You're preparing for a speech in a sixth language. How can you ensure that you'll be understood?

I love using simple language that any fifth grader can understand for all my presentations. It makes the presentation more inclusive and easier to understand. No need to overcomplicate things to “sound smart.”

This is where the book “Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands” could be useful. I had a colleague that did a talk somewhere where audiences were less engaged and interactive with the speaker. He wasn’t sure if he had done a good job or not.

Keep it simple! Practice, Practice, Practice!! Have good visual aids! If you know your audience, formulate a few questions to create a sense of participation. Smile and enjoy your presentation.

Knowing your audience is the starting point of embarking in your speech preparation. It is when you have known your audience that will you will know how best to talk to them. Research properly about your audience; what class of audience will you be speaking to? What is their language proficiency level especially in the language you will use? What will interest them, their needs, expectations and challenges? How best will you communicate your messages for a better understanding? Tailor your presentation to suit to your audience needs and preferences very well. Avoid irrelevant, ambiguous and misleading messages which might bring confusions and distractions. Prior knowledge your expected audience helps you plan well to inspire them.

To ensure comprehension in a speech made in a sixth language, simplify the vocabulary, use clear and short expressions, use visual aids, and practise efficient pronunciation. Furthermore, being aware of cultural differences and connecting with the audience might help improve comprehension.

In 2022 i was working for Zimmer Biomet, i had to speak in front of my peers. I was so nervous . I studied my audience and i crushed it! It got me thinking about just how far i have come, and everything I had invested in myself and my personal development to get there. It's way too easy to watch people on stage and see polished finished product without the full context for what it took to make it happen.

Remember that 93% of communication is non-verbal and that you can engage your audience without being polished in your sixth language : )

I have practical experience of this, whether doing sales pitches in Italian, simultaneous translation to South American officials in Mexico City, or even with early establishment Eastern European communities in urban England. Before you even begin, understand who you are talking to. What matters to them, what customs do you need to account for, and what is your position through their eyes. If you are presenting a position of experience and turn up in jeans, is it the right start? If the group mistrusts authority, how do you offset that? (Clue: polish your boots and leave the stab-vest in the car). The most important thing is to understand your own messaging and research how it might land with that audience. Never avoid, but always adapt.

Ask a native speaker of the other language to assist with the drafting and run-through, as the biggest pitfall is mistranslating a word or failing to see its colloquial implications. As a visitor to the US and after working on a presentation until the small hours for the following day, I astonished the audience by telling them that I had been beavering away all night, and that was spoken supposedly in my own language!

Use simple language or grammar to communicate effectively to your audience. Be clear and concise all through your presentation for your listeners to understand easily. Avoid complexity and ambiguity in your grammar and sentences, it might confuse and distract your audience. Have in mind the language proficiency level of your audiences to guide you while writing your presentation. Ensure you come down to the level that they should be able to understand and assimilate your messages faster. Also make appropriate use of the visuals to communicate your messages. Signposts are helpful and good guides during your speech. The language of your presentation should active and persuasive. Emphasize on the key take-aways and ideas.

In my experience as a performer, to enhance my communication, tone of voice can relay a lot of information in itself, and use of gestures, especially intuitively using sign language relative to specific words or concepts, could also make your speech more effective, too. Tone conveys a lot about emotion, and gestures engage the audience, too!

Embrace simplicity, particularly with complex subjects. Opt for clear and direct language to make your message resonate with your audience. Capturing your audience's attention within the first few minutes is crucial but keeping them engaged is what comes right after.

Embrace the "aha!" moment: Remember, your goal isn't to flaunt academic prowess, but to ignite understanding. Think of yourself as a translator, bridging the gap between complex research and captivating storytelling. Embrace relatable analogies, vivid examples, and even humor to weave your findings into a tapestry your audience can truly appreciate. By prioritizing clarity and connection over jargon and pomposity, you'll not only hold their attention, but spark curiosity and inspire them to delve deeper.

Pronunciation is a key factor in a foreign language that feels alien in its usage. Practice will make you perfect as this language is new to you and nailing it will provide desired results with the audience. Speaking in a sixth or even fifth language has its challenges. Your primary goal is to master the language sufficiently so that you don't sound raw. Refining and honing your speaking skills will endear you to the audience. Give adequate importance to improve crucial aspects of pronunciation including modulation of your voice. The audience should understand what you want to convey. It is essential to have the right pronunciation in order to be understood. Try facing a mirror and practise your speech. The mirror gives self-assessment.

