語言能力是生產力。
語言能力是軟實力。
語言能力是比較優勢。
語言能力是競爭力。
多語言能力更是如此！會幾種語言你的上述能力就會翻幾倍！
各位讀者朋友，
今天推送的是昨日推送的修正版，音頻也重新錄製，修正了幾處口誤和排版等方面的小錯，改進了頁面。近日會陸續推送幾篇關於如何做好Presentation的文章。歡迎關注訂閱，歡迎轉發分享。祝你學習進步！
這篇推送文章發表於Harvard Business Review（哈佛商業評論）。原文地址見文後。
3 Tips for Presenting in English When You’re Not a Native Speaker
英語非母語者做好英語Presentation的三個策略
Deborah Grayson Riegel
Harvard Business Review, APRIL 06, 2018
As a coach and international business school instructor, I have worked with hundreds of current and future leaders who are accomplished, bright, and capable — and who quickly lose their confidence and competence when making business presentations. For a subset of these leaders — those who need to present in English when it isn’t their native language — the stakes and the stress can feel even higher. Meanwhile, the need for leaders to be able to present in English is growing at a rapid pace. According to Harvard Business School Associate Professor Tsedal Neely, author of The Language of Global Success, 「English is required for global collaboration and global work.」
領導力的重要組成部分，就是在公眾場合的「說話」能力。不會「說話」的領導不是合格領導。對於「非領導者」而言，公眾場合的說話能力同樣重要。在全球化時代，很多場合需要用英語進行「說話」，傳達和交流信息和思想，尤其是較為正式的場合使用英語進行presentation。但是，這種能力需要培養和訓練。
Nevertheless, being compelled to speak in your nonnative language can lead to feelings of frustration, pressure, and insecurity. As Neely reports, 「When nonnative speakers are forced to communicate in English, they can feel that their worth to the company has been diminished, regardless of their fluency level.」 Add to that the burden of making formal business presentations in front of superiors, decision-makers, and key stakeholders in your nonnative language, and the anxiety is significantly greater.
對於使用英語為外語或第二語言的人來說，用英語做presentation以有效地表達思想和交流信息是一件非常具有挑戰性甚至令人望而生畏的事情。
While researching our book, Tips of the Tongue: The Nonnative English Speaker’s Guide to Mastering Public Speaking, my co-author Dr. Ellen Dowling and I interviewed many leaders in this situation, and asked them to share their experiences.
One leader whose primary and secondary languages are Hebrew and Spanish, but who presents primarily in English, admitted that she felt 「self-conscious」 about her 「weird and funny accent」 that seemed to get heavier the more nervous she felt. She also shared that she felt less capable of spontaneity — and less smart — when she presented in English. A Chinese leader shared, 「When I can’t find the word I need, I grasp the easiest word instead. So a disaster would be like saying 『you guys』 at a formal conference.」 And a Korean leader was even more concerned: 「I think one will be good at delivering what they』ve prepared, but if the presentation goes beyond this scope, the situation can turn your brain to mush, and it becomes a disaster.」
如果做不好，其結果往往就是一場「災難」（disaster）！緊張和焦慮往往會把你的presentation搞得一團糟。
Of course, even native English speakers often anticipate disaster when making presentations (including those of us who have been public speakers for decades). But for nonnative speakers, the anticipatory and situational anxiety associated with their unique challenges — being understandable, choosing the right words, speaking spontaneously— can be overwhelming. Moreover, if these concerns interfere with your willingness or ability to make business presentations, the impact can be career limiting.
別怕，即使英語為母語的人也往往會因為緊張和焦慮而遭遇滑鐵盧。但是，如果因此而退縮或放棄，那就意味著你已經到達你的職業發展的上限。
Here are three strategies nonnative English speakers can employ to help them feel more confident before, during, and after a presentation:
策略來了！以下三大策略幫你克服緊張和焦慮，在使用英語進行presentation時獲得成功。
Spend significantly more time practicing your delivery than perfecting your deck. 準備
When we asked our clients to share with us the proportion of time spent planning, designing, and perfecting their PowerPoint slides compared to practicing speaking the presentation aloud, most of them admitted that they spent almost no time doing the latter. While this is often a problem for native speakers too, for nonnative English speakers, rehearsal and repetition are especially crucial steps in preparing for a successful presentation. The goal here is 「overlearning」 your presentation —pushing on with practice even when it seems like you』ve done enough. This will help your presentation to become embedded in your long-term memory and therefore less susceptible to the effects of stress.It will also help you speak spontaneously, if you can trust that your core content is safely stored (and able to be retrieved) from your long-term memory.
