Giving talks and presentations

The adjective on this list most likely to be misread is souverän. An English reader sees « sovereign » and thinks of crowns and states, and in politics German means exactly that: ein souveräner Staat, die Souveränität. Said of a person, the word means something quite different. Sie hat souverän geantwortet praises her poise: she stayed calm, knew where she stood and was not rattled by the question. Both words come from the same French souverain, so this is a false friend of meaning, not of descent. After a question session it is warm praise, and it is not about knowing every answer. A speaker who says plainly that a figure will follow, and then sends it, comes across as souverän; one who bluffs does not. It is a verdict on manner, not on rank, and nobody hearing it thinks of a throne.