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The Danish EU Presidency in 2025: influence if the competencies are in place

The Danish EU Presidency in 2025: influence if the competencies are in place

An EU presidency means that for six months we have the opportunity to influence the world's largest market. In 2025, we will host a wide range of meetings and negotiations, from working group meetings to formal, multilateral government discussions. We will have the opportunity to showcase our green profile, our ability to negotiate complex issues and our dynamic society with a healthy economy, transparency and a vibrant welfare state. A presidency means taking initiatives, bringing people together and delivering results together with the other member states - under our leadership.

Here's our best advice depending on your role in the EU Presidency.

Portrait of Claus Adam Jarløv

Claus Adam Jarløv
Founder, Consultant, MA (English | psych)

Three tips for the meeting leader

A meeting consists of a myriad of components, the most important of which are personal, psychological and technical.

Tip 1 - your personal appearance

As a meeting leader, make sure you're visible and leave no doubt that you're in control of the meeting: breathe "all the way down" so that your body straightens, your voice becomes clearer and your appearance takes on authority.

Tip 2 - the social zone of the meeting

During the meeting, the moderator should be aware that we are people who are working together to achieve a result: a meeting is a social event The blue zone is informal and social with laughter and small talk - plus things related to the meeting itself. When the meeting is in the blue zone, it tends to take place standing up, perhaps with a cup of coffee, at the restaurant or on the bus. In the blue zone, we are the people we are.

Tip 3 - the formal zone of the meeting

Where the blue zone is informal and personal, the red zone is bound by rules and procedures. The language is different, more controlled and polite, participants sit down, there are documents and an agenda, etc. We are no longer people, but functions representing a certain point of view. The competent moderator can switch between the blue and red zone during the meeting, depending on whether there is a need for an informal bilateral chat in the blue zone or a conclusion on a specific topic in the red zone

Three tips for your dealer

As an EU negotiator, you are a small part of a complex machinery. When we hold the presidency, this small part is a lot bigger! The three phases of the negotiation are crucial

Tip 1 - be patient

Impatient and uncertain negotiators are prone to making deals before options are properly explored. Negotiating without making untimely commitments requires mastering the language of work properly. Prepare an opening line that paints a picture of your delegation's overall point of view without committing to anything!

Tip 2 - be specific and ask questions

The Presidency must deliver results. Misunderstandings can be absolutely devastating, especially if they occur late in the process. Ask and keep asking what the other party really means. Don't be blinded by words, focus on what the words stand for: concepts and principles.

Tip 3 - be critical of your mandate

Your mandate is the room for maneuver you've been given for your negotiation. A presidency has two main purposes: to show the world that we are capable of managing the complex apparatus that is the EU; and to ensure that we deliver concrete results. Your mandate is subject to negotiation with your superiors. You negotiate both with your boss and with other member states.

Three tips for the presidency in a multicultural EU

Tip 1 - be curious about "the others"

It's a good idea to read about how to engage with different cultures. But we need to show genuine interest in "the other" if we are to find a common wavelength. Ask "how you do it". When we show interest in others, we become interesting!

Tip 2 - formality is your protection

Different cultures have different behaviors. In Denmark, we are direct, efficient and skilled. The downside is that we can be perceived as rude, insensitive and arrogant. Other cultures express themselves more indirectly, use titles and place more emphasis on personal appearance. This can make many Danes feel insecure. When in doubt, be formal in your language and appearance until you understand what is expected.

Tip 3 - use language!

In an EU presidency, we have our national language - our mother tongue, which shapes our identity. We have specific sayings that are rooted in our history and may seem odd to others: "thanks for the food", "thanks for last time", etc. Use them!

We also have the other person's native language - when communicating one-on-one, we need to be critical of what is "really" meant.
And then there is the working language, in our case English. Remember, you won't be judged on your perfect English grammar and pronunciation, only on your use of the language as a necessary tool. So learn the most important formal expressions in English and use them!

Here you can read more about negotiation techniques with either a businessor government focus.

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5 tip on how to improve your English 

5 tip on how to improve your English 

What you can do to do well in an English conversation - even if you don't feel you're that good at English. Here are my 5 tips for you:

  1. Speak clearly
  2. Please use English words when you come to the map
  3. Use more words in English - explain and use examples
  4. Be honest when you don't know how to say what you need to say
  5. Be curious about the language and take active responsibility for your learning

Read my explanation of each tip at the end of the post.

Are we Danes good at English?

"But everyone in Denmark speaks such good English, so who do you teach?" I was once asked this question by Matteo, an Italian living and working in Denmark. He communicates with his fellow citizens in Denmark in English, and it's actually going very well, because we are so good at speaking English in Denmark. He called his English "shit English", but I understood him quite well - and you probably would too.

Although Matteo thinks we in Denmark are so good at English, there are actually a lot of Danes who get a stomach ache when they have to speak English on the phone, greet an English-speaking guest at the office, or give a short presentation in English at a meeting. And the worst thing is if there are other Danes present, because everyone else is always better at English than you are, and it's just so embarrassing when your colleagues are listening in - or so you think. But funny enough, the others typically feel the same way.

Portrait of Cecilie Tejnø - a skilled consultant, translator and Master of Science degree holder.

Cecilie Tejnø
Consultant, Translator, MSc


See also:

You are not alone

When I teach courses that focus on communicating professionally in English, I always ask participants what their biggest challenge is when speaking English. And they almost always answer the same thing:

"The flap just goes down."

"I'm going blank."

"The words kind of get stuck in my throat and won't come out."

"I feel like everyone is looking at me and listening - thinking, 'Come on, she's so bad at that!'"

And then the participants look around at each other, slightly puzzled. They thought they were the only one who felt that way.

Why try to sound like an Englishman - you're (probably) not

In Denmark, we are quick to judge others when it comes to language and pronunciation. Not only in English, but also in Danish. We have what I call 'lazy ears'. When we hear others speaking Danish with an accent, we are quick to fail to understand what they are saying - even though we can actually figure it out if we just listen for the context.

We simply expect perfect pronunciation, but what is it really? And the same is true when we speak English. We so want to sound like a native Englishman or American. The problem is that the majority of Danes are not.

"Remember, you are not entering a linguistic beauty contest"

Remember this when speaking English

So my message is that you should not strive for something that can never be done. You need to learn to accept that it's okay to sound Danish when you speak English, and that it's okay not to know every word in English. Neither do I, by the way, even though I'm actually British!

When you communicate with someone - whether in English or in Danish - your task is simple: to help your counterpart understand your message.

You can get better at communicating in English by following these five simple strategies. And as a bonus, you'll have less stomachache.

My 5 tips for you - Improve your English

1. Speak clearly

It's no use mumbling when you have to say a word you can't pronounce. Rather, be open about it and tell your counterpart that you have difficulty pronouncing the word. Say: "This word is difficult for me to say ..." and your counterpart will know that there might be an alternative pronunciation of a word. And they might even be able to help you with the correct pronunciation. And you can have a laugh together. And suddenly your stomach doesn't hurt so much.

2. Feel free to use English words when you come up with a map

It's okay to use the English word when you don't know what the English word is. Just remember to make it clear that you are actually using an English word.

AN EXAMPLE

For example, if you work in a service function in an unemployment insurance fund or in a municipality and have to serve foreign citizens in Denmark, you will often have to use words that describe the Danish system. In such situations, sticking to the Danish word can be quite a good communication strategy. After all, these are the words the foreign citizen encounters when moving around in Denmark.

So the next time you have to explain to a Polish craftsman that if he becomes unemployed he can only get unemployment benefit if he is a member of an unemployment insurance fund, it's okay to say:

"If you lose your job, you can only get, hmm, I don't know this word in English, but in Danish it's called 'dagpenge', if you are a member of a Danish 'a kasse'. Do you know what I mean?"

He may recognise the words daily allowance and unemployment benefit from conversations with other tradesmen on the site. And if he doesn't, the idea is that he can ask questions and that together you can come up with an explanation that he understands. So you don't need to know all the right terms - in this case unemployment benefits and unemployment insurance fund - because it's not at all likely that the Polish craftsman knows those words anyway. And then you're even.

3. Use more words in English - explain and use examples

It may sound contradictory to say that you need to use more words in English than you do in English, when it is the English words you are looking for, but there is a good reason why I suggest this. Danish is full of compound words, and they don't always have an exact match in English.

So, when you search in vain for a single word that accurately represents the English word you're thinking of, you may not be able to find it because it doesn't exist.

Instead of locking yourself into finding 'that exact word', say, "Hmm, I'm not sure what the English word for this is, but it's when ....". So explain what the word means, and you can support it with an example.

AN EXAMPLE

I myself find that it can be difficult to find an exact match in English for Danish words that have to do with cultural institutions and the education system. In Danish, for example, we use the word 'reception class' to describe a class for children who have just arrived in Denmark or who do not speak Danish. If you translate it directly into reception class, someone who is not familiar with the Danish system will think of something completely different. In English, reception class refers to the first year in the school system, when the child is typically 4-5 years old. And Danish children are still in kindergarten. So it's a better strategy to explain what it is.

4. Be honest when you don't know how to say what you need to say

This tip is actually a cheat, because it's kind of the same as the first three tips. But all too often we keep our insecurities to ourselves. And that's when the clap goes down. So say it openly and honestly: "I don't know how to say this in English." Just saying these words will often make you relax so much that the words actually come to you. And if they continue to elude you, you've set the stage for needing a little help. And that's when you need tips 1, 2 and 3.

5. Be curious about the language and take active responsibility for your learning

And here comes the boring part - which doesn't have to be boring. You also have to realise that you won't learn new English words and phrases without some effort. As a consolation, the more you learn, the more fun it becomes.

Start small. When watching English-language programmes, start linking the English subtitles with the English speak. Notice new and funny words. Say them out loud if you like. And make a habit of keeping a notebook to write them down in.

If you use English at work, make a list of words you use often but can never remember in English. And find out if your organisation already has any materials in English that contain useful technical terms you can never remember.

All too often, I find that people forget to check their own organisation's English-language website, which contains a wealth of terminology.


The fun

And then for the fun in the boring. Do as many children and young people do and start pursuing your hobby in English. You'll be amazed at how many new words and phrases you can pick up that way - if you put your mind to it.

If you like art, read articles about art in English. If you like food, find a food blogger who appeals to you and who writes in English. And remember that Youtube can be used for more than watching funny music videos.

BE CURIOUS

The most important thing is to be curious about the language you are exposed to and to notice new words and expressions. Look them up in a dictionary if you like and write them down in your notebook. Google translate is fine, but a proper dictionary is better. They contain much more than just the definition of the word. You can also get sidetracked by quizzes on the language and more, to expand your vocabulary. Two of my favourite dictionaries are the British Collins Dictionary and the American Merriam Webster.