Practice and practice your pronunciations very well, because it is not easy making speech in a foreign language. Do your practices with the appropriate tools, the more attempts, the better your speaking becomes. Therefore, use the available resources such as practicing with audios and videos of top fluent speakers. Listen and practice with tutorials, friends and tutors, then take feedbacks and corrections. Also record yourself while you speak standing in front of the mirror. Remember you will be speaking in a sixth language, so once you are done writing your presentation or preparing your slides, do intense rehearsals, pay good attention to your pronunciations; intonations, voice and stress. Have a fluent speaker listen to your speech.

I have had the honour of speaking in French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Dutch, of all of which I have at least a good knowledge. I have also had simultaneous translation into Portuguese and Mandarin, which I do not speak. In the case of Dutch, though my everyday vocabulary and speech are adequate, I had my text translated by a colleague in the field who is a native Dutch speaker, and then read it carefully to my audience, interspersing spontaneous comments when I felt it necessary. The ensuing discussion was good, so I think the event went well.

And in case you feel that you aren't pronouncing something right, look for body ques by audience and use synonyms. At time not shying away to confirm with audience works, Note: If you over do it (lack of practicing or preparing for speech) it'll backfire.

I would have a native speaker listen and give me feedback on pronunciation, inflection and vocabulary/word choices. If I didn't know the language that well, I'd probably avoid idioms or slang.

Making good use of visuals will add credibility and clarity to your presentation, and make your speech superb. Visual aids will effectively enhance communication and convey messages easier and faster to your audience. Illustrate your points and /or support your discussions with relevant charts, graphs, images, pictures and videos that aligned well with the topic of the day. Know the number of visual aids to use to avoid making your slides or presentation cloudy and confusing. Use catchy visuals, well aligned to the topic that are clear, concise and very easy to read and understand. Remember you are the speaker, and not the slides nor visual aids so don't glue your face to them. Glance at your slides and visuals as you speak.

I would consider experiences and examples that may be specific to the culture of the persons fluent in the 6th language, also visual aids that may be particularly relevant given the nuances of the language.

Visual aid makes presentation universal and body language at time saves the day. So for body language be friendly by smiling, energetic by working on vocal variety mixed with gesture. Note: If all senses are used in some way, presentation can be instant success.

I will keep my language simple and straight forward and use more props images or slides for clarity. I will also tailor my speech according to audience's background, education level, and familiarity with the language. I will make use of nonverbal cues, such as gestures, facial expressions, and body language for more clarity. Most importantly, I will take the help of natives to get the real time feedback before I finally present in front of the real audience.

Your goal is to weave together an interesting story that captivates your audience. How do you do that? Simple but impactful slides. Your slides shouldn't relay the information but should support what *you* are saying. Remember, simplicity is key, and this goes for your language *and* your slides. They aren't the main focus but a visual tool to help get your words over more effectively. Always cut back on the text and instead focus on diagrams, lists, and pictures to tell your story.

Preparation is key, but remeber that over-preparing can have the opposite effect of making you overthink everything. So relax! Also remember that we're human and even experts are always learning, do not be afraid of not knowing the answer to a question and even try to start a critical discussion with the asker to try to work towards an answer together.

One way to think about the questions that you might be asked is to think about the questions you had when you were first introduced to the topic. Where did your mind go, and what didn't you understand at the beginning that you understand now? If this is a more advanced topic, consider where you were in your learning journey at that stage as well. By thinking about your audience in terms of where they're at in learning about the topic, you can anticipate a lot of the questions you may get - and it will help you to be a better teacher!

Anticipate questions like the below: Why are you speaking in a sixth language? Why not speak in a fifth language? Better yet, why not a second language? WHY ARE YOU LEARNING SO MANY LANGUAGES?!?

One of the most important bits when speaking is being able to loosen up and be yourself. Once you're comfortable in that position, answering questions becomes quite simple, and while preparation is equally important, you don't want to overdo it. You should think of the most significant elements of your presentation and build questions from that.

