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

30,835 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.
0
1980
1080
00:03
In this video, I'm going to give you 5 important tips that'll help you
1
3090
3450
00:06
prepare and succeed in any important meeting, talk, or interview in English.
2
6540
5430
00:19
Have you ever had a meeting in English where you were afraid to talk?
3
19900
3410
00:23
You started a sentence, but didn't know how to finish it.
4
23460
3000
00:26
You felt that you just can't get your point across or
5
26820
3570
00:30
you just kept getting stuck.
6
30390
1860
00:32
Now, if you're a non-native speaker and you work and use English on a daily
7
32850
3960
00:36
basis, I'm sure that you answered 'yes' to at least one of these questions.
8
36810
4380
00:41
And you know what?
9
41550
870
00:43
That doesn't mean that your English sucks or that you're incompetent.
10
43200
3780
00:47
It means that you've probably been duplicating patterns from the way
11
47160
3420
00:50
you conduct yourself in your native tongue, expecting your English to be
12
50580
4170
00:54
there for you, like a good old pal.
13
54750
2360
00:57
But you know what?
14
57720
780
00:58
English is deceitful.
15
58860
1860
01:01
It's not a loyal friend that is going to be there for you no matter what,
16
61470
3870
01:05
especially if you take it for granted.
17
65459
3361
01:09
You have to acknowledge that preparing for a meeting, talk,
18
69660
3240
01:12
or interview in English has to be different than the way you prepare
19
72900
3990
01:16
for a meeting in your native tongue.
20
76890
1830
01:18
For those meetings, you might not even have to prepare.
21
78960
2310
01:21
Right?
22
81929
421
01:22
Set yourself up for success, and don't underestimate the importance of being over
23
82740
5010
01:27
prepared, using the 5 following steps.
24
87750
3210
01:34
Before a meeting or interview write bullet points of the
25
94320
3210
01:37
things you'd like to address.
26
97530
1410
01:38
And afterwards, say them aloud.
27
98970
2100
01:41
Always say them out loud.
28
101220
1950
01:43
Otherwise, it just doesn't stick.
29
103279
1961
01:45
And you know, then you would know where your pronunciation issues are.
30
105810
3330
01:49
Now, even if you think that you're pretty confident and clear about
31
109510
4085
01:53
what you want to say, do it.
32
113595
2069
01:56
What have you got to lose?
33
116235
1200
01:57
You've got a lot more to lose if you don't do it.
34
117554
2641
02:01
You know, sometimes the meeting doesn't go as planned.
35
121005
2430
02:03
We get annoyed or nervous or get carried away with someone
36
123465
4320
02:07
else's agenda, and we forget.
37
127785
1620
02:10
This will help you stay focused and prepared.
38
130590
2990
02:13
It'll help you find the right words in advance, words that may
39
133710
3780
02:17
escape your mind in real time.
40
137490
1860
02:19
You know how these things work.
41
139380
1620
02:21
Even if you don't stick by every bullet point you write, you still
42
141420
4110
02:25
have solid anchors that will help you feel safe and confident.
43
145530
3930
02:29
And that automatically affects your confidence and performance.
44
149760
4620
02:38
When you're tired, hungry, thirsty, or really have to pee,
45
158460
4950
02:43
it affects your state of being.
46
163710
1680
02:45
These things occupy your brain and take up important space.
47
165570
3450
02:49
And you need all the space you can get when communicating
48
169470
3900
02:53
not in your native tongue.
49
173370
1410
02:55
And when part of your attention is directed towards silly things, it will
50
175350
3990
02:59
affect your fluency and eloquence.
51
179340
2280
03:02
And yes, I know it sounds obvious.
52
182370
1760
03:04
But think about it.
53
184365
990
03:05
How many of you are so busy that you don't even have time to rest and sleep and eat
54
185355
5340
03:10
well during a stressful week at work?
55
190695
2670
03:14
If you have an important meeting or a presentation, make sure that you're well
56
194025
3929
03:17
rested, that you ate something nutritious before and drank a full glass of water.
57
197954
4921
03:24
Do whatever it takes and whatever you need to do to feel and be at your best.
58
204075
5639
03:35
Checking your messages, your email, starting a conversation, or going
59
215565
4109
03:39
over your stressful task list is not something that is recommended to do
60
219674
4230
03:43
before an important meeting or talk.
61
223904
1981
03:46
Instead, breathe in and breathe out for 10 times.
62
226454
3556
03:50
And if you have the time and ability - meditate for five minutes.
63
230010
3660
03:53
It'll focus you and help you feel present, which will enhance your
64
233910
3420
03:57
fluency, word retrieval, and your ability to truly communicate.
65
237330
4520
04:08
Remember that the first few minutes determine your entire experience.
66
248820
4050
04:13
Be clear and speak slowly.
67
253200
1830
04:15
