need to meet report writing expectations.

5. It captures decisions as they are made. A report writing style guide is a living document. Over time, management may update the report template, redefine content requirements or revise standard report language. A style guide can be easily updated for these kinds of changes by the internal document owner and immediately shared with the entire team.

What’s the downside of investing in a style guide?

One can argue it muzzles the author or prevents the author from writing in their own voice. After reviewing hundreds of audit reports, I can assure you that this is not the case.

Individual writing styles and approaches still come through. The style guide simply clarifies any mandatory aspects while providing clear direction regarding tone, content and language. This creates the margins, and the author is free to fill in the facts, figures, conclusions and recommendations in context.

None of my clients has ever regretted putting a report writing style guide in place for their global team. The benefits far outweigh the investment in terms of productivity and quality of work product.

If your team is ready for a report writing style guide, contact me today. I’m happy to share how you can get started on your path to more effective report writing.

All the best,

Tracie Marquardt

Cutting Out Words

Tracie Marquardt

The Future You See

Tracie Marquardt

How to speak so that others want to listen

A TedTalks YouTube video by Julian Treasure

Tracie Marquardt

First Impressions Last

Tracie Marquardt

The Key Slide You Are Getting Wrong in Your Presentation

The cow in my client’s presentation caught me off guard.

As part of the preparation phase for my Preparing Powerful Content for Presentations workshop, I ask participants to send me the presentation they will be working on. After delivering this workshop for years, I’m used to seeing slide decks that contain all kinds of surprises.

There are paragraphs of text on one slide, four separate but somehow related charts on the next slide, and a massive table with over 200 seemingly important figures on another slide. None of that shocks me anymore.

The most important slide

One slide I pay particular attention to during my review is the last slide in my client’s deck. You know the one; it’s mostly blank but says something like:

• Questions?
• Q & A
• Next steps (without any steps)
• Thank you for your attention.

This time, it was an image of a cartoon cow. Don’t get me wrong, it was creative and evoked an emotion. Just not the emotion you really want your audience to feel after you have delivered a stunning 20-minute presentation designed to drive change in your organization.

During the workshop, my client revealed that the cow had a historical, funny personal meaning. Okay, I thought, I can see why the image resonated with my client. But wouldn’t it have been a good idea assess how the slide would (or would not) help achieve the presentation objectives?

Here’s what’s happening when you put a cow on your last slide, or leave it pretty much blank:

You are wasting million-dollar real estate.

Why? Because the end of your presentation is the beginning of the audience’s journey.

You want your audience to take action. To DO something when they walk out the door.

The examples above just don’t cut it. Key messages don’t register or resonate with the audience, global processes that should be implemented locally are largely ignored, or cooperation to achieve a common goal never materializes.

Leave with the best impression

Here are my three simple techniques to get a bigger bang out of your last slide:

• Bullet point the key message(s) of your presentation.
• Repeat your call to action.
• Use active verbs in your bullet points: implement, decide, update, etc.

Then leave that slide up as you take questions and agree next steps. During that entire discussion, your audience will see your key messages. This will drive the messages into their minds, making the messages memorable and increasing the likelihood that action will be taken.

So use your last slide wisely. Your key messages will have much more impact, you’ll influence action, and you’ll inspire your audience to begin a new journey when they walk out of the room.

If you or your team would like to improve the effectiveness of your presentations so you get better results for your team AND your organization, please get in touch. I’m happy to help.

All the best,

Tracie Marquardt

P.S. What was the worst slide you've seen in a presentation before? Leave me a note in the comments about it, and be sure to keep it anonymous!

Take That Step

Tracie Marquardt

Free Webinar: 5 Quick Start Techniques to Get the Results You Want From Your Audit Reports

To get a sneak preview of my 2-day International Audit Report Writing Workshop taking place in June, join me on April 26th for a free 1-hour webinar.

Register today!

Tracie Marquardt

Seats Open for June Session of International Audit Report Writing Workshop

Are you ready to identify and remove your writing weaknesses so you can master audit report writing at an international level? Imagine more stakeholder engagement, less disagreement over wording in your findings, and easier acceptance of your value-added recommendations. You’re one workshop away from making a lasting improvement in your international audit report writing skills.

