Notice the difference that these two presentations of the same words make:
Dear John,
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we’re apart. I can be forever happy—will you let me be yours?
Trish
Or to put it another way:
Dear John.
I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we’re apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?
Yours,
Trish
Punctuation is important to the spoken word, too.
When I learned to read in primary school, Sister Mary Brutus taught me to count 1 at a comma and three at a full stop. She also taught me to raise my voice at a comma and lower it at the end of a sentence.
These habits have stayed with me and I now follow them intuitively when I speak.
From discussions with people educated more recently than I was, it appears that this has disappeared from the curriculum. It is a shame, at least if no alternative has replaced them.
I also recommend that you write your speeches out with a natural break at the end of each line.
Keep it to about six words per line.
Tape yourself reading this next paragraph:
I don't read my speeches. If I did, however, I would set them out in lines of six words or less in a large type with one phrase or idea per line.
I would place a double space between sentences and never carry a sentence over the page.
This is how I advise those who need to read to speeches to set out their script:
I don't read my speeches.
If I did,
however,
I would set them out
in lines of six words or less
in a large type
with one phrase or idea per line.
I would place a double space
between sentences
and never carry a sentence
over the page.
Now retape yourself reading the larger text, and see how it affects the way that you sound.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Setting Up the Room
The amount of influence that you will have on the set up of the room will vary according to the role that you are playing. But familiarity and satisfaction with the room layout as far as possible in advance make it possible to concentrate on your speech while you are giving it. A rush from the airport to the microphone just in time to be introduced will detract from your speech - no matter how good a speaker you are, because I have yet to find a room set up to my total satisfaction.
If you are not satisfied with the room, then that will be on your mind while you are speaking, not allowing you to give your total attention to your speech and the audience.
Certainly, like anything this can be delegated. If you do delegate it, however, make sure it is to someone whose priority is to ensure your satisfaction and not someone whose main interest is filling seats or paring overheads - both noble objectives, up to a point.
At a wedding reception, you may have a low priority, but you are also doing the other speakers a favour if you make sure that the room is speaker friendly.
At a conference where you are one of several speakers, you will have to co-operate with the other speakers to ensure that they have their needs met too, but don't assume that everything will be all right on the night.
If you are a later speaker, watch some of the earlier ones to see how they have coped with the set up, and base any requests for alterations on their difficulties.
Certainly, no one likes a Prima Donna who makes unreasonable demands, however a good room set up benefits everybody - the conference organiser, the audience, the other speakers and you.
If you are a manager speaking to employees, your credibility will be destroyed if you are not able to ensure that you are heard and seen by the audience.
Use this checklist to inspect the room well in advance of your presentation, considering which points apply to the setting in which you will speak.
Will everyone be able to see me?
Do you need to be on a raised platform? Yes if the furthest person is behind more than four other people. The platform should be at least 500 mm high for each eight rows of the audience, if the floor of the room is level.
How will the room be lit? Will you be under a spotlight, with the audience in semi-darkness? Hopefully not. It is almost impossible to maintain eye contact, and therefore obtain feedback in these circumstances. Ask for the lights to be raised so that you can recognise people at least five rows back in a large room.
Where are the people facing? If they are seated at round tables for a meal, ask that one out of every four chairs (and the associated place settings) be removed - the ones with the backs to the stage, that is.
Are there any barriers? Pillars, mirrors and partitions are among the barriers you may have to contend with in many rooms where you will be speaking after a meal. Position yourself so that the whole audience will be able to see you, and ask that any tables that have to be moved are.
Is a video system in place? When speaking to a large gathering - more than twenty rows in the audience - video screens should be used to convey the image of the speaker to the audience. This is a setting that requires on-site rehearsal, no matter how familiar you are with speaking or being televised. There needs to be a clear understanding between you and the individual camera operators, probably through the floor manager so that your speaking style will be covered. Professional speakers who do a lot of video work prefer sports camera operators - they can keep up with the play.
Will everyone be able to see my visual support material?
I will dedicate a series of posts to the design of visual support material, yet it is all wasted unless the audience can see it.
There are three major concerns: lighting, size and line of sight.
For lighting, there is a need to balance your desire to see the audience and your desire to have he audience see the projected materials. Fortunately with modern technology that is not a difficult task.
Projectors work well in daylight conditions, provided there is good contrast between the background and highlight colours.
