October 8, 2005
Telephone calls
For many non-native English speakers, making telephone calls can be a difficult experience, especially in business situations. One of the main reasons for this is that people usually rely on visual cues when speaking in a foreign language – facial expressions, hand gestures, etc. On the telephone, however, we cannot see the person we are talking to and cannot 'read' the other person's emotions. In this case, listening becomes much more difficult.
So what can be done to make telephone calls easier?
As with most situations, knowing who you are talking to and what you are supposed to be talking about is important. The more information you have in advance...
Keep in mind however that telephone calls never follow a set script. By this, I mean that students often make the mistake of memorizing a set of expressions, but freeze up when asked something unexpected. Be ready for the unexpected.
Remember to speak slowly and clearly.
Posted by Marcus at 1:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 1, 2005
Planning Your Presentation
Here are a few questions and points to consider when planning your presentation.
1. Who are you presenting to? (Who is your target audience?)
2. What is the most important information that needs to be presented? (Your main points)
3. How long will your presentation be?
4. Are the people listening to your presentation experts on the topic you are presenting? (This will determine if you have to give a basic overview presentation or if you can give a specific detailed one.)
5. Does everyone speak the language you are presenting in? (If you are giving a presentation in English to Spanish speakers who have basic English skills, then you want to avoid being over technical and complicated with your presentation language.)
6. How can you make your presentation appealing and interesting throughout?
When you have answered all of these questions, you can move on the preparation stage of the presentation.
Next time I will talk about the preparation stage.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to post them.
Posted by Kent at 2:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack