Technical Presentations in Other Cultures

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Technical Presentations in Other Cultures

• Extracted and quoted freely from an article
  titled
• Going Global
• By Dave Zielinski

http//www.3m.com/meetingnetwork/presentations/pma
g_going_global_1.html
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Its More Than Just Speaking English

• English may be the world's quasi-official
  language, but that doesn't mean U.S.
  businesspeople or academics are off the hook when
  presenting in foreign cultures. Here's what it
  takes to be an effective and culturally correct
  speaker to international audiences.

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In the Pacific RimFace Its a Big Thing

• Loss of face happens in "collectivist" or
  group-oriented cultures in the Pacific Rim and
  elsewhere when individuals are singled out for
  attention.
• Face issues come into play, for instance, when an
  instructor randomly calls upon a student.
  Answering the question means a student risks
  showing up his fellow classmates, resulting in a
  collective loss of face.

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Gaining Face is NOT COOL Either

• People in these cultures don't want to gain face
  for themselves in a public setting because it
  contributes to others losing face.
• Simmerman, who heads up the Performance
  Management Co. in Taylors, S.C., decided the best
  way to "face-proof" his highly interactive
  training method was to form small groups for
  discussion. He then asked each team to select one
  group leader to speak for the others during an
  end-of-class summary. But(surprise!)

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But there was one problem

• "When the group spokesperson got up to talk, he
  or she felt compelled to report every comment,
  perspective and thought their team members had
  contributed to the discussion," says Simmerman.
  "They didn't want any one person in their group
  to risk a loss of face. That was fine but the
  reports took 15 to 20 minutes each, which killed
  my schedule."

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Finally, a Workable Solution

• Not wanting to cut short any of the spokespeople
  himself, which you guessed it would present
  further loss-of-face issues, Simmerman solved the
  problem in later sessions by declaring that each
  group leader had three timed minutes to summarize
  comments.

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The Cost can be High

• Botched international presentations can result in
  much more than misunderstanding and
  misinterpretation they can
• cost millions in missed sales,
• scuttle important relationship-building
  opportunities and
• reduce the yield from international training
  efforts.

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English is not English?

• English is the most popular second language in
  the world, but
• In most cases, for the American presenter, the
  challenge isn't to learn how to work more
  effectively with translators or interpreters, but
  how to communicate more effectively in English.

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And Its Not Just a Pacific Rim Challenge

• Even European audiences may understand your
  English, but still miss the point(s) you are
  trying to make because of cultural differences.
• A Bedouin's oil wealth may buy him all the
  trappings of Western success, but underneath he
  may still have the conservative mores or customs
  of his father. In some Arab countries, a simple
  inquiry from a man about a colleague's wife can
  end a business relationship forever.

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Tips for Successful Communication in Other
Cultures

• Simplify and clarify your content
• Speak deliberatelybut dont yell
• Screen out jargon, idiomatic expressions and
  acronyms
• Limit U.S.-centric references and examples
• Be aware of different lifestyles
• Be sure your jokes are appropriate
• Understand that body language is far from
  universal
• Alter your eye-contact habits
• Rethink audience participation techniques
• Follow the formality protocol
• Understand that icons aren't always icons
• Visuals and handouts must correspond to cultural
  expectations

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Simplify and Clarify

• English proficiency within a given audience can
  vary widely, so the best approach is to simplify
  and clarify content at every turn. That means
• using simple sentences,
• making clear transitions,
• avoiding digressions,
• reducing use of potentially confusing pronouns
  and
• restating key points.

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Keep the Vocabulary Simple and Consistent

• A varied vocabulary may stimulate American
  audiences, but it's likely to confuse those who
  don't speak English as their mother tongue. For
  example, you don't want to first talk about
  benefits, then later refer to them as advantages.

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From Bill WeechAssociate Director of Leadership
Training for the U.S. Department of State

• "With native speakers I may rephrase something
  once or twice, but with those who don't speak
  English as a first language, I'm consciously
  trying to restate my major points in the exact
  wording used before."
• The tactic adds time to his classes but pays off
  in improved retention.