Modern computer projectors also work well in subdued lighting, well above the darkness levels required for 35 mm slides or movie projection.
For smaller audiences, flip charts and whiteboards work well in daylight conditions, in fact they require them.
Both will be overpowered by an audience at a resort complex looking out over the ocean, yet I have walked into rooms that were set up in exactly that way. Either close the curtains or turn the seats around.
For size: there are a number of rules of thumb, my two favourites are:
Don't put anything on a slide that you can't read unprojected from two metres away. In the days of overhead prohjectors, the simple test was drop your slide to the floor and you should be able to read it;
In the days of PowerPoint projection:
For every ten metres from the audience to the screen, the projected image needs to be one metre high.
For line of sight: Consider the same things that were included in the checklist above, and add distractions. Posters on the walls, mirrors, and beaches visible through windows will all compete with your visual. A thorough inspection of the room before your presentation is the best way to check this out.
Will everyone be able to hear me?
If there is any doubt that every person in the room will be able to hear you clearly, use a microphone. Consider background noise, sound from adjacent rooms - which may be different at the time you inspect the room to when you speak.. Always check what time the disco and the bingo start.
10 tips for using a microphone
1. Rehearse using the system in place before the audience arrives. Please don't start your speech by blowing into the microphone or tapping on it. There is a very sensitive diaphragm in most microphones and this can be damaged by these habits. Even with a microphone that does not have a diaphragm, it looks as though you have never handled a microphone before and therefore detracts from your credibility. Counting is just as bad.
2. When rehearsing, remember that the volume in an empty room will be substantially higher than in a full room.
3. Learn to use it, then forget it's there.
4. Use wireless or lapel microphones as required.
5. Make sure you are plugged into the correct sockets.
6. Check that sound from systems in other rooms will not come over your speakers.
7. Have microphones available for questions/contributions.
8. Keep the recommended distance away from the microphone. For a speaker's microphone this is usually about 150 mm. Any closer and your ps will pop.
9. Avoid feedback, which is caused by the sound from the speakers being picked up by the microphone. Stay away from the front of the speakers, and don't walk under any overhead speakers.
10. Adjust your voice volume to suit the microphone.
If you are not satisfied with the room, then that will be on your mind while you are speaking, not allowing you to give your total attention to your speech and the audience.
Certainly, like anything this can be delegated. If you do delegate it, however, make sure it is to someone whose priority is to ensure your satisfaction and not someone whose main interest is filling seats or paring overheads - both noble objectives, up to a point.
At a wedding reception, you may have a low priority, but you are also doing the other speakers a favour if you make sure that the room is speaker friendly.
At a conference where you are one of several speakers, you will have to co-operate with the other speakers to ensure that they have their needs met too, but don't assume that everything will be all right on the night.
If you are a later speaker, watch some of the earlier ones to see how they have coped with the set up, and base any requests for alterations on their difficulties.
Certainly, no one likes a Prima Donna who makes unreasonable demands, however a good room set up benefits everybody - the conference organiser, the audience, the other speakers and you.
If you are a manager speaking to employees, your credibility will be destroyed if you are not able to ensure that you are heard and seen by the audience.
Use this checklist to inspect the room well in advance of your presentation, considering which points apply to the setting in which you will speak.
Will everyone be able to see me?
Do you need to be on a raised platform? Yes if the furthest person is behind more than four other people. The platform should be at least 500 mm high for each eight rows of the audience, if the floor of the room is level.
How will the room be lit? Will you be under a spotlight, with the audience in semi-darkness? Hopefully not. It is almost impossible to maintain eye contact, and therefore obtain feedback in these circumstances. Ask for the lights to be raised so that you can recognise people at least five rows back in a large room.
Where are the people facing? If they are seated at round tables for a meal, ask that one out of every four chairs (and the associated place settings) be removed - the ones with the backs to the stage, that is.
Are there any barriers? Pillars, mirrors and partitions are among the barriers you may have to contend with in many rooms where you will be speaking after a meal. Position yourself so that the whole audience will be able to see you, and ask that any tables that have to be moved are.
Is a video system in place? When speaking to a large gathering - more than twenty rows in the audience - video screens should be used to convey the image of the speaker to the audience. This is a setting that requires on-site rehearsal, no matter how familiar you are with speaking or being televised. There needs to be a clear understanding between you and the individual camera operators, probably through the floor manager so that your speaking style will be covered. Professional speakers who do a lot of video work prefer sports camera operators - they can keep up with the play.
