Chinese presentation do's and don'ts

[Scoobyqueen]

I am preparing presentation in Chinese

[alexma]

don;t worry ,it is same as western rule. just be yourself. practice ur presentation. good luck

[jbradfor]

> order of mentioning names

Most important person to least important person. Same as in the West, only it's more important in China. Just make sure to get the order correct!

> official greeting terminology

Ensure you get people's titles correct. Again, also important in the West, only more so in China, titles are very important.

Also, be more "enthusiastic" in your praise and appreciation for your hosts and for China and you would normally. Don't go totally overboard, of course (e.g. "After only a day here I love it and want to move here! I love you all!" is probably too much...). But what sounds slightly overdone in praise to most western ears is probably about what you want to aim for.

Bring lots of business cards, and be careful of that 白酒!

[Scoobyqueen]

Thanks to all who offered comments on this thread. Very useful insights and thank you for sharing your experiences.

[Scoobyqueen]

Just found this on another website as example of address

[Scoobyqueen]

I just gave my kick-off presentation and it went well.

[Shadowdh]

Nice post and thread there Scooby Queen... well done on the presentation... Thanks for the pointers...

[Scoobyqueen]

I just gave another presentation and used some other standard expressions that may be useful to others:

[Scoobyqueen]

deleted

[Scoobyqueen]

Please correct me anyone if this is not appropriate in the context of a formal business speech.

[Scoobyqueen]

When you address the audience it is considered impolite to use 你们.

[Scoobyqueen]

Some more expressions

[Scoobyqueen]

Some more expression that may be

[jbradfor]

When you address the audience it is considered impolite to use 你们.

And I was told that 您们 is not used. If there were only a couple of people (say, 2), I was told 您兩位. But how do you say a polite "y'all" when there are lots of people?

[renzhe]

But how do you say a polite "y'all" when there are lots of people?

大家, I would imagine.

[Scoobyqueen]

But how do you say a polite "y'all" when there are lots of people?

renzhe's suggestion is ok for example in this context 各位来宾，大家好!

[mingke]

one another thing is : extrame caution with sense of humor

[kdavid]

Great stuff here, Scoobyqueen. Thanks for the constant updates.

One question here about humor: I understand the Chinese won't poke fun at themselves much in public the same way westerners would. Does anyone have an example or two they could share about jokes that were made that didn't go over well during a speech / presentation?

[Kenny同志]

You might need to have a native speaker revise/polish your manuscript.

More often than not, most presentations given by Chinese officials are dodgy, tedious, and clichés-ridden; it’s suggested that you go with your own style rather than that of Chinese officialese.

[kdavid]

Okay, I've taken some of the pointers from this post and put them together with some other research I've done to draft the following. This is a second draft of what I posted here (which didn't get any attention--perhaps because of the title of the post). Anyway, I'd appreciate any feedback on what's below. Namely, is what's here natural and commonly found in Chinese presentations/speeches? Also, would there be any better way to word what's here, or anyway to make it sound more sophisticated?

Starting the presentation

尊敬的…各位女士们，先生们下午好！

Distinguished [surname and title], ladies and gentleman, good afternoon.

我是….

I am…

我代表….

I represent….

我对…表示感谢！

I’d like to express my thanks to….

Example:

尊敬的陈总裁，何经理，各位女士们，先生们下午好！我是任大伟。我代表本公司的美国分支机构。首先我对陈总裁以及何经理表示感谢！我真诚希望我们的两个公司能持续紧密合作以及一起兴旺发达。对于刚才何经理的讲话，我认为，讲的非常好，非常深刻，希望再座的同事，认真领会，深刻理解。回去后，为了更顺利地开展公司的目标，要传达何经理的讲话精神，并认真落实。

Distinguished Chairman Chen, Supervisor Li, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. I am Ren Dawei and I represent the company’s American branch office. Firstly, I’d like to express my thanks to Chairman Chen and Supervisor He. I sincerely hope that our two companies can continue to cooperate closely as well as develop and prosper together. Regarding Supervisor He’s remarks, I believe he spoke very well. His message was quite profound. Throughout and following today’s meeting, I hope everyone sitting here today will seriously reflect on what’s been said. I believe his brilliant message and advice should be implemented to more smoothly develop the company’s goals.

Introducing presentation objective and transitioning between points

本次会议的目的是谈如何拓展本公司电子商务的这个方面。

The objective of today’s meeting is to discuss how we can expand the company’s e-commerce.

首先，我向大家介绍一下全球电子商务消费行为的调查结果。

Firstly, I’d like to introduce the results of a global e-commerce consumer behavior survey.

其次，按照这张曲线图，大家可以看到目前本公司跟竞争如何来相比。

Secondly, according to this diagram, everyone can see how our company presently compares to the competition.

再次，发展电子商务的方面不仅推广本公司的品牌认知度而且还要提高销售额。

Also, developing our e-commerce will not only increase the company’s brand recognition, but will also increase our sales volume.

最后，相对于较普遍的认知，树立电子商务部门可以帮助本公司削减开支。

Lastly, contrary to popular belief, establishing an e-commerce department can help the company reduce expenditures.

Summarizing and closing

概括地说….

In summary….

感谢…以及…对于本次会议的大力支持。

Thank you to…and…for your extraordinary support for today’s meeting.

希望我们能够趁此机会交换了意见。

I hope we can use this opportunity to exchange ideas.

我希望大家都不虚此行。

I hope that I haven’t wasted your time.

我期待……

I look forward to…

概括地说，关键的是本公司能够顺应时代的变化以及调整营销的粗略。我下台之前我想再次感谢陈总裁以及何经理，各位在座女士们先生们对于本次会议的大力支持。希望我们能够趁此机会交换了意见以及希望大家都不虚此行。我期待着再次见到你们。 谢谢。

In summary, it’s crucial that our company is capable of changing with the times as well as adjusting marketing strategies. Before I finish, I want to once more thank Chairman Chen and Supervisor Li, as well as everyone in attendance, for your extraordinary support shown at today’s meeting. I hope we can use this opportunity to exchange ideas, and that I haven’t wasted your time. I look forward to meeting with you all again. Thank you.