Cruise ship lecturers speak in a second language.
Your talk may not be a second language to you the cruise ship lecturer, but more often than not the speaker’s presentation is a second language to the listener.
There are always a lot of travelers from all over the world on cruise ships.
What that means is that there will be attendees in the audience who speak and understand English, but when it comes to listening to a presentation … things get a bit more difficult.
2 tips to reach this audience.
- Talk to them as if they were 12 years old. Don’t treat them like they are 12 years old. Use the vocabulary of a 12-year old. You’d be surprised how much you can get across without having to resort to 4- and 5-syllable words. Or complex sentences. Your audience is not stupid. On the contrary many in my audience are much smarter, much more experienced than I. It’s an English understanding obstacle, not an intelligence issue.
- Use a lot of images. Powerpoint, Keynote or Prezi. It doesn’t matter. Be more visual. Don’t tell, show. Don’t talk, act. Mark Twain said, “Don’t tell them the lady screamed. Bring the lady on stage and let her scream.”
Just because English is not the native language of your listeners, it doesn’t mean you can’t communicate.
Sensitivity goes a long way.
Contact us to get on board.
