Creating effective presentations for a global audience

Who wouldn’t enjoy a joke at the beginning of a presentation to ease you into the topic – however complex it might be? Well, there are actually a few cultures that would prefer to stick to facts and figures. So, how can you adjust your presentation to appeal to an international audience?

Text by Elena Groznaya

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Creating effective presentations for a global audience

Image: © kasto/123rf.com

The speaker is moving to yet another densely-packed presentation slide. At this point, it seems that your biggest challenge is to keep your mind focused or at least your eyes opened. Sounds familiar? Another common scenario is a speaker who starts off with a few strong statements, then rushes through a brightly colored slide set, and finishes with another strong statement leaving you wondering what point he or she was trying to make.

And, the situation is even worse when you find yourself in the speaker’s shoes. Imagine going through your powerful presentation just to find puzzled looks on the faces of your audience? If you know the feeling, then you have probably already faced the challenge of presenting to a global audience.

Despite the fact that multiple – often very complex – issues of doing business around the globe are gaining attention in practice-oriented and academic ...