Cross- cultural Communication This page intentionally left blank

partner and accompanying spouse should participate. Tonal languages, such 
as Chinese or Thai, are particularly difficult, and potential students should 
be given some form of language aptitude test before starting a course.
Presentations across cultural borders
The subject of presentations across cultural borders was covered briefly 
in Chapter 5. In this chapter, we concentrate on how teachers can advise 
students who are likely to be required to give such presentations. Giving a 
business presentation to people of other cultures can be quite daunting and 
is fraught with potential difficulties. It is therefore important to carry out 
some preparatory research in order to:
establish the aim of the presentation and the expectations of the audience;
ascertain the level of English of the audience;
decide if the introduction will be in the foreign language;
organize the presentation in a logical sequence;
decide whether to use interpreters;
decide on the length, remembering that the audience may have a limited 
concentration span if English is their second language;
decide how much time should be devoted to questions;
decide if translations of both handouts and presentation slides are required;
ensure signposts are included in the presentation to assist understanding.
Students should be advised that it is important to pay attention to protocol 
by following the local cultural customs carefully. It may be good practice in 
the foreign culture to begin a presentation with a formal introduction. If 
this is the case, the students should ensure that they use the correct names 
and pronunciation, together with any necessary official titles, for example, 
doctor, professor or government officials’ titles. It may be desirable to begin 
the short introduction in the language of the country they are visiting, but 
they should rehearse carefully and check both the pronunciation and the 
accuracy of the translation. If this is carried out well, they can then safely 
revert to using English or continue using skilled and trusted interpreters. In 
any case, they should use spoken rather than written language, which is too 
formal for the context.
Delivery should be slower than is normally used with an English audience, 
with relatively short sentences, avoiding complex grammatical structures, 
but taking care not to appear patronizing. The best guide is to watch the 
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278 Cross-Cultural Communication
audience’s reaction, remembering always to speak clearly and include pauses 
to give time for the audience to read the slides and assimilate what has been 
said. Too many facts and statistics should be avoided, as these can be best 
given as handouts. Students should refrain from using acronyms unless they 
are readily understood. They should also avoid the use of metaphors which 
are difficult to translate across cultures and should refrain from using slang 
or colloquial expressions.
Students should practise drafting presentations and rehearsing them, ide-
ally in front of nationals of the foreign culture. They should master their 
scripted presentation well enough to rely only on key points on a prompt 
card and should, if possible, deliver any parts in the foreign language verba-
tim. Whenever possible, they should use bold, clear and uncluttered visual 
aids, but should avoid ‘death by PowerPoint’.
Schneider and Barsoux recommend appropriate presentation styles for 
different nationalities. They advise, for example, that for a French audience, 
when making a business presentation: ‘It is important to provide theory, his-
tory and context’ (Schneider and Barsoux, 2003: 38). Americans are advised 
that their own approach of starting with an executive summary or conclu-
sions is not deemed appropriate for other cultures, who may consider such 
an approach too aggressive or even arrogant.
In summary, students should be advised to take into account the follow-
ing points when preparing presentations across cultural boundaries:
Double- check preparation (venue, seating, lighting, use of equipment) 
in advance.
Begin if possible with the language of the host country.
Pay attention to protocol as outlined above.
Use appropriate body language – stand up straight, but not too stiff, with 
suitable eye contact.
Use humour with care as the meaning may well become lost in transla-
tion or the subject matter may be deemed inappropriate for the particular 
culture.
Summarize key points on the screen, ideally in both languages, and leave 
sufficient time for the audience to read and digest them.
Leave sufficient time for questions and discussion.
At the end, ensure that written summaries are provided.
Above all, it is important to allow sufficient time for a dress rehearsal or ‘dry 
run’, practising both delivery and keeping to the agreed time allowed.