Will everyone be able to see my visual support material?
I will dedicate a series of posts to the design of visual support material, yet it is all wasted unless the audience can see it.
There are three major concerns: lighting, size and line of sight.
For lighting, there is a need to balance your desire to see the audience and your desire to have he audience see the projected materials. Fortunately with modern technology that is not a difficult task.
Projectors work well in daylight conditions, provided there is good contrast between the background and highlight colours.
Modern computer projectors also work well in subdued lighting, well above the darkness levels required for 35 mm slides or movie projection.
For smaller audiences, flip charts and whiteboards work well in daylight conditions, in fact they require them.
Both will be overpowered by an audience at a resort complex looking out over the ocean, yet I have walked into rooms that were set up in exactly that way. Either close the curtains or turn the seats around.
For size: there are a number of rules of thumb, my two favourites are:
Don't put anything on a slide that you can't read unprojected from two metres away. In the days of overhead prohjectors, the simple test was drop your slide to the floor and you should be able to read it;
In the days of PowerPoint projection:
For every ten metres from the audience to the screen, the projected image needs to be one metre high.
For line of sight: Consider the same things that were included in the checklist above, and add distractions. Posters on the walls, mirrors, and beaches visible through windows will all compete with your visual. A thorough inspection of the room before your presentation is the best way to check this out.
Will everyone be able to hear me?
If there is any doubt that every person in the room will be able to hear you clearly, use a microphone. Consider background noise, sound from adjacent rooms - which may be different at the time you inspect the room to when you speak.. Always check what time the disco and the bingo start.
10 tips for using a microphone
1. Rehearse using the system in place before the audience arrives. Please don't start your speech by blowing into the microphone or tapping on it. There is a very sensitive diaphragm in most microphones and this can be damaged by these habits. Even with a microphone that does not have a diaphragm, it looks as though you have never handled a microphone before and therefore detracts from your credibility. Counting is just as bad.
2. When rehearsing, remember that the volume in an empty room will be substantially higher than in a full room.
3. Learn to use it, then forget it's there.
4. Use wireless or lapel microphones as required.
5. Make sure you are plugged into the correct sockets.
6. Check that sound from systems in other rooms will not come over your speakers.
7. Have microphones available for questions/contributions.
8. Keep the recommended distance away from the microphone. For a speaker's microphone this is usually about 150 mm. Any closer and your ps will pop.
9. Avoid feedback, which is caused by the sound from the speakers being picked up by the microphone. Stay away from the front of the speakers, and don't walk under any overhead speakers.
10. Adjust your voice volume to suit the microphone.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Speaking to a pootentially hostile audience
Confront opposition early
If you expect that portion of your audience will oppose your position, then you need to display empathy for their position.
Empathy does not imply agreement with it - merely that you understand how they feel.
Your first role as a speaker in this situation is to diffuse hostility. When the ill feelings that people brought into the session have been eliminated then you can move on.
In reality this may take more than a single speech. Your credibility will be based on your reputation. If people have been told that they have to come and listen to "Max the Axe" speak then you are in for a torrid time. If the source of your influence is hierarchical or coercive, you may win this time. Eventually, however, you will have a demotivated audience if not a rebellious one.
My early jobs were in the coal industry. The culture at the time was confrontational and suspicious of anything that management did. I did not change the culture of the coal mining industry - just the attitude of a particular group of employees towards a particular group of managers. Others were working in the same direction at the same time. Some with more spectacular results, others were less successful. Some were from management, others represented the workforce. It was the efforts of those who saw the need for change that created a substantial change in the culture of the industry. I cringe periodically when I read reports of industrial confrontation in that industry. It seems that for some pockets, noting has changed since the nineteen sixties. On the other hand there are significant areas where the culture has changed.
The key to eliminating confrontation is not sudden change. It is a progressive march towards a specific destination, that needs to be visualised and described.
Encouraging others to head in that direction will follow from a clearly articulated vision, and a practical set of steps. The change agent needs to demonstrate commitment, honesty and sincerity. Progressively others will follow.
