A recent video doing the rounds showed an Australian reporter interviewing the Dali Lama, and trying a joke; “would you go to a pizza restaurant and ask for one with everything?” The revered religious leader, whose English is quite passable, looked on bemused as the joke went down like a lead balloon.
And if you’re not completely au fait with English, that analogy may pass you by. A balloon made of lead? Why?
Stories, jokes, similes, metaphors and proverbs can add colour to a presentation, but as many conferences will have international audiences, these should be chosen with care. For example, most cultures will have a saying similar to “touch wood” for luck, as good spirits were believed to live in trees. In Spain, the phrase is “tocar madera” (literally “to touch wood”); but In Catalonia and in other Catalan-speaking areas, the expression used is “tocar ferro” (literally, touch iron).
So far, so good. But if a Spaniard said to you “Árbol que nace torcido, jamás su tronco endereza”, and an interpreter explained this as “tree that is born twisted never grows straight” would you get the message? In English we’d be more likely to say, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
So this month’s column is about the need to have sympathy for international audiences, and thinking carefully about how apparently obvious messages will be interpreted; there’s a major UK bank that has successfully built a global advertising campaign around this issue.
There are many examples of tiny mistakes creating chaos; in the US, a tough interviewer asked the late Boris Yeltsin if he had a “thin skin”, but was translated as telling the ex-Premier he was a “thick-skinned hippopotamus.” But before that, ex-President Jimmy Carter caused confusion and embarrassment when, on a trip to Poland he stated, “I have come to learn your opinions and understand your desires for the future” only to be translated as saying “I desire the Poles carnally.”
So, what can you do to avoid this type of linguistic slip-up? Well, if you’re from outside the country in which you’re speaking, go the extra mile to have your draft speech read by a native speaker. And that goes for any AV material or hand-outs. And on arrival it can be worth spending 10 minutes talking to any simultaneous interpreters, and finding out what their preferred style is, and giving them a brief overview of your presentation. If you can ask for them to be sent a copy in advance, so much the better; even if it’s only the bones it will allow them to understand and support your key messages.
If there are large numbers of people in the audience with headphones on, then change your delivery. Speak a sentence – nothing too complex – and pause while it’s being translated. Watch the audience for signs of awareness or confusion. That, of course, means that you need to allow longer than usual, and may need to edit presentations accordingly. On the other hand, I’ve found that, if I do speak to foreign audiences and speak slowly and clearly, it’s not unusual for the headphones to start coming off. Many apparent non-English speakers actually understand much of the language, but are more confident listening and speaking, rather than reading.
There’s also the issue of telling jokes, which is where we started. Some words don’t translate, but often it may be in the delivery. A good comedian’s act is as much about delivery as content, which is why the funniest story may not raise a titter, even when delivered flawlessly in another language.
Of course, sometimes it can be a case of bad timing; Hong Kong launched an advertising campaign to the MICE sector – “it’ll take your breath away” – just as the SARS epidemic struck.
You can’t win them all. But “the tongue of the ignorant is the key to his death”, as they say – in Arabic, apparently.