Training outside your comfort zone

Points to ponder when your audience is at home … but you’re not

So I’m in a room with a projector and an untrustworthy laptop, scheduled to do a training on a subject with which I’m only really 60 percent familiar. I’ve only previously met one or two people in the room. I will be conducting this training for six hours.

Oh, and everyone in the room is from a different country.

It’s hard to forget that snowy day in January 2009, in Utrecht, an historic city in the Netherlands. It was still dawn-dark at 9 a.m. I was jetlagged. Two days earlier, I was informed I had to make this trip (which I had planned to take with a colleague) solo. My training partner couldn’t find his passport.

It was, and remains, the most profound “sink or swim” situation I’d ever been in professionally.

My participants spoke Polish, German, Dutch, Russian, French, and Spanish as their native languages, and nearly all of them were relatively fluent in English. I spoke English. I took a deep breath and began.

As terrifying as it was to stand in front of that room and train 40 people on an important topic (in this case, developing communications plans and formulating core messages), I walked away learning skills that helped make every subsequent international training much more effective.

Now, this list of best practices I’ve compiled took several years to really put together. Every single tip I provide here has a story behind it — to some degree or other, a story of woe and embarrassment. Here are the most important lessons which may help you avoid some not-so-great experiences.

Think and speak succinctly. In my experience, it was rare to present anything in front of a group of native English speakers. Although their English skills were spot-on (certainly better than any of my language skills), I would often imagine every word I said to be going through an internal Google translator in every one of their brains. Bearing that in mind, I adopted these rules:

• Slow it down. This is tough to do for most of us in general, let alone when the adrenaline kicks in and the spotlight is on. But it’s crucial to adopt a particular rhythm or gait of speech — a slower pace in which you enunciate as precisely as you can and you chop your off-script monologue by half. It will sound stilted and awkward to you, but if it’s done correctly, it will make your words much more effective to them.
• Repeat yourself. Of course, repeating everything you say will come across as annoying at best and condescending at worst. But in cases where you’re introducing a new topic, or struggling to simplify a particular set of statistics or terms, it’s a good idea to take your time in explaining it. Repeating it can be effective.
• Monitor your colloquialisms. It was a revealing moment for me when I discovered that I used very American phrases, such as “inside baseball,” or “Monday morning quarterback,” or “take a rain check.” If one of them escaped during my presentation, I’d be instantly greeted with confused stares. Then I’d feel the need to take time to explain the phrase, and then that got everyone off-topic … you can imagine how much it derailed the presentation. A good rule of thumb is to stay away from cliches as much as you can, and don’t stray too far away from your script.

Be culturally sensitive. Since I was often working in countries in which different rules applied to, say, public campaigning, it was crucial for me to have an understanding of the environment in which my trainees were operating. I found it also very helpful to understand how other cultures approach the work day. In order for a presentation to be effective, it must mirror what’s expected as much as possible.

• If it’s possible, meet beforehand with a representative of your group. Ask questions about corporate or political climate. Take notes. Get to know who the people in the room will be. Review the agenda, and review the structure of the day.
• Remember where you are. Avoid stating “Well, in the U.S., we…” more often than is necessary. You aren’t in the U.S., and you don’t want to help perpetuate the idea of the know-it-all American. Where it makes sense to discuss distinctions, talk about them. When it doesn’t, don’t. Don’t make your own culture the baseline to which all others are compared.
• Build in breaks. In the U.S. (oops! Well, this reference is appropriate so bear with me), we tend to conduct “marathon” trainings. We start at 9, we go until noon, we come back at 1 p.m., and we wrap it up starting at 4 or 5 p.m.. We may be the only culture that insists on this schedule. And expecting others to abide by this time clock will likely lead to disappointment. Stretch out the day instead, because…
• You might be working hard, but your audience is working harder (see the Google translate reference, above). Forty-five minutes of instruction, then 10 minutes or so set aside for a break, is a good rule to follow to give brains a little downtime.
• Allow more time for lunch. An hour and a half, if you can set that time aside, is generally acceptable. During one all-day training, I recall being very gently rebuffed by my insistence that people work over their lunch. “It’s enough that we have to eat sandwiches,” a participant told me. “But we’ve got to work, as well?” Point taken.

Keep humor in check. OK, yes, you may be witty and clever. You may be really good with word play. It may really enhance your presentations at home. You can be topical! But guess what? Humor as part of a training an international audience works very rarely. They may get the joke, or even find it funny, but in my experience, at least, peppering your presentation with jokes without knowing your audience is more confusing than helpful. Which leads me to these tips:

• Know when you can be funny. If you’re good at reading a room — and it’s assumed you are, considering you’re presenting for them — you instinctively know the type of delivery that will go over, as well as what will go over their heads. I found that training in native-English speaking countries (such as Australia, Ireland, and the UK) to be a bit less formal than in other countries, with more room for personal pizzazz in my speech. Of course, the rapport I struck with non-native English speakers was just as strong, except when my jokes fell flat. I’d often be greeted with a combination of a grimace and a half-smile, which would set me out of orbit, which would break my train of thought … you can imagine the rest. Be loose and friendly in your presentation, but leave the standup to comedians.
• Expect the unexpected. Simply put, you might hear a few giggles when you aren’t being funny. It’s easy to let that fluster you, and you will probably never know what you said that elicited that response. The best thing to do is smile and keep going, confident that at least your audience is paying attention.

Encourage native language in all breakouts. Your training or presentation may involve some small-group work or breakout sessions. This is generally effective with most topics, as it encourages individual thought and contribution. And it will start conversations, which is what you want.

However, don’t insist on these breakouts as being conducted (or even reported on) in English. Your participants will appreciate it, and even though you may not know what’s being discussed, you will notice that a discussion is happening. A freer exchange of thought will result. I often encouraged native-language “report-backs” when groups would convene in front of the larger group. Someone would either translate simultaneously during the report, or I would wait until the end and follow up with some specific questions.

Lastly, you may be simultaneously translated. Imagine giving a presentation during which everything you say is translated in real time, powered into headphones worn by participants. It can be slightly awkward and will take some getting used to. I’ve found simultaneous translation to be generally quite smooth, depending on the interpreter, of course (as well as the equipment). But there are a few notes to keep in mind if you find yourself in this situation.

• Your presentation will take twice as long. This is obvious, right? But it’s easy to forget, and it needs to factor in to the agenda.
• You must speak slowly and clearly. Take your tempo down until it seems almost cartoonish to you. Your interpreter, and everyone in the room, will thank you. A good interpreter will meet with you beforehand to review the agenda, and will ask questions to better understand terminology that may not have a direct match in another language.
• Your visual accompaniment (power point or deck) should be more graphic than copy-driven. Consider getting the most important slides translated before you leave for the trip (or have a helpful colleague do it on site, if possible).

There’s so much to keep in mind while presenting or training to an international audience. But at the forefront should be pride in your work, a sense of adventure, and a real appreciation for the opportunity. Remember: You’re an ambassador, no matter your job title.

Now give yourself a 15-minute break.

Scott Shumaker has led communications and messaging trainings in the U.S., Australia, and Europe for leaders, organizers, and communicators since 2008.