Try it, I promise it works - and speaking English will be much more fun!


We can help you improve your English

  • "GlobalOffice"

    This course is specifically aimed at administrative staff who are often in contact with non-English speaking customers and partners and who want to expand their comfort zone when speaking and writing English.

    You'll practice everything you might find difficult in English - managing a difficult phone call, writing short and clear emails and small talk with foreign guests. You will also build your vocabulary in your field of work and incorporate some good strategies for how to continue working on your English after the course is over.

    The course runs over 4 half days with a week between each session, so you have the opportunity to practice the techniques we work with from time to time.

    In my experience, one of the most important things for learning is to have the belief that you can. That's why I focus on creating a safe space with a maximum of 8 participants, where there is room to dare a little and to laugh together.

    Read more about our "GlobalOffice" course.

  • "EnglishPlus"

    This course is aimed at those who work in an international environment and who sometimes experience misunderstandings when communicating in English.

    You learn to communicate accurately and with nuance in English. We work with linguistic and cultural issues that affect whether your message is understood by international colleagues, customers or business partners.

    During the course, we include topics relevant to the participants' work areas, and you will therefore build up a toolbox of relevant words and expressions that you can use at the end of the course.

    The course runs over 4 half days with a week between each session, so you have the opportunity to practice the techniques we work with from time to time.

    Read more about our "EnglishPlus" course.

  • Tailor-made training in English

    Our translation agency can always plan a course that suits you (and your colleagues).

    Do you need some sparring in connection with, for example, giving a presentation in English at a conference or planning a course in English?

    Have you become chair of a working group where the common language is English and are unsure how best to fulfil that role - in English?

    Are you an international workplace where the common language is English and where misunderstandings often arise due to language challenges?

    Do you often write reports or emails in English and find you spend too much time doing so?

    Over the years, we have planned many different kinds of tailor-made courses. Please contact me if you would like help communicating clearly in English.

    Read more about our tailor-made English training.

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Writing retreats for phds and researchers

Writing retreats can make you a happier and more productive research writer

Researchers at all stages of their careers, from PhD students to senior professors, can struggle with writing. A writing retreat can be part of the answer to these writing struggles. In our experience, when colleagues from a research team attend a well-designed writing retreat, they become more motivated, inspired and productive. 

Portrait of Mark Harvey Simpson

Mark Harvey Simpson
CEO, Consultant, MSc

writing retreat

Writing retreats should take place away from the office and can run for one or several days.
A well-designed retreat gives you time to write, and the tools you need to get the most out of that time. The retreat should also improve your writing process overall to help you become a more effective research writer in your daily work.

When you've been on a writing retreat, you should come away saying "I learned a lot AND got writing done, which is just perfect" and "Thanks for an amazing writing retreat! It was both super productive and inspiring!" - that is exactly what participants on our retreats have said.

While the key element to all writing retreats is dedicated writing sessions, a retreat hosted by GlobalDenmark provides a few additional elements to help make sure you leave the retreat a stronger and better-structured writer.

Structured, facilitated time

Retreats work well when the day is organized into slots for planning, writing, receiving feedback, replanning and rewriting. It's also important that participants have time to relax and reflect too - that's part of the writing process! To help everything run smoothly, it's a good idea to have a facilitator who can motivate, coach and keep people on track with their writing. When GlobalDenmark's writing coaches facilitate workshops and retreats, we advise and coach researchers on their writing throughout each day (but not during dedicated writing sessions).

Tools for writing

Our retreats introduce participants to tools that enhance their writing process. Our programs include goal-setting sessions and what we call 'social, deep-writing sessions' - at least 45 minutes allotted to concentrating on writing while sitting together with other dedicated writers.

Beyond that and depending on the needs and experience of the participants, our programs include tool-based sessions on such things as feedback techniques, writing style, storyboarding, dealing with rebuttals (revise & resubmits), or overcoming writer's block. Not only will these sessions help increase your output during the retreat, they will provide you with writing practices you can integrate into your daily work.

Come prepared - just write!

This final element rests on the participants themselves. Walking away from a writing retreat with a sense of accomplishment means arriving at it well-prepared.
Participants should set themselves clear goals for a writing project they will work on at the retreat. And we always advise participants to do as much preparation as possible before the retreat - for example, background reading, data collection or collecting references. This will give you more time to just write - one of our key mottos!

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Understanding and dealing with your counterpart in negotiation and conflict

Understanding and dealing with your counterpart in negotiation and conflict

Navigating an important negotiation can be a tricky balancing act. The perfect negotiation balances on the knife's edge between expressing your views clearly and concisely - without coming across as know-it-all or unapproachable.

But in today's fast-paced and globalized work environment, conflicts and negotiations can be particularly difficult to manage because cultural, linguistic and attitudinal barriers can easily arise.

Portrait of Cecilie Tejnø - a skilled consultant, translator and Master of Science degree holder.

Cecilie Tejnø
Consultant, Translator, MSc

Thus, conflicts lurk like landmines beneath the surface, threatening to blow up harmony. But with empathetic understanding and effective management of your counterpart, you can navigate the challenges of everyday life and conduct successful negotiations - whether it's a minor conflict at the water cooler at work, or more important negotiations if you're negotiating as a representative of a public institution or ministry or if you conducting negotiations with international customers and business partners.

Are you ready to get better at understanding and handling your counterpart in negotiation and conflict? Read more here, or dive into our effective coursesthat strengthen your leadership strategies and cross-cultural communication skills.

negotiation techniques

A guide to analyzing and understanding your counterpart's interests and goals

Understanding your counterpart begins with identifying their interests and goals. Constructive dialog can be an effective tool for gathering this important information, which can give you a deeper understanding of their expectations and priorities.

Constructive dialog includes active listening and engaged questions, where you strive to understand what your counterpart is striving for - or what they fear losing.

Having a clear understanding of your counterpart's expectations and priorities can be crucial to the outcome of your interactions. It helps you identify areas of mutual interest, as well as areas where more discussion or negotiation may be needed. This knowledge can help you create strategies that both satisfy your counterpart's needs and help you achieve your own goals.

Psychological tips to help you read your counterpart

Understanding your counterpart in a conflict or negotiation is crucial for a successful dialog. But to fully understand your counterpart, it's not enough to just listen to what they tell you. There are a lot of motives and attitudes hiding under the psychological iceberg that you can dive into by observing body language and tone of voice, among other things. But what specific psychological tips can you use to read your counterpart in a negotiation or conflict?

  1. Do you speak body language?
  2. Understand your counterpart's individual personality type and communication preference
  3. Decode your counterpart's motivations and priorities

Do you speak body language?

It can certainly be useful when trying to decode what your counterpart is telling you non-verbally. Body language is a subtle but powerful communication channel that can reveal a lot about a person's thoughts, feelings and intentions. Here are some specific examples of how you can decipher body language:

  • Notice the eye contact:
    Eye contact can be a sign of trust, honesty and engagement. If your counterpart maintains eye contact, it can indicate that they are focused and engaged in the conversation. If they are avoiding eye contact, it could indicate that they are insecure, lying or uncomfortable. If this is the case, you can try to create a more comfortable space, for example, by using welcoming phrases such as: "I hear what you're saying", "I agree with you...", etc.

  • Observe your counterpart's facial expressions:
    A smile can be a known sign of positivity and openness, while a tight mouth or a furrowed brow can be a sign of irritation or frustration. A raised eyebrow can indicate surprise or skepticism.
  • Posture is revealing:
    A straight posture can indicate confidence and authority, while a slumped posture can signal insecurity, low self-esteem or lack of commitment. Try to straighten your back and speak clearly so that you appear confident.

However, it's important to note that body language can be highly individual and influenced by cultural differences - so it's always important to take context into account when trying to interpret it. Furthermore, many signals can be non-specific or ambiguous, so it's always a good idea to confirm your observations through direct communication.

Identify your counterpart's personality type and communication preference

This involves understanding how they normally react to situations and how they best communicate their thoughts and feelings. For example, are they introverted or extroverted? Do they prefer direct or indirect communication? This information can help you adapt your approach and make your communication more effective.

Depending on who your counterpart is, conflicts or discussions require different handling. For cooperative counterparts, you can strive for win-win solutions, while competitive counterparts require specific tactics to withstand intense pressure.

Understand what motivates your counterpart

When decoding non-verbal communication, it's important to understand what drives the person. This could be anything from personal ambitions to professional goals - or even deeper values and beliefs.

By identifying these motivational factors, you can better understand your counterpart's decision-making processes and predict their possible reactions. This way, you can also predict where your counterpart is likely to compromise, and thus where you can demand more - and vice versa.

GlobalDenmark helps you manage and understand your counterpart in conflicts or negotiations

At GlobalDenmark we are experts in negotiation skills and can give you the tools to deal with and understand your counterpart - no matter how difficult the situation you face. We offer tailored courses to help you with your unique challenges - whether you represent a company, a government or an international organization.

In today's global workplace, many conflicts and misunderstandings can also arise due to language and cultural barriers. GlobalDenmark is a professional translation agencythat can help you break down any language barriers so you can communicate effectively and smoothly. Let us help you turn your conflicts and negotiations into a strength instead of a challenge.

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Argumentation and conflict management

Argumentation and conflict management

Every day you encounter situations where argumentation and conflict management are crucial to your success. This can be anything from minor communication situations in your workplace to more serious situations when you, for example negotiating on behalf of an agency or ministryor when you negotiating with international customers and partnerswho have an interest in your company's services.

In all of these situations, conflicts can arise and if not handled properly and effectively, can create an unhealthy atmosphere in your workplace or damage important work processes.

Portrait of Cecilie Tejnø - a skilled consultant, translator and Master of Science degree holder.

Cecilie Tejnø
Consultant, Translator, MSc

So, good conflict management and argumentation can benefit you in negotiations and strengthen your relationships in all aspects - but how can you train your argumentation and conflict management?

The role of argumentation in conflict management

Argumentation is fundamental to resolving conflict. That's because it's essential that you can present your views clearly and effectively before there's any chance of you and your counterpart reaching an agreement. Argumentation helps you to communicate your ideas, convince others of your views and find constructive solutions to conflicts.

To become a better arguer, however, you need to understand and develop your negotiation techniques. Global-Denmark can help you do this - whether you are a public or private negotiator - through our specialized courseswhich focus on cross-cultural management, communication and bridge-building dialog.

Effective strategies for argumentation and conflict management

When dealing with conflict, you can't avoid using argumentation. You'll benefit from drawing on a number of effective conflict resolution strategies that can help you communicate your point of view clearly and help you and your counterpart reach an agreement. These strategies include:

  1. The identification of common goals and interests
  2. Use logic and evidence in your argumentation
  3. Empathize and listen to your counterpart's arguments

1. first and foremost, identifying your and your counterpart's common goals and interests can be very helpful. This strategy is based on both parties arguing their point of view and expressing openly and honestly what each party thinks. You can then do a joint analysis of the arguments to identify the overlaps in the arguments. This creates a common ground from which further dialog can stem. If there is a common ground that you can work together around, it can pave the way for a range of constructive solutions that meet the needs of both parties.