First come the early adapters. They may be more able to see the potential future. They may have less attachment to the discredited past. I think of these as the key influencers. The followers come next after these early adapting scouts have shown that they were not destroyed by their courageous first steps. Some will never follow. They have such an attachment to the past that they will never leave it. Good leaders understand that you don't have to have everyone on side, just a critical mass.
How does this affect your speech?
Depending on where you are in a change cycle, the audience that you may need to address will vary. In the early stages, you need to articulate the vision. Later you need to demonstrate that commitments that you have made have been honoured. After the change, you need to focus on the successes to isolate the remaining critics and cynics.
In 1998, a friend of mine went as a volunteer to help in a disaster relief project in New Guinea after the tsunami, the tidal wave which destroyed coastal villages. He is an ambulance driver over here, so they put him in the medical corps over there. Even though he had seen a lot of blood on the roadside, nothing could have prepared him for what he encountered.
He said the thing that saved him was a doctor that he described as more like Hawkeye, the doctor in MASH, than Hawkeye was.
He said that this Hawkeye look alike told him to divide the patients into three categories: Those that no-one could do anything for; those that would get better on their own without any medical intervention, and those whose future would improve with the resources that they had available."
In the same way, some people will accept change intuitively. Some will never be able to accept the demands that change places on them. Our role as motivators is to take middle group - the ones who can only advance with guidance and help and make it possible for them to perform at their best as part of a team.
Move beyond not against
No-one ever won an argument. People have, however been persuaded.
Persuasion requires listening to the other party, while arguing implies shouting them down.
Listening means more than waiting for a break in their tirade, or trying to find a point to refute. It means being prepared to understand the other party's position.
Before you say anything in a confrontational situation, check that it is going to take the matter closer to resolution. To do this, enter with a clear vision of the minimum outcome that you are able to accept. Keep this picture of the "must have" at the forefront of your mind. Add to it the desirable extras that you would like to achieve. Certainly, endeavour to achieve these "likes," but don't let them detract from the "musts."
I have witnessed many industrial disputes where both sides seemed more determined to destroy the other than to achieve a workable solution. They failed to recognise that destruction of either party - the workforce or the company - would not benefit anybody in the medium term. The only result of such a tactic is to prolong the dispute. When the disputes were finally resolved, the main protagonists were quietly removed the pride of place that they had held and replaced by more moderate and constructive people.
In a confrontational situation, I can see little value in playing the man instead of the ball, to use a football analogy.
What happens, though if the other party is determined to attack you personally. Here I believe you will have a great strategic advantage if you focus on resolving the dispute, rather than retaliation. The truly wise person is one can think of something very witty to say in a tense situation, and doesn't say it.
Look for possible attractive transactions, those which have high value to the other party at low cost to you. This is possible where there is some common ground. It means that you must consider the lifelong value of the relationship. Ego gratification is a bad negotiation tactic.
Recognise that the alternative to agreement is termination. There are some situations where this is the only possible strategy. In this case, conflict is generated by a desire to oppress the other party into subservience. This may make you feel good for a while, but even if it is achieved then the best that you can hope for is to keep the conflict simmering below the surface.
Often we see the solution to conflict as convincing the other party of our case. This can only work if you are willing to see their case, too.
Build on the known
Your audience comes into your presentation with a certain amount of knowledge. I have dealt with the need to find out their base level in the introductory step.
You also need to consider any knowledge they already have that is inaccurate or inconsistent with your message. Common misconceptions that you have discovered in other audiences need to be incorporated here. Perhaps they are widely held beliefs that your research has shown to be accurate.
Before you can move on, you need to address these perceptions.
Use these questions to assess the current knowledge level of your audience:
The answers to these three questions will influence the starting point of your presentation.
To Build On What They Already Know:
If you expect that portion of your audience will oppose your position, then you need to display empathy for their position.
Empathy does not imply agreement with it - merely that you understand how they feel.
Your first role as a speaker in this situation is to diffuse hostility. When the ill feelings that people brought into the session have been eliminated then you can move on.
In reality this may take more than a single speech. Your credibility will be based on your reputation. If people have been told that they have to come and listen to "Max the Axe" speak then you are in for a torrid time. If the source of your influence is hierarchical or coercive, you may win this time. Eventually, however, you will have a demotivated audience if not a rebellious one.
