Practice Makes Perfect

No it doesn’t.

If we took out a chess board right now and started practicing would we become perfect at it eventually? Not even close because most of us don’t know what or how to practice chess. We have no understanding of advanced chess tactics like trapping, gambits, checkmate patterns, opening principles, and compensation. The point is that it takes a lot more than just practice to get really good at something. As the updated saying goes, perfect practice makes perfect.

To get better we need feedback, to do research, watch the greats and then practice to perfection; and the same applies to presentations. Reading through your notes before your big presentation isn’t going to cut it. Start to vocalize your presentation in your home and we are getting somewhere. Placing note cards around the room as stand-ins for your audience to practice eye contact and speaking aloud - now we are getting somewhere. Gathering up co-workers, friends, or even family to present to and get their feedback while video recording yourself, now that’s the ticket. That is getting close to perfect practice, that is how you will improve the fastest, and that is how you are going to knock every presentation out of the park.

Sometimes any practice is better than no practice at all, but whenever possible try to make your practice, perfect.

Matt

Meet Matt

Hey all

I recently finished my M.S. and am working towards my Ph.D. in Industrial Organizational Psychology. I’ve been conducting research presentations workshops since 2009.  Currently a research associate and a consultant; my research interests lie mostly in cross-cultural applications of I/O psychology and communication through social media.

Unrelated, I am tempted to play golf everyday for the rest of my life. Additionally, I love cooking, movies, teaching, learning, and competing… in anything.

I am really looking forward to discussing presentations both within and across cultures with all of you!

Matt

Cultural Understanding: making the jump from talking the talk to walking the walk

                                 

As a successful presenter, you’ve heard this advice before: don’t memorize a presentation script word for word. When you present, you must have a deeper understanding of the content in order to enable you to freely speak to the key points while also listening and understanding your audience and their needs.

This instruction applies to cross-cultural communication as well. Memorizing Hofstede’s (or any other) cultural dimensions and creating a laundry list of do’s and don’ts (e.g., etiquette) for an upcoming country is merely “talking the talk.” Don’t get me wrong - these can be very useful tools. However, they are potentially harmful if misapplied. Let’s assume a business person preparing for an important trip did commit all of this information to memory. Come time for real-time human communication in the new cultural setting, this person is setting themselves up to fail.  They are unlikely to experience the situation in the moment, connect to their client at a deeper level, and perhaps most importantly establish any relationship that may be vital for long-term business. The outcome is not unlike the presenter droning out a word for word script.

Many international business men/women are ill-advised that knowing Hofstede’s cultural dimensions will better inform their business conduct with the individuals of that country. This is a false assumption because the individuals within a nation often vary more drastically than those between nations. Memorizing dimensions leads to sophisticated stereotyping, which can be just as offensive as knowing nothing about the culture at all.  Consider an example. A person enters a country expecting that most of the people will have the following characteristics/behaviors: informal and direct with their superiors, highly self-reliant, have a top priority to win when met with conflict, accepting of uncertainty, and strive for quick results in the workplace. These are the characteristics of the culture of the United States (http://geert-hofstede.com/united-states.html); and I bet this doesn’t correctly describe a single one of you. Remember you are connecting with individuals not sweeping generalizations.  Understanding cultural dimensions, whether they be Hofstede’s or any other researcher, just gives you a general framework for understanding behavior.  You still need to attend to those who comprise your audience, not memorized abstractions.

To “walk the walk” presenters need to have a deeper understanding of what is expected of them as a traveler entering a nation. It is about being yourself within the boundaries of a cultural context, using in-depth audience analysis techniques, having empathy, and “being smart.” Successful navigation of a presentation in another culture is unachievable by simply memorizing that a Brazilian may pinch their earlobe to express appreciation, or an infinite list of idiosyncratic cultural behaviors.Please scope out some of our posts and check back on us to learn more about walking the walk. Feel free to email us (info@presentingacrossboarders) with any questions or comments. We would love to hear from you.

- Matt

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