2. Once common goals have been established and the tone of the conflict is solution-oriented and perhaps even agreeable, it's time to convince your counterpart of your views. By supporting your views with reliable data or clear reasoning, you increase your chances of gaining understanding and acceptance of your positions - simply because your views seem logical and factual rather than opinion-based.

3. Finally, listening skills and empathy are indispensable tools in any form of conflict management. The ability to understand and acknowledge your counterpart's perspectives can be a difficult art to master. However, it's worth working on as it can help you break down any hostile barriers. This creates a more open and respectful dialog. By demonstrating that you are able to see things from the other party's point of view, you can help reduce tensions and find a solution that benefits all parties involved.

Global-Denmark strengthens your argumentation and conflict management skills

Conflict can be challenging, especially if there are different opinions, interests or even cultural differences involved. However, many conflicts can be prevented through early communication, setting expectations and respecting differences.

At Global-Denmark, we can help you overcome these challenges through our negotiation skills training courses. In addition, language barriers can arise in negotiation contexts. This is where Global-Denmark's translation agency can help. We offer professional Danish-English translation where you can be sure that no points are lost.

Conflict management and argumentation are important skills in both professional and personal life. By understanding the principles and techniques involved, you can turn conflict into opportunities for learning and growth. Global-Denmark is here to help you on this journey.

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Psychological factors in the negotiation process

The psychological factors in the negotiation process

Negotiation is an integral part of our everyday lives. Whether it's international politics, business deals or simple daily social interactions, many situations involve some form of negotiation.

However, in order to master the art of effective negotiation, it is crucial to understand the psychological factors that play a role in these negotiations. GlobalDenmark offers customized negotiation skills courses designed to provide a better understanding of, among other things, the psychological processes that take place at the negotiating table, so that participants leave the course with an increased ability to conduct negotiations with global customers and partners on an international level.

Portrait of Cecilie Tejnø - a skilled consultant, translator and Master of Science degree holder.

Cecilie Tejnø
Consultant, Translator, MSc

Psychology in the negotiation process

When we negotiate, there are many psychological factors that influence us. Our emotional intelligence, self-perception, perception of information and cognitive bias all play a key role in our behavior and the decisions we make at the negotiating table. But how do these psychological factors actually affect us in a negotiation context?

The link between emotional intelligence and success at the negotiating table

Our emotional intelligence is our ability to understand, express and manage our emotions. It affects us in negotiation situations because high emotional intelligence helps us make sound decisions and decode signals from our counterparts. By understanding both our own and the other party's emotions, we can better navigate and adapt our negotiation techniques to the specific negotiation situation. Therefore, high emotional intelligence can significantly increase our performance at the negotiating table.

Self-esteem and self-perception in negotiation contexts

But our self-esteem and self-perception also matter at the negotiating table. Self-esteem and self-perception can affect us in the negotiation process because there can be a correlation between self-esteem and the propensity to compromise. A person with high self-esteem is often more confident and less likely to compromise. A strong self-esteem can therefore increase our performance in negotiations.

Perception and interpretation

Our perception and interpretation of information is also important in negotiations of any caliber. If we misunderstand or misinterpret information, it can lead to errors in our decision-making process. It is therefore important to have concrete tools to help interpret information from the other party. 

Create value at the negotiating table with GlobalDenmark's negotiation skills courses

In an increasingly globalized world, negotiation skills are an indispensable competence. At GlobalDenmark, we have designed courses in negotiation skills that, among other things, increase the participants' ability to understand the psychological factors that form the basis of our behavior in negotiation contexts.

The course is beneficial for representatives of a government, a management team, a committee or a company - because a sharp negotiation technique can help you achieve better results. If we know the psychological aspects of negotiation techniques, we can avoid unnecessary barriers when sitting at the long table and making agreements with counterparts.

Government Focus: Negotiating on behalf of public authorities

GlobalDenmark offers international courses with both a Government Focuswhich is suitable for those who negotiate on behalf of public authorities. This course increases both analytical tools and process and cultural understanding, and increases the possibility of favorable agreements for representatives negotiating on behalf of a government agency or ministry.

Business Focus: Improving international negotiation skills

Our international course with a Business Focus is designed for negotiators in an international business environment and provides concrete tools to improve your negotiation skills.

At GlobalDenmark, we use real-life cases and concrete theoretical training. In this way, participants are guaranteed a good outcome and an improved ability to achieve success in negotiations. Choose GlobalDenmark and gain tools that really create value at the negotiating table.

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What's the difference between proofreading and editing?

When we write an important text that's going to be seen by a wider audience or just a small but important target group, then we'll usually want a fresh pair of eyes to go over it and catch any grammar mistakes we've made or other irregularities. Because whether we're writing in our mother tongue or a second language, we will have made mistakes.

Most people use the word 'proofread' when asking someone to review their text. If you were to ask someone working here at GlobalDenmark, they'd ask for clarification; do you need a proofreading or an editing?

Aren't they the same thing? Not at all.

What is proofreading?

Simply put, when we proofread a text, we correct grammar, punctuation and spelling errors. We also make sure that your tables are labelled and numbered correctly, and we check concordance between headings and the index.

In other words, it's the process of finding and correcting mistakes in a text before it's printed or put online.

Editing a text takes things a bit further.

What is editing?

An editor of course looks at the "surface" level issues of a text (spelling, grammar, etc.), i.e. all the issues that are included in a proofreading. However, they will also take a deeper look at the content of a text, its structure and context.

An editor will typically

ensure readability and stylistic consistency - this can include splitting long sentences, deleting unnecessary words and rephrasing sentences, without changing their substance.

make sure paragraphs and sentences stay focused and have a logical flow

identify ambiguities or inconsistencies in the use of terms

A good editor will spot the common pitfalls that obstruct your argumentation and will suggest rewordings or restructurings that can improve the text's readability.

So, which should you choose?

Whether the text needs to be proofread or edited depends on a number of factors, for example: What kind of text is it? What will it be used for? Were several authors involved in writing it? How do you rate your own ability or the abilities of your co-authors to write and structure a text?

And finally, the choice between proofreading and editing will also depend on your budget and deadline since an editing will often take longer and thus be more expensive.

Regardless, it can be hard to assess how much work your text is going to need. If you send your text to an experienced proofreader/editor, they'll be able to quickly gauge it and recommend one of the two options.

In the end though, it's always up to you to decide the level of revision you want and can afford.

Click here for more information about GlobalDenmark's proofreading and editing services.

What is the difference between proofreading and editing?

New CEO announcement - Collectia Group - Article

What is the difference between proofreading and editing?

17 August 2022 | By Cecilie Tejnø

When we write 'important' texts that are going to reach a wider audience or a smaller but significant audience - for example, texts for a website or a printed publication, an article for a journal or a scientific paper - it's a great comfort to have an extra set of eyes catch any linguistic errors and other inaccuracies. This is true when you are writing in your mother tongue, and even more so when you are writing in a foreign language such as English.

When you need someone to look at your text, you often talk about having the text proofread. Sometimes the term editing is also used. You may have wondered what these two terms mean and whether you actually need one or the other.

What is proofreading?

Proofreading is defined as a  reviewing and correcting errors in a text before publication. In a proofread, the focus is on actual errors in the text, but the proofreader does not consider the content and structure of the text.

A proofreader will typically correct grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and punctuation, ensure that the numbering of tables and figures is correct, that the table of contents and headings are consistent.

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What is editing?

The definition of editing is adjusting the content and form of an article or similar before publication. The focus is not only on errors in the 'surface' of the text, but also on the content of the text.

This means that the editor - in addition to correcting linguistic and grammatical errors, just like during a proofreading - also pays attention to the content, context and structure of the text. Typically, an editor will:

  • Consider the overall context of the text and ensure that there is a clear focus and logical connection between paragraphs and sentences
  • Point out ambiguities and inconsistencies in the use of language and terminology.
  • Ensure readability, for example by splitting long sentences, deleting redundant words or similar.

In other words, a good editor takes into account the general pitfalls that can work against the author's argument and suggest rewordings and restructuring that can make the text more readable.

Proofreading or editing - which do you need?

Whether you need aproofreading or editing depends on many different factors, for example: what kind of text is it? What is it for? How did it come about - for example, were several people involved in writing it, or was it pieced together from various other texts? How good are you (and any co-authors) at writing and structuring a text? And the choice between proofreading and editing also depends on your timeframe and budget, because editing is more time-consuming and therefore more expensive than proofreading.

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Tips on improving your presentation skills

How to give a good presentation to an international audience? Here you can get concrete advice for better presentations. You can also sign up for one of our presentation skills courses. Have you ever given a presentation where you were unsure whether the audience found the topic interesting? Whether they got the main points? Where the discussion didn't really get going when you finished your presentation? Where it fell flat when you tried to say something funny? Or where you felt limited because your presentation had to be in English? Then you're not alone! And luckily, there are some concrete things you can do to improve your presentation skills. Below, we've put together 7 tips for better presentations.

7 tips for better presentations 

  1. Make personal contact with your audience before you start
  2. Start by being yourself
  3. Then be your professional self
  4. Take yourself and your audience seriously and avoid irony and jokes
  5. Start your presentation with your main message
  6. End the presentation with your main message
  7. Let the final slide open the dialogue 

1. Make personal contact with your audience before you start

A presentation is a social event. It is an interaction between you and your audience. Therefore, it is important that you show interest in your audience by linking your topic to something they know from their own lives. Talk to your audience before you go on, during the breaks, or when the presentation is over. Ask who they are and what interests them. 

2. Start by being yourself 

Start your presentation by telling a short story or sharing a personal experience that is relevant to the topic you are going to talk about. This creates a relaxed and personal atmosphere, while maintaining your authority and having a professional conversation with your audience.

3. Then be your professional self

After you have made a personal connection with your audience at the beginning of your presentation, you can turn up the formality: Raise your voice and use body language and gestures in a way that exudes professionalism and engagement. This will make your audience listen to you.

4. Take yourself and your audience seriously and avoid irony and jokes

As Danes, we often tend to be very informal, even in professional contexts. But you have to be careful with that. Jokes and irony can work well in a Danish context, but when you are facing an international and multicultural audience, the informal style can do more harm than good. So if in doubt, the best advice is to keep the formal tone when giving a presentation.

5. Start your presentation with your main message

Start by presenting your main message or points. What specifically do you want to tell your audience? Be focused and professional and formulate clearly and precisely.

