You're speaking to a diverse global team. How do you ensure your message resonates with everyone?

To resonate with a diverse global team, and understand their cultural nuances, communication preferences, and organizational context. Tailor your message by researching each region's values and styles. In a global meeting, avoid confusing idioms and use clear language. Provide relatable examples that respect diverse backgrounds, promoting inclusivity and understanding. This approach ensures your communication is effective and engages all team members regardless of cultural differences.

Start by outlining the problem and bring your audience through to a point where you offer a solution. Use a stories that have international resonances. Make eye contact with individual audience members while speaking. Be conscious of body language as it relates to different cultures. Use props to make a point.

To ensure that my message resonates with a diverse global team I will first of all research the audience. I would research the cultural backgrounds, languages, and customs of the audience to understand their viewpoints, values, and communication styles. This will go a long way.

I would START with a universal problem, like the stress and uncertainty of the past year, aka we all experience that but do not talk about it. Acknowledge the challenges and emphasize solutions rooted in love, hope, joy, perseverance, acceptance, and forgiveness. Love for each other as a united team, hope for a brighter future, and joy in our shared successes keep us motivated. Perseverance helps us overcome obstacles, while acceptance of our diverse backgrounds enriches our collaboration. Forgiveness allows us to move past mistakes and grow stronger together. By anchoring your message in these values, you create a connection that transcends cultural differences and unites the team in a shared vision.

When speaking to a diverse global team : Have a clear aim and objectives of the presentation, why are you presenting in the first place. Research what countries will be represented, with the intention of understand cultural background of the audience. Check the diversity of genre and roles. Be clear of the context and concepts of the presentation. Use metaphors, story telling and an engaging messages that the audience can relate. Present videos, facts and images that are impactful and memorable. Invite the audience, ask questions, use poll questions. Be mindful of the expressions you will use as you are in front of a global group. Do not use acronyms, simplicity is key. Is OK to have fun, enjoy the moment.

Know your audience and their current level of understanding of the topic. In the same way you don't want to use technical language and jargon for a non techie audience, you don't want to talk down to an audience with higher comprehension levels. Doing the extra research to know this will not only raise the value of your talk for the audience, it will give you a lot more confidence on stage.

I would incorporate visual aids such as photographs, videos, or diagrams to help illustrate my message and provide clarity. Visual aid are a faster way to communicate with people from diverse background irrespective of culture, race, background etc.

I would use simple language and avoid idiomatic expressions that might be unclear or unfamiliar to non-native English speakers. I would be conscious of my nonverbal communication, such as eye contact, body language, and facial expressions, to help convey my message accurately. If necessary, I would provide translations of my message into languages that the audience understands.

Draw on common experiences and use examples that transcend borders - friendship, parenthood, feelings of uncertainty, sadness, happiness. Be careful with some areas, such as humor, which don't always translate across borders, let alone languages.

I am a big believer in the power of interaction and engagement to help your audience retain what you are telling them. Warm them up by asking for show-of-hands contributions and try and encourage comments and participation. But never leave the Q&A to the end as you risk ending your talk on a low note if you get a silly question to finish.

I would encourage the audience to ask questions to make sure they are fully engaged and have fully understood the content. Allowing interactions and questions givs you feedback on your audience reception of you.

I would be mindful of stereotyping or cultural biases that may come across in my message and ensure that the content is gender-neutral and culturally sensitive. I would also show respect and inclusivity towards all audience members, regardless of their cultural or linguistic backgrounds, to create a welcoming and inclusive environment. By following these steps, I can ensure that my message resonates with a diverse global team and create a successful presentation that meets the needs of all the audience members.

Prepare yourself well! How? After knowing your audience, work on the do’s and don’ts. There’s nothing greater to have examples shared from different perspectives. Let people feel they’re included. During the presentation ask questions yourself, let others share. Everyone will learn something from someone else.

Do your research - know what the issues are, the message they want to receive, what captivates them, what makes them tick and speak to that. Know your audience - I once attended an engagement where the speaker spoke to issues that were far from the audience and didn’t keep them awake at night. One of the attendees expressed this to me. I knew then how important it is to know your audience. Speak to core issues - don’t beat around the bush, take people into confidence and talk about the core issues. You will be respected and be known as that person who will deliver news no matter how much people don’t like them news but they trust that you will communicate.

Don't be afraid of silence. It can be tempting to want to fill the stage with words, but you need to give your audience time to absorb what you're saying, especially after making and impactful statement or teasing a big revelation to come. Some of the best public speakers, like the late Steve Jobs, use long pauses really effectively to build tension. I recommend watching some of his talks and working some dramatic pauses into your presentations.