Start focused, strong and confident, even if it means 'fake it till you make it'.
68
255030
5310
04:20
Be present and engaged.
69
260579
1741
04:22
If you're speaking to a new audience, make sure that you speak
70
262740
3315
04:26
slowly to enable them to learn your accent and intonation patterns.
71
266055
4110
04:30
If you start fast because of adrenaline or you just want to get it over
72
270285
4170
04:34
with, you may stumble upon your words, get stuck, or get confused.
73
274455
3960
04:38
And moving up from there is a lot more difficult.
74
278625
2980
04:41
Start slowly and start strong.
75
281849
2310
04:48
In the meeting, don't wait for a new argument to be perfectly structured
76
288510
4380
04:52
in your head before you speak up.
77
292890
2070
04:55
People tend to not take part in a conversation not because they don't
78
295229
2971
04:58
have anything important to say, but because they wait until the idea is
79
298200
4529
05:02
fully articulated in their heads.
80
302729
2881
05:06
And by the time it is, it's no longer relevant, or the meeting is over.
81
306120
4520
05:10
If that ever happened to you, you know how lame this can make you feel.
82
310995
3870
05:14
And it can affect your confidence and even your performance at work.
83
314925
3480
05:18
So here's what I have to say about that.
84
318825
2130
05:21
Just open your freaking mouth and speak up.
85
321344
2940
05:24
Start talking and trust that the idea will flow out.
86
324344
3721
05:28
And if it doesn't, if it's not perfect, it will be next time.
87
328515
4380
05:33
You need to practice the skill of speaking and finalizing your thoughts on the go.
88
333225
6030
05:39
It doesn't happen unless you try it time after time.
89
339615
3240
05:43
It doesn't happen until you fail and get stuck.
90
343065
3210
05:46
And let me tell you a little secret.
91
346515
1500
05:48
If you're concerned about what other people think of you or that they're
92
348675
3840
05:52
going to think that you're not fluent or unintelligent, then don't.
93
352515
4260
05:57
Humans are such self-centered creatures that they usually focus
94
357034
3626
06:00
on their thoughts and arguments, as other people speak, paying only
95
360690
3960
06:04
partial attention to what others say.
96
364750
2390
06:07
They're definitely not looking to see how perfect your argument is,
97
367800
3600
06:11
or if you're using fancy words.
98
371490
2100
06:13
So just let your judgmental mind go to rest and allow yourself to
99
373950
4650
06:18
explore, make mistakes, and improve.
100
378600
3210
06:22
That's it, these were my five tips.
101
382719
2315
06:25
Now, don't be too cool for school and say, "Oh, why should I invest in this meeting?
102
385094
5551
06:30
It's not important.
103
390645
1019
06:31
Yada, yada, yada.
104
391664
1141
06:32
I have tons of those every day."
105
392805
1830
06:35
Fine.
106
395175
419
06:35
But remember: it's not about the meeting, it's about you.
107
395625
3420
06:39
And maybe the meeting is not important.
108
399735
2010
06:41
Maybe you're not that crazy about that company you're interviewing for.
109
401745
3450
06:45
But every time you prepare yourself for something you advance yourself and
110
405465
5250
06:50
you take your English one step further.
111
410715
2040
06:52
You learn new words, you increase your confidence, your fluency,
112
412755
3300
06:56
and you improve your self-worth.
113
416385
1920
06:58
It's a step towards achieving the English goals you've set for yourself
114
418755
3780
07:02
- not for tomorrow, not for tomorrow's meeting, but for a year from today.
115
422775
3710
07:07
And since our lives as professionals are so hectic and busy, it's
116
427290
4350
07:11
those opportunities that you need to take advantage of in order
117
431640
3120
07:14
to practice and feel the change.
118
434760
1830
07:17
All right, that's it.
119
437400
780
07:18
We're done for today.
120
438210
1020
07:19
If you want a PDF with the summary of all those points, go to my website
121
439230
3780
07:23
or click on the link below this video and download it to your computer.
122
443010
3900
07:27
Do it now, put it on your refrigerator, and rock your next speaking opportunity.
123
447180
4560
07:32
Now tell me, what do you do that helps you get prepared and perform well?
124
452440
4160
07:36
Share it with us in the comments below.
125
456700
1940
07:39
Thank you so much for watching.
126
459210
1530
07:40
Speak up and kick ass.
127
460980
1530
07:42
And I'll see you in the next meeting...
128
462810
1800
07:45
video.
129
465390
480
About this website

This site will introduce you to YouTube videos that are useful for learning English. You will see English lessons taught by top-notch teachers from around the world. Double-click on the English subtitles displayed on each video page to play the video from there. The subtitles scroll in sync with the video playback. If you have any comments or requests, please contact us using this contact form.

https://forms.gle/WvT1wiN1qDtmnspy7