6. End the presentation with your main message

Round off your presentation by repeating your main message and relating it to what you have presented. Again, be focused and professional, and articulate clearly and concisely.

7. Let the final slide open up a dialogue 

Make sure your closing slide inspires a conversation with the audience. Instead of writing 'Thank you for today' or 'Questions', use the final slide to summarise and underline your main points and let them be the starting point for questions and discussion. 

Do you want to strengthen your presentation skills in English with the help of a course? Then read more about our presentation skills in English course here.

Translation agency or freelancer - which should I choose?

Perhaps you already have experience with using professional translators? Maybe it's the first time you've had to have a text translated by an ageny? Either way, you may have considered whether to use a professional translation agency or contact a freelancer. And what the difference really is.

What are the benefits of using a freelancer?

One advantage of working with a freelance translator can be that the cost of a translation can be lower because the freelancer is usually 'only' required to earn their own salary - unlike a translation agency, which has to cover a range of other overheads. However, the price of a translation depends on many different factors and can also vary greatly from one freelancer to another, so it's hard to say anything very specific about the cost of a translation - whether you use a freelancer or a translation agency.

Another advantage can be that you, as a client, build up a relationship with one particular translator who gets to know your company and your texts well - unlike some types of translation agencies that use many different freelancers and where, in principle, you risk having a new person assigned to the task every time you send a text for translation. 

What are the benefits of using a translation agency?

The advantage of working with a professional translation agency is that you, the client, can experience greater flexibility. This is because the translation agency has several employees or subcontractors who can take on a given task at a given time. This means that when you work with a translation agency, it is more likely that there will be the resources to complete your assignment by the deadline you want.

Another advantage is that a translation agency can call on different translators with different specialisations and skills. If you need a legal contract translated one week, a technical description of a product the next, and a text for your website the following week, the translation agency can assign different translators with different strengths and specialisations to different tasks.

However, it is often an advantage to have the same translator, or a few translators, always working on your texts. Clients should be aware that some translation agencies work with many different freelance translators, and that there is a risk that a new translator will be appointed each time something needs translating. 

At GlobalDenmark Translations we have a permanent staff of in-house translators with different specialisations, and as a client you will always have contact with the same translator who has special knowledge of your field and the types of text you need translated. 

We specialise in Danish to English and English to Danish translation, but we work with other translation agencies and freelance translators, so if our clients need translation into or from other languages, we can help with that too.

How much does a translation cost at a professional translation agency?

The price of a translation from a professional translation agency varies greatly and can depend on, for example, how quickly you need the translation, how extensive the task is, etc, 

The translation market is a 'mixed' one, and a good rule of thumb is to be wary of very cheap translations. You may receive a translation that has not been proofread and quality checked, the translator may not have the relevant training, and you may not have the opportunity to speak directly to the translator about any questions or requests for adjustments to the translation.

Read more here about how we work with translation at GlobalDenmark, a well-established professional translation agency in Copenhagen, and click here if you would like a quote for a translation.

How to get a better translation

The four roles of the translator and how to work well with your translator

The invisible translator...

It has always been a mantra in translation - both in practice and as an academic discipline - that a successful translation is one that does not sound translated. The reader of the translated text must not be struck by awkward phrasing and word choice or otherwise sense the original language behind the words in the translated text. You may be familiar with the irritation - or pleasure - of guessing what has been said in English when reading an English text.

The paradox of the translator's role is that the better you do your job, the less you get noticed. In a way, you could say that a translator's most important task is to be invisible.

It may sound like a thankless task, but there is great satisfaction and professional pride in (re)creating a text that seems as valid and credible to the target language reader as the original text does to the source language reader. This is true of fiction, where the translator's task is, somewhat simplistically, to give the reader of a translated novel or short story the same experience as the original language reader.

And this is true of specialist texts, where the translator's task is to hit on the specialist terminology and jargon that seems natural and recognisable in the target language within a specialist community. If the translator fails to do this, the technical text loses its credibility and therefore its value.

Most professional translators specialise in translating technical language, and their main focus is to create texts that are written in natural language, using the correct technical terminology - in other words, texts that don't "stand out". In this way, the professional translator takes pride in being "invisible".

... and the visible contribution

However, when it comes to the translation process, a skilled translator with a good overview can take on a much more visible and constructive role than "just" delivering a linguistically correct text with the right terminology. 

1) the translator as a sparring partner

A successful translation requires that the translator understands the text he or she is working with - if not down to the last detail, then at least enough to be able to see through errors and ambiguities, or lack of coherence. The skilled translator will draw the client's attention to such ambiguities in the original text, and in this way the translation process will lead to a better original text.

2) the translator as co-producer

A translator who has built up a special competence in a particular subject area becomes a kind of 'semi-expert' in the field, and this can benefit the client in many contexts. For example, the translator can help proofread texts that the client has written himself, for example in English. In addition to making linguistic corrections, the translator can provide input on rewrites and improvements to make the message clearer.

3) the translator as cultural mediator

The translator has an in-depth knowledge of the culture in which the translation will be used, and in some cases it may be necessary to make extensive adaptations to a text in order to reach the target audience in a particular culture.

4) the translator as terminological expert

An important element of technical language translation is finding the correct technical terminology, and translators spend a lot of time searching for terminology. The terminology is stored in a database and this database can be made available to the client as a kind of dictionary. In this way, the translator helps to ensure consistency of language and terminology for the client, in both the source and target languages (e.g. Danish and English).

Read more about the benefits of a translation agency.

'Sounds a bit Danglish'

Danes are good at English. A few years ago, we were world champions according to the EF English Proficiency Index, which ranks the English proficiency of 100 countries every year, and right now we are in third place behind the Netherlands and Austria.

We can be proud of this ranking, and we Danes are right to pride ourselves on our English language skills. But we can also shoot at each other if we think the others are not so sharp. 'That sounds a bit Danglish' we say when someone uses an expression that seems to be directly translated from Danish.

It shows that many have an impressively good sense of good, natural English - and that they are sensitive to what might be called 'Danish contagion'. But perhaps we are sometimes almost over-sensitive, and judge phrases and expressions out of hand, even though they are actually, well, perfectly alright.

At GlobalDenmark, we help our clients make English flow - either by editing texts that the client has written in English, or by translating Danish texts from scratch. Sometimes we find that a client asks: 'Can you really say that in English? It's directly translated from Danish'. And when we explain that yes, you do use exactly the same expression or metaphor in English, it can come as a surprise. A few examples:

We're confident that the new project will act as a springboard for more contracts. Yes, 'springboard' can be translated with 'springboard'. Check any English dictionary online and you'll find that the explanation is the same as in English - something that helps to set an activity in motion (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

With her outstanding research background, she was a great sparring partner in developing my ideas. Sparring partner can be used in English as well as in Danish either as a box term or in a figurative sense to refer to a person with whom one has serious but friendly discussions, explains the Cambridge Dictionary.

Work on the project is in full swing. Perhaps a hair-raising phrase for some Danes, but it is as correct in English as it is in Danish, and the meaning is the same, namely that something is at a high level of activity (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

The three examples are what can be called 'idiomatic' expressions, i.e. phrases that use an image to express a certain meaning. And the list of such coinciding expressions in English and Danish is longer than you might think. That's because we've borrowed and exchanged expressions with each other for hundreds of years - and still do. But it's probably also because the linguistic images stem from something cultural, and Danish and English cultures are no further apart than many of the images are the same.

For example, both languages use the term 'hot potato', but this is probably not the case in Chinese, where potatoes are a rarer item on the menu. 'Springboard' and 'sparring partner' in the examples above use images from the world of sport, and here it is assumed that there is a common cultural starting point, with gymnastics and boxing being well-known sports disciplines.

To sum up: sometimes you shouldn't make things more difficult for yourself than necessary when translating, but simply use the term that comes to mind. The problem, of course, is that this is far from always a sure-fire strategy. If it were, translation would be no art at all. The challenge with fixed expressions and metaphors is that they often differ from language to language. And if you translate an expression directly from Danish into English that doesn't exist, you can get it horribly wrong. Just think of Bertel Haarder, who told his ministerial colleagues in the EU that "Normally I say, early to bed and up with the cock". Or former culture minister Jytte Hilden, who put "The prick over the i". Not to mention former national coach Ricard Møller Nielsen, who delivered several legendary quotes, for example when he explained to the press that you had to "screw down the expectations" and that he had changed tactics so that now you would "play with long balls!"

How to become a star at the negotiating table

Do you feel confident in your role when negotiating abroad? Or do you sometimes have doubts about how to behave in an unfamiliar culture? Which rules apply in the negotiating room and especially outside? And whether your English skills are up to scratch?

Here are five things to consider when negotiating abroad

1) Start by negotiating with yourself.

Every good negotiation starts with negotiating with yourself - what can you achieve from the negotiation, where are your uncertainties and what could the outcome of the negotiation mean for your own career. Once you have these things in place, you'll be better able to make quick decisions when the negotiation itself gets underway - and you'll have a good starting point for the next phase, the negotiation with your team.

2) Control your backing.

Create a strategy with your team and define your goals. Decide how far you can go in the negotiation so that you all agree on what your mandate is. Well-defined objectives and agreements make you more confident in the negotiation situation and prevent subsequent disagreements within the team.

3) Create a relationship with your counterpart.

Be aware that the negotiation with your counterpart is already in full swing long before you sit down at the negotiating table. The informal chats in the taxi or over morning coffee help to build trust and goodwill. Show that you are interested in the other party, for example by learning some polite phrases in their language or checking up on the latest news in the country they come from.

4) Understand your counterpart's culture.

Understand the cultural background of the other person. As Danes, we tend to think we can get away with our humour and informal style, but it's very easy to fall short. A humorous remark that falls flat, or a lack of respect for the other person's status and internal hierarchy, can be embarrassing at best and a showstopper at worst. If you are unsure about the other person's cultural rules, ask - this way you are also showing interest and respect for his or her culture and conventions.

5) Speak English you can understand - and forget your linguistic vanity.

English is usually 'the language of negotiations', but it is rarely the mother tongue of (both) negotiating parties. This can easily lead to misunderstandings. So make sure you mean the same thing when you use the same words. And think less about how elegant it sounds when you speak English and more about whether the other party understands what you are saying. As we say to our students: 'You're not attending a language beauty contest!' At GlobalDenmark we have many years of experience in training people to participate in international negotiations. Do you want to be a sharper international negotiator? And maybe also become wiser about what not to do? Then click in and read more about our courses in negotiation skills, and how they've helped others succeed at the negotiating table.