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Speak Deliberately But Don't Yell

• On the delivery side, non-native English speakers
  will retain much more of your presentation if
  you
• speak more slowly and deliberately (but not so
  slowly as to appear patronizing),
• use more pauses,
• enunciate clearly and
• gesture to illustrate potentially vague terms.

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Dont Yell!

• This doesn't mean turning up your volume,
  something often done unconsciously by U.S.
  speakers. In his classic book Do's and Taboos
  Around the World, author Roger Axtell passes on
  this advice "Speak to the rest of the world as
  if answering a slightly deaf, very rich old
  auntie who just asked you how much to leave you
  in her will."

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Tune in to Cultural Differences

• Strong delivery also requires you to tune in to
  your audience's cultural idiosyncrasies.
• One consultant was presenting in Finland for the
  first time. Throughout his speech the Finns sat
  expressionless, hands folded, moving nary an
  inch. The consultant figured he was doing
  horribly and sending them all off to sleepland,
  but found out later "this was their way of
  showing respect the absolute focused, dedicated
  listening to the expert.

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Remove Jargon, Idiomatic Expressions And Acronyms

• Familiar figures of speech can be confusing or
  even offensive in other cultures.
• The word piggybacking can be inflammatory in
  Israel, where the pig is considered a despicable
  animal.
• If you pepper your speech with common American
  idioms such as "barking up the wrong tree,"
  "dog-and-pony show" or "shotgun approach," you're
  likely to be met with visible confusion or
  blank stares from audiences in New Delhi or
  Bogota.

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A Little More Homework

• "When I'm dealing with non-native speakers, I
  find my language becomes pretty bland because I
  work to remove idioms and anything else
  potentially confusing or offensive," Weech says.
• Avoid unpleasant surprises particularly in your
  first visit to a country by having your text
  and visuals pre-screened by someone intimate with
  the local language, norms and taboos. Skip this
  crucial step, and you risk disaster.

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Limit U.S.-Centric References And Examples

• American speakers need to be careful about
  self-congratulatory statements because of
  perceived U.S. arrogance in some parts of the
  world, says Bjorn Austraat, a software
  localization specialist and Web engineer for
  Berlitz Translation Services. "Any notion of
  superiority or 'We're No. 1' would rub, say, a
  French businessperson very much the wrong way."
• Communications skills consultant Diana Booher
  also understands the hidden dangers. The first
  time she presented overseas, Booher sprinkled
  examples of model U.S. companies and leaders
  throughout her speech. Her consciousness was
  raised after the session when she received
  several comments from the audience about how
  "over here, we use examples from the entire
  world, not just the U.S."
• Even if all the examples in your speech hail from
  the United States, you can still win points by
  being apologetic about it up front, acknowledging
  that the examples might as easily have come from
  Paris, Tel Aviv or Tokyo.

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Be Aware Of Different Lifestyles

• Beware of making points that assume the same
  values that exist in the United States. "American
  speakers might make a sarcastic remark about a
  manager having his whole family on the payroll,
  but in other cultures nepotism is very much
  accepted as the way to do business. That's what
  you do there you take care of your family."
• U.S. speakers men in particular often try to
  export the same baseball, football or golf
  metaphors they use at home. But outside of a few
  countries, those sports aren't well known. If
  you're presenting in Brazil, France or Germany,
  for instance, try to relate any sports metaphors
  to World Cup soccer rather than the World Series.

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Be Sure Your Jokes Are Appropriate

• If you're really looking to dig a hole, tell an
  Irish joke when you're in Dublin. Most foreigners
  object to an outsider attempting to make jokes
  about their culture even if the same joke would
  result in hardy laughs when delivered by a local.
  Test any humor you intend to use on someone
  intimate with the country's language, culture and
  totems.

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Understand That Body Language Is Far From
Universal

• Pointing with the index finger is considered
  impolite in most Middle Eastern and East Asian
  countries, where speakers use a fully extended
  hand or closed fist to indicate direction.
• The American "OK" sign a circle formed with
  your index finger and thumb -- is considered
  obscene in Brazil.
• The "thumbs up" is a rude gesture in Australia.
• In Greece and Bulgaria, a head nod indicates no
  rather than yes.

