Conferences, important meetings, liasions or entertaining clients are just a few of the most common reasons for travelling aboard. All of these require you to be looking and performing at your best as a mascot of your company. This doesn't quite agree with the fact that you're in a completely alien surroundings and may not even speak a word of the national language. So how are you supposed to look and feel like a leader or someone in control?



The answer is by using extensions of tried and tested leadership techniques that one would employ at home - they just need to be tweaked a little to work as well in Dubai as they would in the USA or UK, for instance.

Before I go into the specifics of leadership techniques - I feel that it is important to point out that different leadership styles work better for people with different character traits, and therefore I want you to think personally about which of the following tips are most likely to work for you as an individual. Take factors such as your level of charisma, confidence, body language into account when weighing up which is the best strategy for you.

Its All About Body Language.

The first technique is gleaned from presidential candidates and other political figures. Politicians and ambassadors engage in constant trips outside of their country and outside of their comfort zone - so many that being in strange places becomes part of their comfort zone. After years of experience, they all tend to development similar techniques, which you can simply apply on your first trip!

You may not know where you are, where you're going, or who people are, but you can sure as hell look like you do. This is achieved through all manner of body language tricks and techniques, while I'll list below.

Place your arm on peoples shoulders in an almost 'guiding' action, (As long as you know which direction you're going in). This is passive-dominant action that people won't mind too much, but will give off a confident and superior image.

Learn an interesting fact about your surroundings and point confidently to the object of interest while you talk about to it practically everyone new you meet.

Make an enormous effort to learn names. After hearing someones name, use it multiple times in the conversation until it sinks in. This will make it far easier to strike up conversation with someone later on in the conference for example. Once you know their name, the doorway to conversation is completely open!

Offer to buy/get people drinks. You may think this is a demeaning task - but actually being proactive puts across a generous and confident image. You'll be perceived as an 'arranger' or naturally organiser and thus, a leader.

Use these tips and more, and you will be seen as a leader, even if you don't feel it. It's a magical feeling.