The road to a successful presentation

Even a seasoned speaker can get nervous - and that's okay

Peter goes on stage to talk about his experiences in the Chinese market. His audience is business people, mainly middle-aged men and women, all exuding control and confidence. Peter feels the audience's eyes following him on his way up to the podium, a hike of about 8 metres. Without being very nervous, Peter can feel his pulse rising a little - he's given many talks before, but can still enjoy the little rush of standing in front of an audience. In fact, he knows from experience that a little nervousness is good for him, because it makes him a little sharper. And he'll need that today, because this is a demanding audience: they want to be stimulated, inspired and informed.

Good contact with the audience strengthens self-confidence and interaction with the audience

Peter's gaze catches a member of the audience he was talking to before the doors to the auditorium opened. They nod briefly at each other. Peter takes a deep breath and feels his body straighten. The room falls silent. Peter smiles, another listener smiles back. Peter delivers his lecture. Instinctively he keeps an eye on his listeners. Is anyone bored? He sees one nod thoughtfully, another smile attentively - yes, it's going very well, Peter thinks.

Notice how much is going on between Peter and his listeners. Eye contact, nods, smiles, seriousness - all communication that has nothing to do with the content of the talk, but is crucial to what the audience gets out of it.

Leave the main points on the last slide

Peter ends his talk with his five main points, followed by five simple bullets on the PowerPoint - they stay on the wall as he finishes. After his brief, slightly insistent summary, he pauses for a moment to do some art, after which he says thank you. Peter receives raucous applause. And the slide with the five pointers is still on the wall when he thanks the applause and invites questions. The audience looks up at the slide and there are some good, interesting questions and comments. It was a good talk.

Connect with the audience even before the talk starts

Peter is aware that he is "on" already at the reception, where participants drink coffee before the lecture starts. Here he had a brief chat with several of the waiting listeners. When he caught their eye during the talk, they nodded back.

In this way, Peter had already made a good connection with some of the audience before the talk itself, and this helped to boost both his confidence and the interaction with the audience when he went on.

To sum up: a lecture can be excellent in terms of content, but if there is no attention to communication and contact between the speaker and the audience, good and important points can be lost. Peter benefited from the subtle communication that happens between the speaker and the audience. It helped to make the talk a good experience for the audience and himself.

Do you also want to strengthen your presentation skills? Read more about our presentation skills courses here.

Can you do as good a job online as you do face-to-face?

GlobalDenmark had to convert its courses to online learning in record time when it shut down on 11 March. Now, about six months later, teachers are feeling at home in the new virtual environment. Here, three of them give their take on how to give students the same good experience and academic benefit online as when they meet in person.

"All good teaching is about being present. So for me the big question was: 'Can you be present in the virtual?' And the revelation was that you can!", says Claus Adam Jarløv, Director of GlobalDenmark, who has taught business leaders, researchers and politicians in communication and international negotiation for more than 30 years.

It requires a conscious effort to give students the same experience of presence when they can only see the teacher and each other on the screen. But if the course is planned to allow for social interaction, much can be done to compensate for the social loss that comes with physical distance. This is one of the most important lessons learned at GlobalDenmark, says Claus Adam Jarløv.

An equally important point is that the same professional value can be created for participants in an online course. But this requires the trainer to be very explicit in their instructions and to give even more of themselves - so that participants can feel the engagement right through the screen.

Social gathering on the programme

"We have strict rules about how we have fun. We sometimes say to the students, 'Let's have fun and talk about something that's not relevant,'" explains Claus Adam Jarløv.

That's why time is set aside during the day for breaks where the floor is open - just like a regular course where you chat over the coffee table or lunch buffet.

Mark Simpson, who teaches written academic communication and presentation techniques at GlobalDenmark, emphasises the importance of the social and human aspect, as does Claus Adam Jarløv:

"My job as a teacher is to create intimacy and community among the participants. And one of the most interesting things I've learned is how important it is to frame the process to create a social community. I always start by saying to the students: 'What we lack online is presence. So let's commit to being present with each other. And then I can see in people's faces that they have such an aha experience."

New physical setting - but the content is basically the same

Although the physical setting is different, the essence of the teaching is the same. That's a key point," says Mark Simpson:

"The most important thing for me when I teach is that every second of the participant's time with me is relevant. And basically, it's exactly the same questions you ask yourself online as offline: is it working for you? Is my message getting through? Are you learning anything?"

The three teachers agree that it is always the content that counts, and when teaching moves online, you have to try to adapt the physical environment as best you can to give participants the same academic benefit. And the experience so far is that it is actually possible to deliver the same content and create the same value for students in the virtual space as in the physical one.

More difficult to read participants' reactions

The online format makes it more difficult to sense how students are responding to the teaching. But if you take your time and are aware of it, you can feel people's reactions even if you're not physically in the same room - at least when you're dealing with a smaller group, says Mark Simpson.

Specifically, he always asks participants - technology permitting - to turn on video in Zoom so he can see their faces, and then he continuously monitors their facial expressions. Does anyone look like they have something on their mind? Anyone who looks away or seems absent? If so, he might engage them by asking a question or asking them to give their opinion - just like in a regular physical course.

If you're dealing with a large group, it's particularly difficult to read people, says Ann Britt Donovan, who teaches academic communication and English for administrative staff:

"When you are physically present in the same room, you can almost always see if someone wants to get in touch with you, because then you have a kind of panoramic view of the room. It's difficult when you're online with a large group of 20 or more students, because you can't keep an eye on everyone on the screen at once - and there's a lot of other stuff you have to keep track of as a teacher."

A good way to alleviate this problem is to always have at least two trainers, at least if you have a lot of students. Then one can keep an eye on the participants (both the pictures on the screen and the comments in the chat), answer their questions, help with any technical problems and give the floor to those who want to chime in, while the other teacher can concentrate on the teaching itself.

Opportunities for interaction in teaching

"Normally when I teach, I can suddenly find myself asking someone a question, even if they haven't marked it", says Claus Adam Jarløv.

But when you're on Zoom, be careful not to 'unintentionally' draw participants into the discussion without warning, he warns, because when people are sitting relaxed at home at the kitchen table, it can seem overwhelming to suddenly be 'singled out' - more so than if you're sitting in a classroom and out of your private sphere. So those who don't speak up themselves can be harder to bring into the discussion when teaching has moved online, he believes.

A good way to activate students is to ask them to take part in a poll on Zoom (GlobalDenmark's preferred platform), where they have to take a stand on a particular issue, says Ann Britt Donovan. It should preferably be something very concrete, which the participants can then discuss afterwards.

And group work works at least as well online as offline, the three trainers have found. In Zoom, which they have chosen to use at GlobalDenmark, it is quick and easy to set up virtual group rooms where participants can meet and discuss a topic or work together on an assignment or text.

New requirements for the teacher

The transition to online learning has been a challenge for both teachers and students. Both parties had to get used to the new technology very quickly and it has not been without teething problems.

"It was a completely new medium for me, so at the beginning I was always worried whether I was doing it right and had remembered everything. There are many more things to keep track of than when you are in a classroom and can have your full attention on the course participants," says Ann Britt Donovan.

At the same time, she feels the need to be even more present in order to capture and hold participants' attention in the virtual space:

"You have to be up close and personal. Literally be close to the camera. What often works well on people is a live face. And you have to give a lot of yourself so that the participants can feel that you are committed to the subject," she says.

Another thing to be aware of as a teacher is to be extremely clear in your instructions. All the things that are self-explanatory or easily clarified when you are physically together need to be said out loud or stated in writing when the course is online. Therefore, before the course, participants receive very detailed descriptions of the framework of the course, and during the course the trainers are careful to be explicit about everything that happens and is going to happen:

"It's no good just saying, 'Let's take a little break. You have to say, 'Let's take a 10-minute break and then we'll meet in this online room at 10.25'," says Claus Adam Jarløv. And then you must never be quiet, adds Mark Simpson:

"For example, if you have to switch between different slideshows or find a file on your computer, you have to say out loud that that's what's happening, otherwise the students might think the connection's gone or there's something wrong with the sound."  

On the other hand, you have to be able to handle the fact that it's completely quiet at the other end, and that can be a challenge, says Claus Adam Jarløv:

"It's a strange feeling to sit and give a webinar to a large group and talk with passion and interest about a topic without knowing if anyone is listening to a word you say. And if you do come up with something that's a little bit funny, you don't know if anyone's laughing. So in that way I can sometimes feel a bit awkward in the virtual."

Good things we can take with us

Despite the various bumps and unfamiliar situations, the trainers agree that online learning is here to stay at GlobalDenmark.

"Even before corona, we had been working on offering distance-based training, for example to researchers or business people abroad. With the shutdown in March, the plans suddenly got a boost and there is no doubt that we will continue with online courses, even in a world without corona restrictions," says Claus Adam Jarløv, pointing to three main reasons:

  • There are no geographical restrictions
  • You can give your students the same professional benefit and also restore the social value to a large extent
  • The technology offers many flexible possibilities for e.g. group work and interaction with and between participants

So, to return to the question in the headline - 'Can you do as good a job of teaching online as you do face-to-face?', the answer is a long way, yes you can, according to the three trainers.

However, some subjects are more suitable for online teaching than others, and a general rule of thumb is that the more concrete the course content, the more suitable it is for virtual teaching.

The individual student's experience of an online course can depend on how you are put together as a person, says Claus Adam Jarløv. If you're a bit introverted, you might be fine following a course from home, but if you're very extroverted, you might miss the social physical interaction you normally experience on a course. Overall, however, the feedback from course participants has been overwhelmingly positive.

Despite the many positive experiences, online training will in future be a complement to - and not a substitute for - physical courses at GlobalDenmark, and the trainers look forward to meeting more students face-to-face again as the situation allows.

5 tips for your online teaching:

  • Put socialising on the agenda.
    That way, you can recreate some of what's lost when you don't meet physically. For many, a good chat during the coffee break is an important part of being on a course, and you can actually maintain this if you plan it. At the same time, it is important for participants to have a break and rest their heads in between.
  • Always have more than one teacher.
    This way, the main teacher can concentrate on the content itself and interact with the participants, while another teacher can keep an eye on the chat, help with any technical problems, etc.
  • Ask participants to be on video (if technology allows).
    This way you can see people's facial expressions, sense if they seem absent, and possibly ask a question to engage people.
  • Be explicit about everything that is going on.
    In this way you avoid uncertainty and confusion among the participants. Send out detailed instructions before the course and be clear during the course so that participants are never in doubt about what is going on and what is about to happen. Also ask participants to make themselves clear if there is anything they do not understand.
  • Get close to the camera.
    That way, participants have a live face to look at, and when they can feel your engagement, it helps increase theirs.