Learn more and register today!

Tracie Marquardt

Business Report in 140 Characters?

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Tracie Marquardt

Quality Assurance Communication

From Good to Great Business Reports in 3 Easy Steps

Working with a new client recently has hammered home a few key points about how any team can take their business reports fromgood to great. This is especially critical if you have a new team, new report writing responsibilities in an existing team, or a team that is located around the globe.

As part of the project to improve their report writing abilities, I analysed the reports this new department had published so far. In parallel, I had in-depth conversations with management about the department’s role, their stakeholders and the desired impact of their reports on the organisation.

What I realized was that the same limitations and roadblocks that affect well-established teams as they write and publish business reports affected this department. Very often:

• A report template exists, but it is being used differently by the teams or team members within the department.
• Report writing guidance in the form of a manual doesn’t exist, or it exists but isn’t being used actively by members of the team.
• No official report writing ‘quality control mechanism’ exists within the department, except for the ‘chain of command’ review when a team is finalizing a report.

As a result, there is no consistent content, style, language or formality in the reports published.

This can be further complicated by having strict limitations on the length of reports. One recent conversation with a client went like this:

Me: “How long are your reports on average?”

Client: “Up to 30 pages, two pages maximum is allowed per topic, and the executive summary can only be one page long.”

Me: “I notice that risk to the business isn’t addressed in the executive summaries of half of the reports.”

Client: “That’s because we ran out of space, so we left it out.”

Me (in my head): Ouch.

Does any of this sound familiar? If it does, there are 3 easy steps that you can take to ensure your team’s business reports go from good to great:

1. Document internal guidelines

Document internal guidelines for business report writing that define the content required in each section of the report, common terms that should be used in your specific context, and style and formality requirements.

It’s okay to include desired length of sections, chapters and the full report, but these should be a guidelines. If team members are struggling to meet these limits, the underlying cause may not be report length, but critical thinking skills.

2. Conduct team training globally

Conduct team training globally to push out the new report writing guidelines. Such training is much easier these days because of the wonders of technology. Gone are the days of having to bring your entire team together physically.

It can also be helpful to provide the team with a report that is already written using the new guidelines. That way, your team has a model so they can see how the new guidelines work in practice. When the team is aware of and understands your expectations, they can meet them!

3. Get buy in from the top.

It’s important that the team’s top managers support the guidelines and contribute to having them taken on board. This might mean an encouraging email sent to all team members or a short introduction at the beginning of the training session.

Feedback will ensure the new guidelines are followed. I propose that as a team manager, you edit less, and instead, meet with your team member who wrote the report. Highlight where the report hits the mark, and where the report misses the report. Then send the team member off to make the necessary adjustments.

In no time at all, your team will be writing more consistent, professional, value-added reports. Your stakeholders will notice the improvement (remember, no news is good news, but positive feedback is great). And you’ll save time, because you aren’t the one actually making the revisions. Win, win, win!

All the best,

Tracie Marquardt

Be Inspired and Be Inspiring

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Tracie Marquardt

Quality Assurance Communication

International Audit Report Writing Workshop on June 13 & 14, 2016 in Heidelberg, Germany

To learn more and to register visit: http://qacommunication.com/international-audit-report-writing-june-2016/

All the best,

Tracie Marquardt

Be Inspired and Be Inspiring

Tracie Marquardt

Quality Assurance Communication

What makes us feel good about our work?

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Tracie Marquardt

Quality Assurance Communication

Now is the Time To Get a Copy of Tracie's New Book!

Now I can offer you the same inspiring, value-added communication techniques and strategies that I give my clients every day: Communicate Your Way To Global Business Success is my pocket book filled with my top 101 communication techniques, strategies and inspiration. Get your copy today, and let your communication skills soar!

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Tracie Marquardt

Quality Assurance Communication

Your Beliefs, Your Behaviour

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Tracie Marquardt

Quality Assurance Communication