Tim Bass
Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:21:31 +0000
Many of you know that I do a lot of public speaking, events, meetings and briefings on a variety of technology-related topics.**
Yesterday*I had the honor and*pleasure of*presenting*to 60 banking executives and their team about a security topic very important to their bank.*
Normally, I’m quite confident speaking to any group; but I have to admit that I was quite nervous as I waited to present to 60*people,*knowing that*I was expected to speak in both Thai and English.***To make matters even more challenging,* I was following an excellent presentation by a very good speaker, and very funny man,*who is a cybersecurity expert with*the Royal Thai Police.****
When my turn to speak arrived, I opened my presentation in Thai and spoke for a few minutes only in Thai, talking about my experience in Thai culture and how happy I was to be there, thanking my hosts for inviting me.
To my surprise, the entire group warmly applauded me after my introduction!
It is really challenging moving from being a fluent, confident speaker in English to presenting to Thai executives and their team; but the kindness and warm hospitality of the Thai people make it all worth while.
My personal goal is to advance from presenting about 25 percent in Thai*and 75 percent in English to*50 percent in Thai and 50 percent in English by this time next year.*****
So, when you are presenting topics such as CEP or cybersecurity in your native English language, spare a few moment to*think about your expatriate colleague in Thailand, presenting the same advanced technical concepts in Thai.
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