Feedback: a source of anxiety and learning

How to make feedback a powerful learning tool, even during a corona epidemic

Feedback can be an invaluable tool, and at the same time a process that is rife with hypocrisy, gullibility and a dangerous presumption that we have a common understanding of our shared world. Feedback is either brutal ("here we say things straight") or vague, sugary sweet talk ("here we have a culture of praise") - which is why feedback as a constructive and systematic learning tool is all too rarely used. I have three tips for good feedback:

  1. Create a formal feedback framework that both parties understand
  2. Make feedback a common concern as a basis for discussion and reflection
  3. Be aware that uninvited feedback can be an abuse

In January, MandagMorgen published an excellent article on feedback entitled "How to avoid your feedback turning into a feedbank", written by business psychologists Mathias Hovind and Susanne Clausager Dalgaard. 

The article focuses on three things managers should avoid when giving feedback. Very interesting and a nice distraction from the corona tumult. The article has inspired me to make a few observations about feedback.

As I said, feedback can be associated with forgetfulness and hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is largely due to the fact that we are social individuals who want to do "the right thing" to become an accepted member of the group we identify with. We will go to great lengths to maintain our membership in the group. We use a common language, laugh at the same jokes, listen to the same music, etc. We say things we don't mean and willingly compromise our own well-being. This is not necessarily for the good, either personally or professionally.

When the boss has to give feedback to an employee, or when a colleague gives feedback to another colleague, feelings can be hurt and uncertainty can arise about what the feedback was really about. It's a bit of a minefield if you're not aware of what's at stake.

Let's imagine that Peter, who gave a speech in the department yesterday, is approached this morning by Birgitte, who says, "Peter, if I could just give you some feedback on your speech yesterday". Peter, who was not very enthusiastic about yesterday's performance and is today suffering from a headache, lies and says "yes please", even though he would prefer to be free.

Birgitte mentions with a smile that "you were very nervous and missed some points, but otherwise it was OK". Peter feels a lot worse for the smiling feedback and when Birgitte is done, he says "thank you". But inside he's frustrated and maybe even a little vengeful. He hadn't felt very nervous at all. What does she think she's doing? All wrapped up in gratitude and smiles. Birgitte has a clear sense that Peter welcomed her feedback. He did say thank you, but behind Peter's facade there is turmoil and irritation.

Birgitte probably meant well, and assumed that Peter was as ready to receive feedback as she was to give it. Without knowing it, Birgitte was abusing Peter. How could Birgitte have avoided it? Even by asking if she could give Peter feedback, Birgitte is committing an abuse. Because Peter will always say yes, whether he means it or not. If he said no, his belonging in the group would be threatened.

Feedback is, as the authors of the Monday Morning article also conclude, a common concern. Giving and receiving feedback is equally valuable for both parties if there is a common goal. If we are to steer clear of hypocrisy, pretence and dangerous preconceptions, there needs to be a common understanding of how and when we give each other feedback, whether we are managers or colleagues.

Feedback is a psychological minefield, where tone, body language, humour, irony, etc. can have a decisive impact on whether the message is understood. Cultural differences make special demands on the way we communicate. We may have the same working language, but we are likely to have very different views on values and concepts such as hierarchies, criticism, slang, etc. The risk of being misunderstood is imminent if we simply assume that we understand each other. Feedback should be clear, friendly and without subtlety.

The clear communication of constructive feedback takes on particular importance in these corona times, when we can expect a large proportion of our meetings to be increasingly digital. This may be by e-mail, Zoom, Skype, etc. This certainly applies to feedback as well. When we meet digitally, we are partly deprived of the important social signals we send and receive when we meet physically. If feedback through digital media is to succeed, focusing on clear, friendly communication is essential. There must therefore be a procedure that all parties are familiar with and can identify with.

The assumption that we have the same understanding of our world and its concepts is pure poison for constructive feedback. The shared understanding of why, when and how we give feedback, in turn, paves the way for an invaluable learning tool. The prerequisite for Birgitte's feedback to work is that both Peter and Birgitte agree that there is an expectation to give and receive feedback. And it is Peter who must invite feedback from his colleague Birgitte.

If Birgitte were Peter's boss, there would be an expectation that she would give Peter feedback without him inviting it. In any case, this is a shared concern. Peter and Birgitte both need to know in advance when and how the feedback will be formulated. Indeed, the recipient of feedback will always be vulnerable, and therefore the giver of feedback would do well to avoid speculating on feelings and assumptions that could cloud the constructive message. In my view, feedback is a formal process - a procedure - that creates a basis for shared reflection and deliberation.

In GlobalDenmark we work with feedback across cultures. Our model - DIDS - creates a shared safe learning environment across national, professional and personal cultures. 2600 PhD students worldwide have been introduced to our feedback methodology over the past 10 years, and several have returned with the remark "It works!".

Read more about GlobalDenmark's course on cross-cultural feedback here.

Here is an article about DIDS as a tool in the global research team.

Thanks to Mathias Hovind and Susanne Clausager Dalgaard for a little corona distraction!

How to become a star international negotiator

This article is for anyone who engages in negotiating in general, and international, cross-cultural negotiations in particular. In the article, I explore theoretical aspects of negotiating coupled with my practical experience in the field.

The subject is the negotiation framework, i.e. the multitude of negotiations that are necessary for successful negotiation results. I was inspired by Daniel Kahneman's two systems of thinking: instincts and emotions versus logic and reflection. I introduce the concept GlobalCompetence® as an approach to couple multiple competences that constitute the basis for successful international negotiating in a cross-cultural environment.

The tips and insights presented in the article are derived from my more than 30 years' experience as a cross-cultural negotiation consultant and trainer. I firmly believe that establishing the negotiation framework is a prerequisite for sustainable negotiation results.

Truly successful international negotiators succeed not in spite of cultural differences, but because of them. That is what this article is about.

The layers of the negotiation framework: five tips

1st layer: Yourself

The tip: Be honest to yourself, loyal to your own interests and to your team

2nd layer: Your base

The tip: Make sure that your team is aligned before you negotiate

3rd layer: The personal relationship with your counterpart

The tip: Establish trust and rapport before the core negotiation

4th layer: Cross-cultural differences

The tip: Understand key characteristics of your counterpart's culture

5th layer: Language pitfalls

The tip: Focus on concepts, not words - avoid assumptions

Read more about each tip below.

The negotiation framework

Successful international negotiating requires a multitude of insights and techniques. For negotiators to succeed, they can't merely focus on "getting that deal". International negotiating consists of numerous aspects. Awareness of the complexity of international negotiations is a prerequisite for sustainable negotiation results. In this article, we make a distinction between the framework of negotiation and the core negotiation. The core negotiation - the "what" - which involves technical insights, negotiation strategy, management, etc. will be addressed in a later blog.

Here we offer five tips that address the framework of negotiation, or the competences required for successful international negotiation: The "how". The negotiation framework is the foundation for the successful cross-cultural negotiator. The negotiation framework comprises a hierarchy of five layers, each dependent on the other, and each subject to negotiation.

Fast and slow thinking

Mastering the five layers of the negotiation framework enables international negotiators - or any negotiator for that matter - to act promptly and relevantly in the core negotiation. In his book Thinking, Fast and Slow economist/psychologist Daniel Kahneman discusses how we may respond instinctively when under pressure: thinking fast. Fast thinking is sometimes necessary as a survival mechanism. The mechanism is associated with a simple, narrow focus. "I want my business to survive the Corona crisis"; "I am not interested in the global crisis, because I've got something in my eye". In negotiation, fast thinking could be triggered by the negotiator's desperate need to win that contract. Fast thinking only works if it's coupled with slow thinking: analysis, reflection, dilemmas, etc.

The negotiation framework enables negotiators to think fast on the basis of slow thinking. "I want my business to survive the Corona crisis, but first we must make sure that the spread of the virus is contained"; "Much as I need that contract now, perhaps we should look further into what we discussed yesterday over that cup of coffee." Successful international negotiations get the best of both worlds because their framework is generated by slow thinking, which enables them to think fast and appropriately.

The negotiator's framework: five layers

The first layer of negotiation: You

Successful negotiators know that it all starts with negotiating with themselves, the first layer: Take Peter, for example: he considers his situation, his doubts, gut feelings, his own career, etc. Peter negotiates with himself about his negotiation position, not forgetting his own career prospects. The first layer enables Peter to think fast when necessary, because he has given it due attention in advance. This makes him able to move to the next layer: negotiating with his team.

The second layer of negotiation: Your team

Peter negotiates with his team and superiors: They work out a strategy, define objectives and how far Peter can go, etc. For Peter to feel that he has his team behind him during the negotiation, and after it, is crucial. Negotiations that failed often end in internal blame games with a lot of energy being spent on whose fault it was. This may well have long-term implications for the future of the team. Peter is aware of it and makes sure that his team is on the same page when planning the negotiation. Negotiating team alignment is the second layer.

The third layer of negotiation: The relationship with the counterpart

When meeting his counterparts for the first time, Peter greets them, remembers not to shake hands with them in these Corona-ridden times, but remembers to exchange courteous remarks with them. Successful negotiators establish relationships - the third layer - knowing that the negotiation is already in full swing at the very moment they meet their counterpart. The informal conversation in the lobby, in the taxi or on the plane generates trust and goodwill. Peter will also have learned to say "Pleased to meet you" in his counterpart's language.

The fourth layer of negotiation: Understand the counterpart's cultural background

International negotiators are curious about their counterpart's cultural background, the fourth layer. They make an effort to understand the other side. The reason for Peter exploring the counterpart's cultural roots is for him to be aware of what to say - and what not to say - and how to behave in the best way possible.

Peter is used to working in very flat hierarchies where it can be difficult to see who is the intern, and who is the boss. Perhaps Peter's counterparts pay more attention to status and titles? Understanding the counterpart's culture, Peter is aware of what tone to use, how is own status is be demonstrated and whom to talk to talk to when things are becoming difficult. If Peter is in doubt about what to say or do, he may ask his counterpart for advice. Peter will almost invariably get a highly useful answer. He will have generated trust and respect because he has shown interest in his counterpart's culture.

Peter once met a very angry counterpart, Mr Lee, who felt disrespectfully treated by the staff at a hotel in Denmark which Peter had recommended. Mr Lee's fury could have become a threat to Peter's negotiation. Rather than trying to sort it out himself (thinking fast!), he said "I fully understand that you find this unacceptable. I will immediately talk to the hotel manager, and I'm sure he will sort it out".

By showing empathy and taking the case to the highest level possible, the issue was quickly resolved to everybody's satisfaction. Mr Lee's background was rooted in a highly hierarchical culture - Peter was aware of this and acted accordingly.

The fifth layer of negotiation: The language

Negotiating is about arriving at an agreement with another party. For this to happen, we must communicate with each other. We use a shared language with which we assume we can express ourselves and be understood. This can be a language other than our mother tongue. Whereas Peter will have learned a few polite phrases in the counterpart's language, English is the language he generally uses as an international negotiator.

