Am Anfang eines Seminars müssen zunächst grundsätzliche Fragen geklärt werden: Agenda, Pausen, Regeln zur Interaktion und Vertraulichkeit … Schaffen Sie als Referentin oder Trainer gleich von Beginn Klarheit für die Teilnehmenden.
The tense and anxious atmosphere that looms before the beginning of a seminar is quite familiar, as participants are expectant and curious about what is going to ensue in the coming day(s). The participants might also be worried about whether their language skills and former knowledge would be put to the test, and the tension expounds, as the participants don’t know each other that well and might be worried about whether they would be able to gel with each other properly or not. They would also be creating their first impressions regarding you as a trainer.
Therefore, in such situations transparently providing a clear framework and agreeing upon certain rules at the very beginning would prove to be quite useful in the long run. This allows you to establish a sense of direction and provide security and stability to the entire group.
PHRASES TO USE TO PRESENT THE AGENDA
You must have spent considerable time deciding upon the best sequence in which you are going to present the materials that you have for the seminar in front of your audience. Although, you have a clear picture about the way things are going to proceed in your head, it is time for you to let the audience in on the same and allow them to understand what’s in store. The following phrases will help you in that regard:
- You must be wondering what the agenda of the seminar is for the coming two days. Please allow me to show it to you.
- The next two hours in our schedule is going to be quite packed and eventful. Let me show you the overview of what is to follow.
- Allow me to provide you with an idea of what is about to happen this morning …
- A lot of ground shall be covered today….
- Please look into the folder that you have been provided. You will find a copy of the agenda.
- For today, we shall be concentrating on .. and … proceeding to … tomorrow.
- Once we have perused … we shall focus on …
- This morning, we shall be focusing in details on the theory that governs …, and once you have had your lunch, we shall try to put that theory into practice.
- Please remember that there shall be coffee breaks during the mid-morning and mid-afternoon hours and a lunch break is scheduled for twelve o’ clock.
- The workshop will finish at five o’clock as of today and tomorrow it will start at half past eight in the morning and continue till half past five in the evening.
PHRASES TO USE TO ANSWER CERTAIN KEY QUESTIONS
The question of how you would address each other during the seminar is a pertinent one and you need to decide whether you would be using „Du“or „Sie“. You would also have to clarify whether the use of first names or surnames would be best suited for the purpose. The following phrases should help:
- We need to come to a consensus on how we would like to address each other during this seminar. All those in favor of using first names to address each other please raise your hands.
- When speaking English, the use of first names is considered to be most natural while addressing each other. I hope that everyone is okay with it?
- Would everyone be comfortable if first names are used to address each other?
You also need to clarify how the participants should be able to deal with the various documents that you have provided to them and other documents that they might be given after the workshop concludes. The following phrases will allow you to address that purpose:
- Each of you must have received a handout for today. Please use it to take down notes that you deem important or helpful.
- I shall now be handing out to you a folder that contains worksheets. We will be using these worksheets today.
- You are most welcome to take down notes if you so wish, but rest assured that an email would be sent from my end containing pictures of the flipcharts that have been used today, once the seminar concludes.
- You’ll find all the documents handed out today on my website, www.didacticalreduction.com
- Please let me know if you are interested in receiving the slides. Once the seminar concludes, I will make sure that I send them to you.
PHRASES TO USE TO INVITE FOR COFFEE OR LUNCH
Attending a workshop is hungry and thirsty work! Use the following phrases to talk about catering arrangements:
- You will be able to find tea, coffee, fruits and water, kept on the table at the very back of this room. Please feel comfortable to help yourself to your choice of sustenance at any time of the day.
- There is this restaurant nearby known as ‘La Strada’ that we would be visiting today for lunch. I shall be passing around a list containing the various meal options during the coffee break and you can choose the food that best suits your preferences.
- We will be having lunch at the canteen at one o’ clock sharp. I have made sure that all of us sit together and thereby reserved a table for us.
- If anybody here has any special dietary requirements, feel free to express the same to me.
Foto: Yvo Wüest, Yogi-Tea “Teebeutel-Weisheit”, 2021
PHRASES TO USE THAT WILL HELP YOU SET SOME GROUND RULES
Depending on the seminar that you are conducting, you should be having your own set of ground rules. However, the following phrases are just examples that you can modify according to your own rules and present them in front of the audience. Make sure that you explain the reason behind these rules to avoid any kind of confusion. These include:
Introduction:
- In order to facilitate a cohesive and effective interaction between each other, certain ground rules need to be agreed upon.
- Please have a look at the flipchart, at the section that I am pointing out here. These include certain rules that have been of immense help in the previous workshop. Do you all agree with them, or would you like to add another to the list?
Phones:
- In order to avoid any unnecessary disturbance I would request all of you to please switch your phones off. If anybody has a problem with that please speak up now.
- Laura, here has told me this morning that she is expecting a very urgent call. I would like to ask everyone else present here whether it is okay with them to allow her to keep her phone switched on until she has received the urgent phone call.
Timekeeping:
- As you must have noticed in the agenda provided to you, today is going to be a busy day. Therefore, I would request all of you to please return from the breaks at the stipulated time.
- Once lunch is over, the room shall be open again from half past one. The seminar shall resume sharply from half past one.
Confidentialy:
- Please rest assured that being a professional and experienced trainer I will not pass on anything that you disclose during the course of this seminar.
- Similarly, it is also your responsibility that anything that is shared by other participants is treated with confidentiality from your end.
Communication:
- I would request you to please pay heed to what other members of this group have to say.
- Please allow others to finish their lines before you start expressing your views on the subject.
- In case you have not understood anything that I have spoken or any other member of this group has spoken, please feel free to ask again.
- I would request you to please not have any side conversations.
Committing to the rules:
- Can you please raise your hands if all of you agree to the rules that I have just laid down?
- If the rules that I just mentioned are acceptable to you, please raise your hands to let me know.
Although, this might seem like a lot to speak in English, you would have a list of things that you can say depending on the situation from beforehand with the help of the aforementioned phrases and information. Depending on your particular style of speaking and situation, you can choose that which best suits you. Also, remember to practice meticulously to reach a level of ease that allows you to conduct a seminar in English seamlessly.
Was sind Ihre Erfahrungen mit Präsentationen auf Englisch? Schreiben Sie Ihre Gedanken und Überlegungen unten in die Kommentarspalte; teilen Sie Ihre Tipps mit den Leser*innen von diesem Beitrag. Kontaktieren Sie uns für ein Training oder eine Beratung zum Thema “Präsentationen auf Englisch”.
Ressourcen:
Nicola Bartlett, Artikelserie, Training Aktuell 2018
Yvo Wüest, Auf den Punkt – Didaktisch reduziert lehren und präsentieren, Spektramedia 2017
Mario Klarer, Präsentieren auf Englisch: Überzeugender Auftritt – treffende Formulierung, klare Visualisierung, Pons 2003
Sag’s auf Englisch: Die 1’000 Wörter, die man wirklich braucht, Langenscheidt 2015
Kontaktieren Sie mich, um das Dokument “Developing a Structure for the Presentation” als PDF zu erhalten.
Podcastreihe “Education Minds – Didaktische Reduktion und Erwachsenenbildung”