How to prepare for a meeting, presentation or interview in English? | 5 tips for success

30,882 views ・ 2017-11-30

Accent's Way English with Hadar


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:01
Hey, it's Hadar.
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In this video, I'm going to give you 5 important tips that'll help you
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prepare and succeed in any important meeting, talk, or interview in English.
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Have you ever had a meeting in English where you were afraid to talk?
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You started a sentence, but didn't know how to finish it.
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You felt that you just can't get your point across or
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you just kept getting stuck.
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Now, if you're a non-native speaker and you work and use English on a daily
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basis, I'm sure that you answered 'yes' to at least one of these questions.
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And you know what?
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That doesn't mean that your English sucks or that you're incompetent.
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It means that you've probably been duplicating patterns from the way
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you conduct yourself in your native tongue, expecting your English to be
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there for you, like a good old pal.
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But you know what?
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English is deceitful.
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It's not a loyal friend that is going to be there for you no matter what,
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especially if you take it for granted.
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You have to acknowledge that preparing for a meeting, talk,
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or interview in English has to be different than the way you prepare
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for a meeting in your native tongue.
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For those meetings, you might not even have to prepare.
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Right?
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Set yourself up for success, and don't underestimate the importance of being over
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prepared, using the 5 following steps.
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Before a meeting or interview write bullet points of the
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things you'd like to address.
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And afterwards, say them aloud.
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Always say them out loud.
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Otherwise, it just doesn't stick.
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And you know, then you would know where your pronunciation issues are.
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Now, even if you think that you're pretty confident and clear about
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what you want to say, do it.
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What have you got to lose?
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You've got a lot more to lose if you don't do it.
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You know, sometimes the meeting doesn't go as planned.
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We get annoyed or nervous or get carried away with someone
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else's agenda, and we forget.
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This will help you stay focused and prepared.
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It'll help you find the right words in advance, words that may
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escape your mind in real time.
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You know how these things work.
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Even if you don't stick by every bullet point you write, you still
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have solid anchors that will help you feel safe and confident.
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And that automatically affects your confidence and performance.
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When you're tired, hungry, thirsty, or really have to pee,
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it affects your state of being.
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These things occupy your brain and take up important space.
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And you need all the space you can get when communicating
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not in your native tongue.
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And when part of your attention is directed towards silly things, it will
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affect your fluency and eloquence.
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And yes, I know it sounds obvious.
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But think about it.
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How many of you are so busy that you don't even have time to rest and sleep and eat
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well during a stressful week at work?
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If you have an important meeting or a presentation, make sure that you're well
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rested, that you ate something nutritious before and drank a full glass of water.
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Do whatever it takes and whatever you need to do to feel and be at your best.
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Checking your messages, your email, starting a conversation, or going
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over your stressful task list is not something that is recommended to do
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before an important meeting or talk.
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Instead, breathe in and breathe out for 10 times.
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And if you have the time and ability - meditate for five minutes.
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It'll focus you and help you feel present, which will enhance your
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fluency, word retrieval, and your ability to truly communicate.
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Remember that the first few minutes determine your entire experience.
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Be clear and speak slowly.
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Start focused, strong and confident, even if it means 'fake it till you make it'.
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Be present and engaged.
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If you're speaking to a new audience, make sure that you speak
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slowly to enable them to learn your accent and intonation patterns.
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If you start fast because of adrenaline or you just want to get it over
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with, you may stumble upon your words, get stuck, or get confused.
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And moving up from there is a lot more difficult.
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Start slowly and start strong.
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In the meeting, don't wait for a new argument to be perfectly structured
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in your head before you speak up.
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People tend to not take part in a conversation not because they don't
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have anything important to say, but because they wait until the idea is
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fully articulated in their heads.
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And by the time it is, it's no longer relevant, or the meeting is over.
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If that ever happened to you, you know how lame this can make you feel.
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And it can affect your confidence and even your performance at work.
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So here's what I have to say about that.
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Just open your freaking mouth and speak up.
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Start talking and trust that the idea will flow out.
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And if it doesn't, if it's not perfect, it will be next time.
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You need to practice the skill of speaking and finalizing your thoughts on the go.
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It doesn't happen unless you try it time after time.
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It doesn't happen until you fail and get stuck.
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And let me tell you a little secret.
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If you're concerned about what other people think of you or that they're
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going to think that you're not fluent or unintelligent, then don't.
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Humans are such self-centered creatures that they usually focus
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on their thoughts and arguments, as other people speak, paying only
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partial attention to what others say.
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They're definitely not looking to see how perfect your argument is,
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or if you're using fancy words.
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So just let your judgmental mind go to rest and allow yourself to
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explore, make mistakes, and improve.
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That's it, these were my five tips.
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Now, don't be too cool for school and say, "Oh, why should I invest in this meeting?
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It's not important.
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Yada, yada, yada.
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I have tons of those every day."
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Fine.
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But remember: it's not about the meeting, it's about you.
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And maybe the meeting is not important.
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Maybe you're not that crazy about that company you're interviewing for.
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But every time you prepare yourself for something you advance yourself and
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you take your English one step further.
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You learn new words, you increase your confidence, your fluency,
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and you improve your self-worth.
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It's a step towards achieving the English goals you've set for yourself
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- not for tomorrow, not for tomorrow's meeting, but for a year from today.
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And since our lives as professionals are so hectic and busy, it's
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those opportunities that you need to take advantage of in order
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to practice and feel the change.
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All right, that's it.
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We're done for today.
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If you want a PDF with the summary of all those points, go to my website
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or click on the link below this video and download it to your computer.
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Do it now, put it on your refrigerator, and rock your next speaking opportunity.
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Now tell me, what do you do that helps you get prepared and perform well?
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Share it with us in the comments below.
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Thank you so much for watching.
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Speak up and kick ass.
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And I'll see you in the next meeting...
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video.
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