If you're a seasoned traveler or someone who often participates in youth exchanges, then you’ve probably encountered plenty of opportunities to represent your home country. Maybe you didn’t have the chance to make a very positive impression in the past, but you can always create better ones in the future. Here are some ways you can do it:
- Share interesting facts about your country. This is probably the best way to lighten the mood of your audience. Find some unique facts about your country’s cultural heritage, traditional foods, history, famous landmarks, or geographical features that can spark their interest and help you connect with them smoothly.
- If you have the chance to present your country’s cuisine to your guests, prepare the dishes thoroughly. Make sure everything is hygienic, and keep the hot meals hot. You might also want to explain some cultural customs related to those meals (if any).
- Dances and games are other great features that you can introduce to your foreign friends. While showing them the dances through videos is easy, you can actually make it fun by performing a dance yourself and inviting everyone to dance together.
- Be kind and respectful. You might come across people who ask a lot of questions or give opinions about your country (be it positive or negative). Answer their questions in a friendly and respectful manner, and acknowledge every opinion.
- Some of your audience might show a genuine interest, and they might want to connect more with your culture. Teaching them a few basic phrases in your language is a great way to facilitate this. In fact, language teaching is actually one of the most effective ways to present a country. Click here to discover how the Indonesian government uses the same strategy to introduce Indonesia to the world.