預則立，不預則廢。古今中外，概莫能外。準備工作並不僅僅是做出漂亮的PPT，更重要的是rehearsal（演練）！反覆演練，實彈演習！一直練到爛熟於心，揮灑自如，侃侃而談。
2. Don’t agonize about your accent, but do slow your speaking speed. 口音
Everyone has an accent of some sort, including native English speakers. (I’m a native New Yorker, and our accent is infamous worldwide.) Even people who live in different parts of one country can be identified by their accents. Your accent can be a problem for your listeners, however, if they have difficulty understanding you. An unfamiliar accent is particularly problematic in the first minute or two of your presentation when your audience must initially strain to understand you. According to their research in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, authors Kristin J. Van Engen and Jonathan E.Peelle say that audiences who are listening to accented speech of any kind experience 「reductions in intelligibility, comprehensibility, and processing speed — the same effects caused by hearing loss or background noise.」 By slowing down your speaking pace, you help your audience to better manage the barriers to really hearing and understanding you. Choose your opening words deliberately and pronounce them carefully, being sure to articulate your words, not just rush through them. As your presentation continues, the problem becomes less acute as the audience will slowly develop an ear for your accent and find it easier to understand what you are saying.
口音？別擔心，這個世界上，誰沒有口音？你又不是國家電臺或電視臺的播音員！如果口音嚴重到影響到了別人的理解，那你就得好好練一下基本功了。放慢語速，儘可能說話清楚一些，從容一些，聽眾會努力適應你的口音的。
3. Pause early and often. 語速
Pausing in your presentation serves two benefits — first, to help your audience comprehend your message, and second, to give you a break. Van Engen and Peelle found that understanding accented speech requires listeners to draw on additional cognitive resources, not only to understand and remember what has been said but also to manage other information or tasks while listening to accented speech. When you pause, you give your listeners an opportunity to rest from drawing upon their cognitive resources, and to absorb what you’re saying. But your pause is also an opportunity for you— you get to remember or consider what you want to say next, check your notes, read cues from the audience, or even take a sip of water. You can also use a pause to build rapport with your audience by checking with them about your pace and pronunciation by saying something like, 「Let me pause for a moment here. I know that I am making complete sense to myself in [Spanish /French /Japanese /Hindi /your native language]. How am I doing in English?」 Not only will you likely get some immediate positive and supportive feedback from your audience, but you will also be able to take a break, breathe, and gather your thoughts.
語速和節奏的重要性怎麼說都不過分！有些人認為自己說得快證明自己說得流利口語好，大錯特錯！適當慢下來，適時停頓一下，給聽眾也給自己喘息的機會，並且更好地理清思路。
For both native and nonnative English speakers, perfection is overrated. But with some extra attention, effort, and commitment, nonnative English speakers can present with confidence, competence,and cultural comfort.
不管英語是不是你的母語，要想做好presentation你都得大量訓練。當然，不要期望完美，因為這個世界上不存在完美！每次做之前充分準備，做的過程中注意技巧，做完後認真反思和總結，就會不斷進步越來越好，越來越自信。
Deborah Grayson Riegel is a principal at The Boda Group, a leadership and team development firm. She also teaches management communication at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.
微信公眾號「北京西北」簡介：
「北京西北」，不是張家口，不是內蒙古，不是新疆，是指本公號主人主要生活、學習和工作的區域：位於北京市西北部的海澱區。
本公號主人簡介：
劉連章，英文教授，語言學博士。興趣點：外語教育與培訓、語言學、文學、音樂、文化，歷史、哲學；東西南北，古今中外，上下左右。
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