Some people get very uncomfortable if they have to present in a language that they do know but is not their mother tongue / native language. Just the thought of having to present in another langue will make them try to avoid having to do it.
They will think things like:
“Will the audience start laughing about my accent?”
“What do I need to do if I forget a word?”
“What do I need to do if I don’t understand a question from the audience?”
In practice you may actually find it not too be such a problem and you may actually be better at it than you think. You will see that the audience is quite forgiving. You should think about it this way: Your audience knows that you are presenting in a language that is not your native language. They are therefore a bit more forgiving. They will perfectly understand that you may not know a certain word and are happy to help you out. If you don’t understand the question the member of the audience would normally be happy to rephrase the question to make it understandable.
Obviously you do need to practice the presentation, but you will find presenting in another language not to be as difficult as you may think before the presentation. Have a look at the book
Public Speaking Excellence for more tips and tricks on how to become an excellent presenter.
