7 Winning Presentation Hacks for Non-Native English Speakers

We live in a globalized world where our cultural differences are our power. We have often seen how the world interacts and shares ideas about all subjects through people and presentations, despite the diversity of language and dialect. Most of these presentations are often held in English.

Being a non-native English speaker, it is important to equip ourselves with the skills needed to present the world with our concepts and theories.

Here are seven such tips that will help you win the stage and present flawlessly before people who might not understand your language completely.

1. Use Visual Aids

Most people sitting in your audience will be visual learners – they would comprehend more through pictures than through words. They would rather look at graphs and charts than analyze data theoretically. Not only does it help them learn faster, but it also aids in retaining information for a longer time.

Using visuals is also one of the most amazing ways to explain concepts that are tricky and complex. They present a bigger picture with sub-points and explanations that can be understood by your audience at a glance.

Creative and high-definition PowerPoint presentation slides having infographics, flowcharts, mind maps, diagrams, icons, etc., add more stature to your presentations and make them more interesting for your viewers.

2. Slow Down

On your presentation day, you need to make sure that your audience is catching up to your accent and that you are on the same page as them. Thus, you need to slow down your pace and speak with pauses in between words.

Be attentive and pause between sentences, long paragraphs, and while shifting from one topic to another. This will help your audience get accustomed to your accent and will help you win over them.

Slowing down will give your audience time to listen and comprehend and also give you the time to recollect the content in your mind before delivering it.

3. Perfect Your Deliver, Not Your Deck

One of the most important tasks is to work on delivery rather than investing all of your time in perfecting the presentation. It is extremely crucial to practice speaking, pronunciation, volume, pitch, and voice modulation.

This can be done by repeatedly going through each word of your presentation. The goal is to practice extensively until all points of the presentation are through in your head. This will help you to embed all the points in your mind and will put you at ease.

4. Prepare Notes and Placards

Instead of trying to remember everything on your presentation deck word-by-word, it is always wiser to use placards to jot down notes and points. These not only come in handy during the presentation but can be of much help during the question and answer rounds or when you need to explain a topic again.

If you forget anything on stage or stammer in between, a placard can be your saving grace.

5. Make Eye Contact

This is, by far, one of the most common pieces of advice to connect with your audience. But as easy as it sounds, it is much more difficult to implement. Some people would look away when you try to make eye contact, some would pass glances, and very few would look at you.

Thus, here is a tip that does the trick – try to look at the top of a person’s head. This visual illusion will make them feel as if you are trying to make eye contact with them.

6. Break the Momentum

Now and then, you might find people not being on the same side as you. There may be some people who would get used to your style of speaking, while others may still find it a difficult task. To ensure that all persons in the room can understand your point, you need to break the momentum.

There might be moments when you feel that the audience is blank or seem to be losing interest. Thus, make sure to break the ice by asking questions such as, “Would you like me to repeat it?”, “Was this concept clear?”, “Do you want me to explain it in any other way?” etc.

7. Avoid Alliterations

Alliterations sound fascinating, but they steal your thunder away when they’re fumbled upon. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid using alliterations and words that have complicated pronunciation when you are not completely comfortable with the given language.

Instead, you must focus on delivering shorter sentences with simple words that can be understood easily by you as well as your audience. You can include words that can be spoken with ease.

Conclusion

While delivering a presentation in your non-native language can seem pretty burdensome, it can be a way of expanding your horizons as a presenter. Thus, instead of being nervous about it, it is important to embrace it and use that as an opportunity to grow.

We hope that these tips help you in your future endeavor.

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