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More on Gestures

• In places such as Northern Germany or Scandinavia
  where people tend to be more reserved,
  fist-pounding and other emphatic gestures don't
  go over well. "As soon as you do that, your
  credibility is impaired," says Berlitz's
  Austraat. "Rather than listening, people are now
  thinking how silly this American looks."
• But with these and other exceptions, many about
  which you'll be warned, the non-verbals that
  serve you well in the States will do the same
  overseas perhaps even more so. For instance,
  spreading your hands apart to indicate height or
  width and gesturing for up and down can clear up
  uncertain language.

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Alter Your Eye-contact Habits

• Direct eye contact, a key to gaining credibility
  in the United States, can be considered an
  invasion of privacy in cultures found in Japan or
  the Philippines.
• You might try sweeping your gaze across audiences
  in those cultures, rather than embarrassing
  individuals by looking at them for too long.

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Rethink Audience Participation Techniques

• Weech is upfront about his desire to keep
  sessions interactive. "I immediately tell my
  trainees that the only way I know to deliver the
  session is 'American style,' which means fairly
  participatory," he says. "But I have much more
  sensitivity with those from collectivist cultures
  like Guatemala. I almost never call on someone
  unless I get a strong signal from their body
  language they want to be called on."

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Open Debate May Be Bad

• U.S. trainers should also be careful about
  encouraging open debate in multicultural
  classrooms. In collectivist cultures, any kind of
  open disagreement ruins group harmony, so
  audience members are more willing to repress
  their objections.
• Weech also modifies the way he asks for feedback
  on his performance from trainees outside the
  United States. Instead of asking point-blank if
  they've been following what he's been saying, he
  conducts periodic paper quizzes or other tests to
  get a more discreet measure of class
  comprehension.

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Follow The Formality Protocol

• Presenters and instructors in other cultures have
  higher social standing than in the United States
  in Eastern Asia, they're often viewed as figures
  of absolute authority.
• For this reason, jokes, animated gestures and
  casual dress can create a sense of unease.
• Sharing a good laugh with your audience creates
  too much familiarity, and therefore discomfort.

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Speak with Certainty and Authority

• Another cultural phenomenon that ties into
  speaker behavior is "uncertainty avoidance."
• Simply put, some cultures particularly in Latin
  America, Southern Europe and Japan are less
  comfortable with ambiguity than Americans are.
• People in these cultures are conditioned to
  expect absolute truths and they prefer detailed
  instructions to broad guidelines.

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Understand That Icons Aren't Always Icons

• Photos, clip art, icons and other graphic symbols
  aren't always as obvious as they seem.
• For example When subjects from Japan and Sweden
  were asked to identify the star symbol, Swedish
  subjects provided 20 different interpretations.
  Japanese subjects offered a dozen more one
  identified it as a sea urchin.

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More Visual Presentation Tips

• Limit words in favor of charts, graphs and
  pictures whenever possible.
• Choosing colors for your presentation can be
  another potential minefield
• An abundance of green connected to a humorous
  screen might be offensive in Islamic countries,
  where green is considered a religious color
• Purple is the color of death and funerals in
  Brazil and Mexico.
• The sweeping use of red still carries negative
  connotations in some Eastern European countries.

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Visuals And Handouts Must Correspond To Cultural
Expectations

• Many foreign audiences have voracious appetites
  for handouts and other paper-based takeaways
  which is no big surprise, considering that
  reading proficiency for most non-native
  English-speakers is generally superior to
  listening comprehension.

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More on Handouts

• To aid non-native English-speakers, Weech always
  provides paper copies of his visuals in advance
  of foreign training sessions. "If I'm doing a
  workshop overseas, I send materials out before I
  get there," he says. "It gives them a chance to
  look up words they might not know and scan
  materials to get a head start." You'll also win
  points if you include a glossary of key terms and
  make handouts available in native languages as
  well as in English.

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PowerPoint can Help

• Weech also makes heavy use of PowerPoint's Notes
  feature, which creates a printout with three
  screen graphics on one side of a page and space
  for note-taking on the other. "It helps foreign
  groups follow along as I project images," he
  says.