My early jobs were in the coal industry. The culture at the time was confrontational and suspicious of anything that management did. I did not change the culture of the coal mining industry - just the attitude of a particular group of employees towards a particular group of managers. Others were working in the same direction at the same time. Some with more spectacular results, others were less successful. Some were from management, others represented the workforce. It was the efforts of those who saw the need for change that created a substantial change in the culture of the industry. I cringe periodically when I read reports of industrial confrontation in that industry. It seems that for some pockets, noting has changed since the nineteen sixties. On the other hand there are significant areas where the culture has changed.
The key to eliminating confrontation is not sudden change. It is a progressive march towards a specific destination, that needs to be visualised and described.
Encouraging others to head in that direction will follow from a clearly articulated vision, and a practical set of steps. The change agent needs to demonstrate commitment, honesty and sincerity. Progressively others will follow.
First come the early adapters. They may be more able to see the potential future. They may have less attachment to the discredited past. I think of these as the key influencers. The followers come next after these early adapting scouts have shown that they were not destroyed by their courageous first steps. Some will never follow. They have such an attachment to the past that they will never leave it. Good leaders understand that you don't have to have everyone on side, just a critical mass.
How does this affect your speech?
Depending on where you are in a change cycle, the audience that you may need to address will vary. In the early stages, you need to articulate the vision. Later you need to demonstrate that commitments that you have made have been honoured. After the change, you need to focus on the successes to isolate the remaining critics and cynics.
In 1998, a friend of mine went as a volunteer to help in a disaster relief project in New Guinea after the tsunami, the tidal wave which destroyed coastal villages. He is an ambulance driver over here, so they put him in the medical corps over there. Even though he had seen a lot of blood on the roadside, nothing could have prepared him for what he encountered.
He said the thing that saved him was a doctor that he described as more like Hawkeye, the doctor in MASH, than Hawkeye was.
He said that this Hawkeye look alike told him to divide the patients into three categories: Those that no-one could do anything for; those that would get better on their own without any medical intervention, and those whose future would improve with the resources that they had available."
In the same way, some people will accept change intuitively. Some will never be able to accept the demands that change places on them. Our role as motivators is to take middle group - the ones who can only advance with guidance and help and make it possible for them to perform at their best as part of a team.
Move beyond not against
No-one ever won an argument. People have, however been persuaded.
Persuasion requires listening to the other party, while arguing implies shouting them down.
Listening means more than waiting for a break in their tirade, or trying to find a point to refute. It means being prepared to understand the other party's position.
Before you say anything in a confrontational situation, check that it is going to take the matter closer to resolution. To do this, enter with a clear vision of the minimum outcome that you are able to accept. Keep this picture of the "must have" at the forefront of your mind. Add to it the desirable extras that you would like to achieve. Certainly, endeavour to achieve these "likes," but don't let them detract from the "musts."
I have witnessed many industrial disputes where both sides seemed more determined to destroy the other than to achieve a workable solution. They failed to recognise that destruction of either party - the workforce or the company - would not benefit anybody in the medium term. The only result of such a tactic is to prolong the dispute. When the disputes were finally resolved, the main protagonists were quietly removed the pride of place that they had held and replaced by more moderate and constructive people.
In a confrontational situation, I can see little value in playing the man instead of the ball, to use a football analogy.
What happens, though if the other party is determined to attack you personally. Here I believe you will have a great strategic advantage if you focus on resolving the dispute, rather than retaliation. The truly wise person is one can think of something very witty to say in a tense situation, and doesn't say it.
Look for possible attractive transactions, those which have high value to the other party at low cost to you. This is possible where there is some common ground. It means that you must consider the lifelong value of the relationship. Ego gratification is a bad negotiation tactic.
Recognise that the alternative to agreement is termination. There are some situations where this is the only possible strategy. In this case, conflict is generated by a desire to oppress the other party into subservience. This may make you feel good for a while, but even if it is achieved then the best that you can hope for is to keep the conflict simmering below the surface.
Often we see the solution to conflict as convincing the other party of our case. This can only work if you are willing to see their case, too.
Build on the known
Your audience comes into your presentation with a certain amount of knowledge. I have dealt with the need to find out their base level in the introductory step.
You also need to consider any knowledge they already have that is inaccurate or inconsistent with your message. Common misconceptions that you have discovered in other audiences need to be incorporated here. Perhaps they are widely held beliefs that your research has shown to be accurate.