How can international negotiators be sure that they actually understand each other? Can Peter assume that his counterparts understand the words in the same way as he does? Successful international negotiators go beyond words and check what the words stand for as part of the negotiation. Peter does that through conversation and lots of interested questions. He knows that assuming sameness of understanding is poison for international negotiators. Negotiating language issues is the fifth layer of the negotiation framework.

The negotiator's "radar": From single focus to a broad outlook

The negotiator who has one objective in mind - "winning" - is likely to fail in the long term. Negotiators' tunnel vision - thinking fast with a single focus - makes them blind to possibilities and opportunities that could have turned mediocre results into sustainable, durable and valuable outcomes. The negotiator's tunnel vision generates blinkered and narrow-minded results - if any.

GlobalCompetence is an approach developed by GlobalDenmark that integrates multiple competences and disciplines: personal, linguistic, cultural and technical. A competence may be valuable in its own right; for it to generate sustainable results personally and professionally, it must be coupled with other competences.

GlobalCompetence is a holistic approach that ensures that Peter can work in many different negotiation environments, without losing his own authenticity - and, ultimately, nurturing his keen interest in learning from others. Peter is rarely pushed out of his comfort zone; rather, GlobalCompetence has extended his comfort zone.

Successful negotiating requires a "radar approach" that keeps an eye on the many layers of the negotiation process. Many layers of different competences playing together like a symphony orchestra. The musicians will have to act immediately, but on the basis of a lot of practice and knowledge about the music. GlobalCompetence paves the way for fast thinking on the basis of slow-thinking analysis and reflection. This approach makes durable and mutually valuable negotiation results in a cross-cultural environment much more likely. Drawing on his multilayer awareness of the negotiation framework makes Peter able to think fast on the basis of slow thinking.

Moving from the framework to the core negotiation

The literature on negotiating has long focused on the desirability of all sides winning: "win-win". You may ask yourself if negotiating is always about winning and losing? If we have once won, do we then stand to lose next time we meet? Do we stand to gain more than we initially expected?

In our experience over the past more than 30 years, many negotiations may appear to have succeeded without the negotiator's knowing why. The ostensible success may disguise a lot of potential opportunities that were never properly explored. An apparently "good" negotiation result may turn out to be a rather bad one.

Many of our clients have become brilliant negotiators through a "learning-by-doing process". This implies that these negotiators may well have done a lot of damage before they had ended up acquiring their skills. Others may be brilliant technically, but don't pay enough attention what's really going on in the minds of their counterparts. If their attitude towards the negotiation process focuses merely on "getting the deal", they go blind and deaf to better deals. They are victimised by fast thinking.

Successful international negotiators know how to identify potential opportunities through their ability to navigate in the many layers of negotiation. This broad outlook, which includes the five layers of negotiation, is made possible by our GlobalCompetence approach. Successful international negotiators benefit from fast thinking - because it is coupled to the analysis, reflection and dilemmas emanating from slow thinking.

We must integrate at least five layers in the negotiation framework before the international negotiator can engage in the "core negotiation": the contract, the deal. This happens at meetings, in telephone conversations, emails etc. Communication is a prerequisite for negotiation, which permeates the five layers of the negotiation framework.

Through various techniques, we seek to achieve a result that is as beneficial to us as possible. Whether we should actually work on ensuring equal benefits for the other side depends on our interests. If we aim at the best possible results, the five layers - encapsulated in GlobalCompetence® - in negotiating are inescapable. In a later article, we will discuss the core negotiation.

Five layers of the negotiation framework - five tips

Be honest about yourself as your own negotiation counterpart. What are your personal interests in the negotiation? Will the negotiation be affected by your career dreams, your ethical outlook or general identification with the process?

Negotiate properly with your team - they may not necessarily share your interests, even if they seem to. Your colleagues and superiors are your negotiation counterparts, too. Team alignment is essential!

Build relationships: In the cross-cultural setting, negotiating begins with building a relationship with your counterpart. A personal relationship opens the door to invaluable insights: at the restaurant, in the taxi, in the lobby, etc.

Understand the cultural background of your counterpart: hierarchies, dress code, politeness, etc. read about this in relevant textbooks and guides. If in doubt, ask!

Focus on concepts, not words: when negotiators communicate, they can never be completely sure that the counterpart understands a message as intended. Discuss what the words stand for - never assume sameness of understanding when the working language is not the parties' mother tongue!

What is GlobalDenmark?

Established in 1985, GlobalDenmark is a cross-cultural communication consultancy. Claus Adam Jarløv conceived an approach that bridges many competences in the same person, which was later to become known as GlobalCompetence. Researchers must couple their technical knowledge with communication and negotiation skills for their research to generate value in the world. Likewise, international negotiators use a cluster of skills, such as language, cross-cultural insights, psychological acumen etc. to achieve the best possible results. This is what GlobalCompetence is all about.

GlobalDenmark specialises in enabling professionals to communicate across borders: cultural, linguistic, technical or personal borders. Focal areas include cross-cultural negotiation, presentation techniques and cross-cultural management. GlobalDenmark is a regular provider of training courses, 1-1 coaching and consultancy programmes to a wide range of enterprises, research institutions and government bodies.

Claus Adam Jarløv, the founder of GlobalDenmark, has been a lead consultant in communication and negotiation projects in Ethiopia, Morocco, Sweden, Spain and Russia in addition to Denmark.

Recommended links and references

Negotiation cases. Harvard Law School

Daniel Kahneman: Thinking, Fast and Slow, 2011

Geert Hofstede: The 6-D model of national culture

Richard D Lewis: When Cultures Collide - Leading Across Cultures - 4th edition, 2018

Chester Karrass: The Negotiating Game, Give and Take, In Business as in Life, 1994

Claus Adam Jarløv: Communicating Across Borders, 2012

7 tips on great presentations in English

This article is for anyone who would like tips on how to give a great presentation in a multicultural environment.

The 7 tips

Be formal and avoid jokes and irony

Make personal contact with your audience before you start

Be yourself, first and foremost

Then be the professional

Start with your key message

End with your key message

Make your final slide a source of inspiration for your audience to encourage questions

Have you ever

Attended a talk or a presentation where you were struggling to keep your eyes open?

Seen slides full of numbers and text, impossible to digest?

Left a presentation not really being sure what the key message was?

Not really understood the speaker's "funny" remarks?

How can you make sure your audience doesn't think that way about you?

Or have you, as a presenter,

Delivered a presentation where you became doubtful about whether your subject was in fact interesting to the audience?

Prepared slides you knew were overloaded with data and text?

Rounded off your presentation without much dialogue with your listeners?

Felt uneasy with the English language and the jokes you made?

And how can you make sure this doesn't happen to you (again)?

The audience: more demanding, still polite

When I started my career as an independent communications consultant 35 years ago, it was in many ways OK for audiences to be bombarded with incomprehensible details, exposed to speakers who mumbled and who were not in sync with their audience.

In academia and in business. Audiences were used to pretending to be interested and receptive, even if they had no clue about what was happening. This is not a thing of the past.

We may still attend boring, indigestible and unfocused presentations. TED talks / presentations and social media have made audiences more demanding over the years, true. Audiences even evaluate presentations sometimes.

On top of that, more and more presentations are expected to be delivered in English, often in multi-cultural environments. But we still put up with being bored, absent-minded and perhaps even bewildered. Nodding and smiling. Audiences are generally terribly polite. All over the world.

Mistakes can be a relief

To be quite honest, some the most memorable presentations I have experienced (both as a speaker and listener) were the ones that went wrong: the projector failed, or the hosts forgot to book a room. For some reason, these mishaps often contributed to the value of a presentation in that there was much dialogue between speaker and audience, and the speaker might - in a sweat - say: "Now, what I really wanted to tell you..." The presenter became a human being who had an important story to tell us.

Speaker and audience shared a wavelength where the speaker did not only speak to the audience but engaged in a conversation with them. Somehow cultural and linguistic barriers disappeared.

How can we make a presentation valuable and enjoyable?

I am not advocating that things must go wrong for the presentation to be successful. But perhaps we can learn a bit from what makes a talk or presentation a valuable and enjoyable experience?

How can we achieve this across cultural borders with English as the working language?

Here are the seven tips again:

Tip No 1

Formality is your protection: If you are Danish, you may want to be disarmingly informal. Don't! Formality is your protection - jokes and irony may do wonders in Denmark, but can do damage abroad. And nobody will tell you! So, if in doubt, be formal. You can adapt your behaviour towards more informality later.

Tip No 2

Your attitude counts: We are social creatures - and presentation s are social events. Show interest in your audience by making links to which they can identify. Make personal contact and talk to people in the lobby: before you go on stage, during breaks and afterwards. Ask questions, be curious - interest in other people always works!

Tip No 3

Be you first: Before you begin your presentation, share a short story or observation of relevance to the subject of your presentation. Your style is relaxed and personal, yet respectful and polite.

Tip No 4

Be the professional next: After the more informal start, change style and become more formal and professional. It will make your audience listen to you.

Tip No 5

Start with your key message: Start your presentation with your key message or key points ("What I really want to tell you"). Your style is focused, insistent and formal.

Tip No 6

End with your key message: Putting it into the context of your presentation. Again, be focused, insistent and formal. Use the final slide with your key message.

Tip No 7

Make your presentation a social affair: The final slide with your key points will work as a source of inspiration for the audience: they qualify comments and questions. The final slide is the most precious of them all. Treat it accordingly. It encourages interaction with your listeners. Across cultural borders - also in English.

Becoming a compelling presenter: plan and practise!

There is a lot more to it, of course.

Giving presentations in a multicultural setting with English as a foreign language can be quite a challenge. But with these 7 simple tips, you stand a good chance of delivering a valuable presentation at home and abroad - you might even enjoy it yourself!

If you are interested in becoming better at giving presentations in English, then join our course: "Presentation techniques in English"

Read the course description in Danish

Read the course description in English

Will machines conquer English?

Imagine you're at an international conference. Delegates come from all over the world and there's the usual buzz of conversation in the lobby during the morning coffee break. Today, those conversations are very probably in English, but imagine if everyone could speak their own mother tongue AND be understood by their foreign colleagues because they are wearing an earpiece that is interpreting the conversation in real time.

This is not as far away as you may think. You can already dictate a text message in Danish into your mobile via Siri; send the message to your French friend, who can then use Google Translate to translate the text into French. Your French friend can then have Siri read the page aloud.

It's not perfect, but the jump to the conference scenario doesn't seem that great, and of course there's technology around that is a little better at this than our smartphones.

If all this does transpire, then why learn a foreign language? Could this be the death of English as the lingua franca?

The future of English and machine translation

The future of English and machine translation (MT) was the subject of a recent TAUS (Translation Automation User Society) webinar. The webinar formed the basis of an internal workshop on the issue at GlobalDenmark.

