Getting Paid Twice

Today we'd like to discuss an issue that has to do with ethics. This might have happened to you before as well: a client sends the payment, you thank him or her for it, and then, for some reason, your receive the payment a second time. This can happen because of some error in bank transfer or because of a duplicate check, which is the 20th-century relic that American companies still prefer for payment. Either way,...

Open Letter to the EU

Today's blog post is by Dagy, and it's all about interpreting at the European Union. Dear EU, You know how much I care about you, but since this seems to be a very one-sided affair, I feel the need to take our relationship to the next level by making it public. We might need some couples therapy. Our story goes back a few years, when the EU’s recruiting efforts for freelance interpreters, especially...

The Art of Small Talk

Ah, small talk. One of us doesn't care for it (Dagy), and one really enjoys it (Judy). Regardless of one's preference, the art of making small talk is an essential business skill, and interpreters and translators are well advised to figure out how to talk to (almost) anyone. Here are some thoughts and tips about small talk: Think positive. Many translators are quite introverted, but interpreters not so much! It...

Nice Interpreter!

Today's post is about the importance of being, well, nice. It's essential to be a great interpreter -- that goes without saying -- but there's also much to be said about the importance of soft skills. In the interpreting world, these skills are especially relevant in conference interpreting settings, where you will interact with the client who hired you and the people for whom you will interpret. We've heard from...

A Week at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS)

At the end of May, Judy attended a five-day course titled "Advanced Techniques for Court Interpreters" at the venerable Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS). Read on for her report on what she learned, what she didn't learn, and all the fun she had. Graduation day with Prof. Mikkelson and Prof. Navarro-Hall. One of my goals for this year was to attend a training course by a premier interpreting institution, namely...

Introduction to Translation at UC-San Diego Extension Starts 6/25

Once again, Judy is delighted to teach her "Introduction to Translation" class online at University of San Diego-Extension. This five-week class is taught via a sophisticated online learning software (Blackboard) that is easy to learn. It's been a wonderful experience to teach beginning -- and many advanced -- students from around the world who want to know more about the industry. This class is part of an online...

InterpretAmerica: Webcast

The InterpretAmerica Summit, which is a unique interpreting event that brings together interpreters from many different fields, including court, medical, community, conference, and conflict zone, will take place in Reston, VA, next week -- June 14 and 15. Every other year, the Summit is held on the West Coast, namely, in gorgeous Monterey, CA, but this year's event is on the other side of the country. Unfortunately,...

Advice for Beginners: Specialization

Many beginning interpreters oftentimes ask us about specialization and whether it's essential that they specialize. We get many of these questions from Judy's students at the Spanish/English translation certificate program at University of San Diego-Extension and from Dagy's mentees. We thought it might be helpful to give a short summary on translation specialization.  One project does not equal specialization....