My First German Presentation – And Why It Was So Weird

The Seminar: “Präsentationen” – And My Initial Reactions

Okay, so I’m working as a graphic designer at a small marketing agency here in Berlin, and they actually made us all go to this seminar on presentation skills. It was called “Präsentationen” – seriously, the names are just… German! Guten Tag! Hast du das Seminar schon? (Have you already done the seminar?) My colleague, Mark, asked me, “Ja, hallo! Wie war’s denn?” (Yes, hello! How was it?) And I said, “Mir hat’s sehr gut gefallen, aber die Präsentationsstrukturen waren ganz schön kompliziert.” (I really liked it, but the presentation structures were pretty complicated).

Honestly, I was a bit skeptical. I’m used to just throwing together a slide deck with images and text, you know? But Mark, he really thought it would help. And it was good, the trainer was enthusiastic, but… it was weird. Echt? (Really?) He asked, “Ich fand’s auch ein bisschen schwer, zu verstehen, wie man sie gut einsetzt.” (I also found it a bit difficult to understand how to use them well).

The Problem with Sections – Ugh, The Transition!

The thing is, they’re very structured. Like, you absolutely have to have an Einleitung (introduction), then the Hauptteil (main part), and finally a Schlussfolgerung (conclusion). It felt… wrong. I had such a hard time separating them. I kept wanting to just lump everything together. I said to Mark, “Ich hatte Probleme, die Einleitung, den Hauptteil und die Schlussfolgerung klar zu trennen. Es fühlte sich irgendwie zusammen.” (I had problems separating the introduction, the main part, and the conclusion. It felt kind of combined). He totally agreed! “Ich bin da ganz deiner Meinung.” (I completely agree with you).

I spent ages trying to find good Übergänge (transitions) between the sections – things like, “Zum Beispiel…” (For example…) or “Darüber hinaus…” (Furthermore…). But it was still just… awkward. It felt like a slightly robotic presentation, not natural at all.

Let’s Practice – A Probesprecher (Practice Speaker)

Mark suggested we look at it together. “Vielleicht sollten wir uns das mal zusammen nochmal anschauen?” (Maybe we should look at it together again?). And honestly, I needed it. “Ich brauche noch ein bisschen Übung.” (I still need a bit of practice).

He had a good idea: “Gute Idee! Vielleicht können wir nächste Woche einen kurzen Probesprecher machen?” (Good idea! Maybe we can do a short practice presentation next week?). I was like, “Ja, das finde ich super!” (Yes, I think that’s great!). “Das wäre eine gute Möglichkeit, um es zu festigen.” (That would be a good way to solidify it).

Scheduling It – Friday Afternoon?

Then he asked, “Perfekt! Wann passt es dir denn?” (Perfect! When does it suit you?) I quickly thought about it. “Wie wäre es am Freitag Nachmittag?” (How about Friday afternoon?) “Freitag Nachmittag passt mir sehr gut!” (Friday afternoon suits me very well!).

It’s probably a silly thing to get so worked up about, but the whole idea of structuring a presentation in that way felt so… different. It’s definitely something I need to get used to, especially when I’m presenting to clients.

Key Phrases & Vocabulary

Here are a few of the phrases I picked up that I’m going to try and use:

• Guten Tag! – Hello!
• Wie war’s denn? – How was it?
• Mir hat’s… gefallen. – I liked it…
• ganz schön kompliziert – pretty complicated
• Echt? – Really?
• Ich habe Probleme… – I have problems…
• Übergänge – Transitions
• Probesprecher – Practice speaker

I’m hoping this practice session on Friday will help me feel a little more comfortable with these “Präsentationen” – and maybe make them a little less… weird! Ich drücke dir die Daumen! (I’m rooting for you!)