Before you can move on, you need to address these perceptions.
Use these questions to assess the current knowledge level of your audience:
- How much of your message is likely to be already understood by the audience?
- What preconceptions are they likely to hold, which may be inconsistent with your message?
- How can you present your message so that the audience believes that you are speaking to them on a personal basis?
The answers to these three questions will influence the starting point of your presentation.
To Build On What They Already Know:
- Create a vision of the current situation;
- Analyse the make up of the current situation;
- Suggest adjustments to the current;
- Create a vision of the possible.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Using on line translation services
If you need to give information to someone who speaks another language, will the on line translators do an adequate job? I tested Yahoo and Google's free services and this is what I found:
The original paragraph
I translated this paragraph into Chinese using Google translate. I then converted it back from Chinese to English using another free web translation service - babelfish.
The first paragraph is the original paragraph, the second, the translation into Chinese (simplified), while the third paragraph is the retranslation into English. the question is, "Is this good enough for your needs?"
The Simplified Chinese output from Google:
我翻译成中文本款使用谷歌翻译。然后我回转换为英语的？何使用其他免费的网络翻译服务- Babelfish平台。
第一段是原段中，第二，成中文（简体翻译），而第三段是重新翻译成英文。问题是，“这是您的需求不够好？”
The translation of the Google output back into English from Yahoo:
I translate the Chinese text funds use google to translate. Then I return transform into English? What uses other free networks to translate the service - Babelfish platform. The first section is in the original section, second, becomes Chinese (simplified translation), but the third section translates English. The question is, “this is your demand is not very good?”
I then tried with a series of bullet points on a PowerPoint slide. I figured that there could be no greater show of respect than to take the trouble to produce my PowerPoint slides in their language. I chose one which listed the Major Hazard Management Plans that must be in place in underground coal mines in Queensland. My Chinese visitors were interested in this, even if you are not.
My original English slide
Major Hazard Management Plans
Spontaneous combustion
Gas management
Ventilation
Emergency response
Strata control
The output from Google in Simplified Chinese
重大危险管理计划
自燃
燃气管理
通风
应急响应
岩层控制
Yahoo's retranslation
Significant danger management plan The spontaneous combustion fuel gas management ventilates the emergency response rock layer control
It was almost good enough. My main concern was "strata control" becoming "rock layer control. So I changed it to: "Roof support"
I translated and retranslated and it came back as roof support.
So, are the free translation services good enough?
For me, yes - if I am using keywords on PowerPoint slides, and provided I check through retranslation.
The original paragraph
I translated this paragraph into Chinese using Google translate. I then converted it back from Chinese to English using another free web translation service - babelfish.
The first paragraph is the original paragraph, the second, the translation into Chinese (simplified), while the third paragraph is the retranslation into English. the question is, "Is this good enough for your needs?"
The Simplified Chinese output from Google:
我翻译成中文本款使用谷歌翻译。然后我回转换为英语的？何使用其他免费的网络翻译服务- Babelfish平台。
第一段是原段中，第二，成中文（简体翻译），而第三段是重新翻译成英文。问题是，“这是您的需求不够好？”
The translation of the Google output back into English from Yahoo:
I translate the Chinese text funds use google to translate. Then I return transform into English? What uses other free networks to translate the service - Babelfish platform. The first section is in the original section, second, becomes Chinese (simplified translation), but the third section translates English. The question is, “this is your demand is not very good?”
I then tried with a series of bullet points on a PowerPoint slide. I figured that there could be no greater show of respect than to take the trouble to produce my PowerPoint slides in their language. I chose one which listed the Major Hazard Management Plans that must be in place in underground coal mines in Queensland. My Chinese visitors were interested in this, even if you are not.
My original English slide
Major Hazard Management Plans
Spontaneous combustion
Gas management
Ventilation
Emergency response
Strata control
The output from Google in Simplified Chinese
重大危险管理计划
自燃
燃气管理
通风
应急响应
岩层控制
Yahoo's retranslation
Significant danger management plan The spontaneous combustion fuel gas management ventilates the emergency response rock layer control
It was almost good enough. My main concern was "strata control" becoming "rock layer control. So I changed it to: "Roof support"
I translated and retranslated and it came back as roof support.
So, are the free translation services good enough?
For me, yes - if I am using keywords on PowerPoint slides, and provided I check through retranslation.
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