Tips for Mastering a Presentation in English

On many occasions when I am talking with people in a language other than my native Dutch, I feel I have no clue what people are trying to tell or explain to me in the first few of moments. I often use this as an excuse when I am asking for directions, when I am abroad, to hide my bad sense of direction.

Many of you have been in presentations, given in English by a non-native English speaker (or even by a native English speaker), and, even then, you do not have a clue what they are trying to present to you! Fortunately, in many cases, the presentation material is also on the screen, which gives you an idea of the subject.

One of the biggest challenges here is the different accents we all have when speaking English. We immediately recognise the pure British presenter, the ‘Frenglish’ keynote speaker and the American English speaker. And next to these, there are many more! Also, very few of us have the skills to communicate in a type of English that is immediately understood by most of the audience. On top of the accent, nerves can also play a negative role during a presentation; some of us just start reading the presentation, others start talking very fast, but, of course, none of these is a good strategy to deliver a message.

How can you make sure that you effectively convey your message during a presentation?

In my view, the most important part of preparing your presentation is the time you spend rehearsing what you want to say. The presentation should only be a high-level summary of the information you want to share with your audience, but the time you spend preparing is critical to its success. Make sure you rehearse your presentation a few of times in advance to ensure all the content is in your mind, and not just in your notes. Enough rehearsing will help you get the presentation embedded in your long-term memory.

Once you are on stage and giving your presentation, there are some simple methods you can use to ensure your audience is able to follow you. These tips will also give them some time to become familiar with your type of English accent:

• Speak slowly. This will help the audience to better manage any barriers they have to hearing and understanding you.
• Pause early and often. This will give your audience the time to absorb the message and digest it.
• Use simple notes to guide you through your presentation, which you can glance at during the pauses.
• Ask your audience: how you are doing in terms of content and with your English. This will also give you some time to gather your thoughts for the next part of your presentation.
• Be respectful to your audience and, where possible, have a sense of humour, to ensure you get a good level of attention during your presentation.

For your next presentation, I encourage you to try out some of the tactics above. But, most importantly, rehearse your presentation multiple times to be confident when delivering your message. This is far more critical than a stylish presentation that took hours to build.