There is no doubt that right now English is the dominant language of commerce, of science, and not least of the internet.

According to Lane Greene

According to Lane Greene, one of the expert panellists in the webinar, in northern Europe 80%-90% of the population can converse in English. In southern Europe the figure is less, but if we focus on the under 55s, then the figures again approach 90%. In Africa, where the population is expected to grow most over the next 50 years, English is the fourth most spoken language. The first three are Swahili, Amharic and Hausa, so when China invests in a new road or mining project in Africa, English is more than likely to be the language in which the stakeholders communicate.

So, according to Lane Greene such growth is proof that English will continue as the lingua franca.

According to Nicholas Ostler

The second expert, Nicholas Ostler, takes the opposite view. He thinks machines will take over translation and interpretation.

His primary argument is that if we don't have to learn a language we won't. Learning a language is a pain and we'll always take the easy way out.

He also argues that Lane Greene's perspective is based on relatively short-term data. In the long term, MT will get better and better and negate the need to learn another language. He believes the use of English will peak in the 21st century.

Nicholas Ostler continued that large countries like Japan and China, and countries in Latin America already have their 'lingua franca'; namely Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish and Portuguese. People from these countries are much happier with what they know rather than having to bother with a new language.

On the other hand

On the other hand, we're also converging on English through other channels.

Children today tweet, snap, watch movies and chat on computer games in English every day, no matter where they come from. They learn English at school from an ever-younger age. Perhaps all this will mean that the next generation will automatically grow up almost bilingual and they'll only need to make a minimal effort to hone their already acquired English skills to speak fluently and comfortably.

In other words, supply will feed demand. The more people who speak English the more useful it will be to speak English and thus the greater the demand.

So where does all this leave us?

How to balance family life and a PhD

What are the key elements for a successful balance between family life and the PhD study?

- lessons learned from Urd Bak's story

Dr. Bak's 3 tips to PhD students are:

Structure and plan your scientific work, and keep work and family life apart.

Accept your imperfections and get the help you need to tackle them - remember "completed" is better than "perfect",

Keep your supervisor updated so problems can be resolved before they become serious disturbances.

Meet Urd Bak, married, mother of two daughters, biologist and PhD on seaweeds.

In this blog post, Urd Bak shares her PhD story and the key elements that helped her to a successful balance between family life and work.

How to balance family life and a PhD

It all began when Urd was doing her BA. A senior researcher introduced her to the potential of seaweeds as a source of environmentally sustainable source of nutrition. Urd was fascinated and loved the hands-on aspects of studying these oceanic vegetables.

Moving on to her Master's degree, seaweeds still played a major role in Urd's academic work. Having earned her MSc, she was employed part time at the Food Institute, the Danish Technical University and part time at Ocean Rainforsts, a private company that specialises in making seaweed a viable business proposition. The idea of an industrial PhD was taking shape, in collaboration with the university.

Urd started her PhD abroad and brought the family with her

Urd decided to spend the first year as PhD student at Ocean Rainforsts on the Faroe Islands with her family: two young daughters and her husband. On the one hand, Urd was in paradise, being able to dig into her weeds. On the other hand, life was challenging for her and her family trying to make their everyday lives work in a foreign environment. Among other things, through Urd's structuring of her work, there was room for both science and the family.

After one year, the family moved back to Copenhagen. Life changed from wellies to a computer keyboard. Papers were to be written and presentations prepared for scientific conferences, and still she commuted between home and the wind battered Atlantic islands for more field work.

Accept your imperfections - you can communicate your science internationally without being strong at English

Urd knew that English - her working language - was not her key competence. At school, maths and natural sciences subjects were favourites, whereas foreign languages were not really her cup of tea. So, a language barrier in her scientific work was by no means a surprise.

How did Urd manage to write the scientific papers required? And how about speaking at international conferences? Well, first, Urd attended courses on academic writing and presentation techniques. She learnt to use some very tangible tools to help her build a scientific paper systematically and in correct English.

Secondly, she used speaking techniques that helped her deal with nerves and deliver well-structured, interesting talks. She discovered that using relevant writing and presentation techniques continuously made writing and public speaking less daunting. Practice makes perfect, or nearly so!

Finally, Urd benefited greatly from her natural self-discipline and ability to plan her academic activities.

"Being systematic and disciplined made me get things done and at the same time still have a family life."

From PhD student to full-blown researcher

One day not long ago, all the papers for her PhD had been finalised. And her thesis, too. It was time for the moment of truth: the PhD defence. An audience comprising friends and family, colleagues and supervisors and two outsiders ready to ask critical questions.

It all went well; very well, in fact. Urd felt intensely happy. And afterwards, a garden party at home: one her supervisors gave a moving speech as did a cousin who had helped her. For Urd, her PhD process was a positive experience - fancy now being a full-blown researcher, on a par with those a looked upon with awe not long ago. That day was a milestone in Urd's life, not least considering that five years earlier, Urd had no clue about pursuing an academic career.

Now that Urd is no longer a PhD student, she discovered that her academic life is different, almost intimidating; now, Urd is a scientific resource rather than a mere underling as some senior researchers tend to see PhD students.

Urd now works at Ocean Rainforests, who originally hired her as a PhD student. She is happy there but has no specific plans for the future. What Urd does know is that she wants to explore further the huge potential in seaweeds as a way of reducing CO2 emissions, ensuring food availability on the planet and protecting the oceans.

Urd's three tips:

Our conversation ends with Urd's three tips for PhD students:

Structure and plan your work!

Never allow your daily work to be distracted by activities in your life that are also important - and the other way around. Keeping things on track enabled Urd to engage in hardcore science and, at the same time, to have a happy family life.

Accept your imperfections!

Things can always be improved, but at some point in time you must deliver. No one is infallible, and you must learn to enjoy the relief of submitting something you have worked hard on. Getting help to deal with challenges can make your work more efficient and help ensure a good balance between work and private life.

Keep your supervisor updated!

Urd's supervisors were invaluable resources throughout her PhD. It was vital that Urd continuously kept them informed about how things were going so problems could be resolved before they became serious disturbances. Use your supervisors - they are your partners!

Urd (or Dr Bak) attended GlobalDenmark's two courses on scientific communication: "Academic Writing" and "Advanced Presentation Techniques".

Related Links

https://phdinahundredsteps.com/tag/balancing-phd-and-workfamily-life/

https://www.phdstudies.com/article/six-tips-for-pursuing-your-phd-with-a-family/

https://storiesinscience.org/2018/08/24/phd-or-family/

Theatre of the Absurd

I have always maintained that English words only rarely mean exactly the same as their Danish equivalents. Style, usage, tone, connotations may vary even if the words look completely alike. This is what makes quality translation such a demanding craft. These days, the word "absurd" is being scrutinised as the Danish PM used the Danish word "absurd" in a comment on President Trump's wish to buy Greenland. This apparently offended the President to a degree that he cancelled a state visit to Denmark at very short notice. How can one word have such impact? Linguists are frantically searching for differences in the meaning of this word in English and in Danish. They are still searching. I would venture to say that "absurd" means almost the same in English and in Danish. It's a semantically powerful word and sounds like a nice version of "crazy". Calling a person's utterances absurd is offensive in either language if one wants to be offended.

The President's newly acquired sensitivity inspired him to call the Danish PM's use of the word "nasty", which is a powerful word, too. Quite offensive, in many people's minds. But the world leader kindly defined it as "not nice". The President seems to have a soft spot for very few powerful words and phrases, which he uses again and again. "The likes of which the world has never seen before" is an extremely powerful phrase when used once - used many times, it becomes ambiguous. "Incredible" and "awesome" are everyday examples of the same phenomenon. Big words whose meaning broadens when used frequently. The president frequently uses the word "nasty" about people he doesn't like. "Not nice" - or disgusting? Your choice.

The American President's cancellation of his visit to Denmark is a case of selective interpretation of the word "absurd": whereas the Danish PM said that it was an absurd discussion, the President decided to interpret it as offensive to him and, hence, to the United States of America. The President is crazy. That is offensive. The President used one semantically powerful word as a pretext for not coming to Denmark. He may have his reasons. One word triggers the cancellation of a state visit. May I use the word "absurd" here? Hats off to the Danish PM for not engaging in a war of words!

Claus Adam Jarløv, CEO

An intern's journey from university to the real world

I am studying English with a profile in Translation and Communication in the 3rd semester of my Master's programme at the University of Copenhagen. I was lucky enough to meet Barbara from GlobalDenmark when she gave a presentation on technical translation at one of my courses a few months ago. It was incredibly exciting to hear about the career opportunities that a language degree offers, and it inspired me to look into the possibility of starting an internship with GlobalDenmark. Fortunately, they were willing to welcome (another) intern to their company and I am looking forward to an interesting and educational programme that will end in January. I will get to sniff a bit at all the company's task types in the different departments, as well as prepare content for the company's online profile. I hope you will read along.

Theory vs. practice

I'm not sure what I had in mind before I started my internship, but I didn't expect to be put on an equal footing with the rest of the company so quickly. On the second day of my internship, I was given my first "real" translation assignment. By "real" I mean an assignment that didn't just have to be read through once by a tutor, given a mark and then filed. No, it will actually be used out in the "real world" and it was quite a satisfying feeling to finish it, even though it was also very challenging. Fortunately, I wasn't completely left to my own devices, as one of the company's experienced translators read and proofread the translation with me, while we discussed the changes he made. This in itself is a very instructive process.

I've read all sorts of theory about translation, but putting theory into practice is easier said than done. Because (unfortunately) there is no recipe for perfect translation. Translation is a communicative tool that varies from task to task, so you need to combine your theoretical knowledge base with a lot of practical skills to become a good translator. And that's exactly what you do when you go on placement.

CAT Tools

These skills can be supported by different tools. GlobalDenmark uses a CAT (Computer-Assisted Translation) tool called MemoQ. This tool makes the job of a translator much easier, and I don't think many professional translators work without one. But they do at the University of Copenhagen. During my studies, I only had the opportunity to work with a CAT tool once. Otherwise, I did all my translation work 'manually', of course with the help of dictionaries and various databases. Of course, this has taught me a lot about translating, but it was an almost new world for me to solve a task using a CAT tool, which is an indispensable tool for most professional translators. This will undoubtedly strengthen my skills in using translation tools and benefit me in the future. Of course, my theoretical background will also help me a lot when I enter the job market as a graduate, but the job market often expects more than theoretical knowledge, and I am therefore very grateful to have had the opportunity to be part of GlobalDenmark for a while.

I am also very pleased to see that the Government's Entrepreneurship Panel is now focusing on the value of internships for university students, because as they state: "[t]hese companies need a workforce that hasn't just spent its education with its nose buried in books".

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