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10 TIPS FOR TRAINING
AN INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE
Training a worldwide audience can be a minefield of
potential errors,
missteps and disasters. Whether your group size is
thirty or three hundred, it is likely that you will face
men and women, old and young, company veterans and
brand-new hires, locals and expatriates, married, single
and recently divorced, and every possible mix of ethnic,
religious and sexual persuasion. With a mix like this,
you can offend without intention, insult without meaning
to, and alienate without even trying.
Avoid painful mistakes! Follow these "10 Tips" when you
work with
participants from around the world and you will find
yourself with an attentive, involved and harmonious
learning group.
Tip #1: Don't assume. Ask!
Don't assume everyone is the room is just like you, or
like anyone else! Acknowledge the diversity in the room.
Highlight the rich range of life and business
experiences this group can represent.
Ask participants to share about themselves in small
groups. Start out with easy questions: business
experience, educational background, and places they have
lived or worked. As conversation warms up, move to
current business issues: ask their opinions on trends in
the industry, entry of new competitors, products,
technologies or government regulations. Then get right
to the training topic at hand: have participants discuss
expectations of the course, problems they need to solve,
and solutions they intend to acquire.
Finally, when groups are well lubricated with dialogue
and rapport, ask participants to share a bit about their
personal lives - family, hobbies, vacation plans or
other special interests.
Tip #2: Speak very clearly.
Your native tongue may not be the first language of all
your audience
members. Adjust your presentation style so everyone can
easily follow.
I recently spoke for a large international audience in
Australia. Eleven countries were represented with seven
different languages. Simultaneous translation was
provided for non-native English speakers. Energized by
the crowd, I launched into a presentation of humorous
stories, anecdotes, case studies and key learning
points. Throughout the speech, I was pleased to hear the
Japanese contingent laughing at all of my jokes.
Or so it seemed. After the presentation, one Japanese
participant set me straight: I was speaking so quickly,
the interpreter was unable to follow. Instead of
translating my presentation, he gave up and spent most
of the time talking in Japanese about how funny it was
to see this American fellow rushing about in a big hurry
on stage! I laughed when I heard this report, but I
certainly learned the lesson: with an international
audience, slow down, and speak very clearly.
Tip #3: Bridge the communication gap.
Some of your group may participate in a language that is
not their native tongue. If their vocabulary or
pronunciation is difficult for others to understand, you
can bridge the gap by clearly repeating their comments
and contributions.
Go beyond the spoken word to encourage understanding:
use charts, pictures, icons, video, physical examples,
role-plays and other non-verbal techniques to get your
points across.
Tip #4: Encourage all participation.
New-comers bring fresh perspective. Old-timers have
experience and
wisdom. Locals understand "what's happening on the
ground". Expatriates have a "global" point of view.
Be liberal with your compliments and praise. "That's a
very good question!" let's everyone know it's safe to
ask the next one. "Thank you for your answer!" tells the
whole room it's safe to venture a new reply.
Tip #5: Be experienced, not exceptional.
Trainers are often widely experienced and well-traveled.
The can bring
good value to the group, but don't highlight your
differences too much. You want respect, not distance.
When "connecting" with an international group, a little
humility goes a long way.
Tip #6: Speak the local language.
If possible, use local language, customs and examples in
your presentation. This may require some preparation on
your part, but it can make a very big impact on your
group.
Towards the end of the Cold War, comedian Billy Crystal
began a stand-up routine in Moscow by conducting the
first five minutes entirely in Russian. But Billy
Crystal does not speak Russian. He had memorized his
entire opening act! The Russian audience howled their
approval, and continued laughing as he delivered the
rest of his show in English.
Tip #7: Avoid phrases that do not translate well.
What is "clear as a bell" to you may be "thick as mud"
in every other language. Avoid phrases that do not
translate well. "Six to one, half dozen the other", "by
the skin of your teeth", "right as rain" and "chicken
with your head cut off" may translate nicely in your
home town, but can bring real confusion and frustration
overseas. Do you "catch my drift"?
Tip #8: If in doubt, leave it out.
Exercise great caution with your comments on politics,
religion, sexuality, ethnic issues and humor. What is
funny to one group may be downright offensive to
another. There are plenty of things to laugh about in
this world without poking fun at any one group. Make one
mistake here, and people may remember it forever.
Tip #9: Triple check all translations.
If your presentation, workbook and handouts are
translated to another language, check the choice of
words and phrases many times. Use a professional
translator who is familiar with your field of word. Then
check again with actual participants in your group.
At the Service Quality Centre in Singapore, we use the
phrase "Never Settle" to mean "strive for continuous
improvement". But when we first took this phrase
overseas, it was translated into Mandarin like this:
"Never agree in a negotiation". And in Indonesia, the
phrase became "Don't sit down!"
Tip #10: Mix the group to increase participation.
Sharing experiences is one of the best aspects of
international training. But don't count on participants
to do it by themselves. Give the process a boost by
mixing the group in various ways. Suppose you have 32
participants. You can combine them at various times into
smaller teams of 2, 4, 6, 8 or even 16.
Do a random split by having them "count off" around the
room in numbers. Or have a bit more fun! I often divide
my groups by date of birth, number of siblings,
seniority with the company, first letter of their family
name, length of hair, color of socks, you name it!
Tip #11: Assure talk time for all.
Some nationalities are naturally more outspoken than
others. Be sure everyone gets a chance to speak up by
structuring the sequence of participation. Once everyone
is in small groups, have the most senior member of group
speak first, or the most junior. Ask the women to speak
up first, or those who have traveled from farthest away.
Acknowledge outspoken participants, but don't them
overwhelm the conversation. I often do this by having
small groups nominate a spokesperson, then having that
person nominate someone else in the group.
Tip #12: Bring them "back together" at the end.
Mixing everyone up is great for sharing new ideas. But
bring them "back together" at the end to prioritize key
points and generate new action steps. Have real work
groups (by function, country, customer or project)
explain the relevance of their learning to the job and
state their plans for improvement and implementation.
Whether you have a training to teach, a session to
present or an important meeting to facilitate, these
time-tested techniques will help bring out the best in
your participants, and in you.
International training is one of the great benefits of
being in our field. Good luck!
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- Ron's successful background includes high-impact special events at the
Rose Bowl, the Great Wall of China, St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow and on the Capitol
Mall in Washington DC. His unique approaches to leadership and learning have been featured
in LIFE Magazine, the New York Times and frequently on TV. A graduate of Brown University,
USA, Ron is certified in Applied Neuro-linguistics and is a professional member of the
National Speakers Association. For more information please visit his web site: http://www.ronkaufman.com/
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