It’s true. Your audience is there to listen to you. People generally are not rooting for you to lose. They want to see you win. They want you to be successful. They came to see and listen to YOU. If you appear relaxed your audience is more likely to respond positively. Additionally, speaking in another language demonstrates cultural sensitivity and shows your willingness to engage with the audience. Don’t let your nerves ruin the message that your audience is eagerly waiting to hear.

Loosen up - be yourself. It sounds simple enough, and some people have a natural charisma. Even if you don't, if you work at it enough, you'll become a natural, too. Focus on your presentation and its take-aways. Don't be the boring corporate guy who comes down and sours everyone's day; focus instead on making it approachable, enjoyable, and, most of all, engaging. Your objective is to build a connection with your audience and to do that, you have to meet them on their level. Share stories that relate to them, speak like them, engage them, and you'll have their attention.

Clarity is really important. Also, to add decide the structure of the speech. Develop the points in relevance with the goal you want to accomplish with the help of storytelling, anecdotes, and examples. This helps in making your audience engrossed and helps in increasing the reach.

I have ACTUALLY delivered professional presentations in my sixth language. My biggest takeaway, 90% of the time people remember how you make them feel instead of the words you use. During my Peace Corps services as an environmental health extensionist I delivered professional leadership workshops/health seminars in Ngäbere (indigenous Panamanian). Folks 40+ years exclusively spoke Ngäbere and younger folks spoke Spanish. I grew up in a multi-cultural house hold with English, Cantonese, Japanese, Uchinaaguchi (Indigenous Okinawan),and Hawaiian. When there are no words to explain, nonverbal communication includes observation and mirroring desirable physical actions to communicate I SEE you and I VALUE you.

I was once giving a public lecture to a substantial audience in Italian, from notes rather than a prepared text. As I spoke, I realised I had said something incorrectly, but carried on. As I thought about it later, I recognised that I had inadvertently switched to Spanish, and uttered an entire sentence in Spanish in the midst of my talk. Fortunately, as far as I know, it was only one sentence. I wonder how that happens.

Another best practice is to run through your presentation with someone who is a native speaker of that language. Ask them for feedback on anything that isn’t clear or needs to be rephrased for that audience. Sometimes it is not simply a language review but also an opportunity to gain cultural insight—for example jokes may not work well across cultures, or certain stories or illustrations may not be either relevant or appropriate.

3 TIPS NOBODY TELLS, HELPING YOU TO BECOME A GREAT KEYNOTE SPEAKER I transformed into a leading keynote speaker on design thinking innovation and I like to share three tips, nobody tells you, not even AI: 1. BE THE FIRST IN THE VENUE. Exploring the venue, going all the way to the back, walking to every corner, makes you feel THE VENUE IS YOURS. After this, I dress in my stage-outfit, and I know the venue is mine. 2. NEVER INTRODUCE YOURSELF. You are the hero, and heroes either do not need an introduction or get introduced. 3. NEVER ALLOW QUESTIONS. Questions break the rythm of your performance, and can get you into trouble too; Q&A in private. I wish you lots of success! #keynote #keynotespeaker #speaker #motivationalspeaker

3 TIPS NOBODY TELLS, HELPING YOU TO BECOME A GREAT KEYNOTE SPEAKER I transformed into a leading keynote speaker on design thinking innovation and I like to share three tips, nobody tells you, not even AI: 1. BE THE FIRST IN THE VENUE. Exploring the venue, going all the way to the back, walking to every corner, makes you feel THE VENUE IS YOURS. After this, I dress in my stage-outfit, and I know the venue is mine. 2. NEVER INTRODUCE YOURSELF. You are the hero, and heroes either do not need an introduction or get introduced. 3. NEVER ALLOW QUESTIONS. Questions break the rythm of your performance, and can get you into trouble too; Q&A in private. I wish you lots of success! #keynote #keynotespeaker #speaker #motivationalspeaker

Learn something of the language your speech will be interpreted to ahead of time. Totally vet an interpreter you can trust to translate accurately.

Y'all are being lazy giving a speech in a sixth language. Set your goals high! Speak in a seventh or even eight language. Use all eight languages in one speech. Shoot for the moon!

A Translator may be effective in your presentation. Oftentimes, we fail to utilize resources that are at our fingertips. Include visual aids that corresponds moreso with culture to keep everything relatable.