Interpreting Beyond Words

⏰🎧 Interpreters always try their best at preparing ahead of an event… But this isn’t always possible.

This high-level meeting, with three taking the floor (the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of , and the Minister of the ), was one of those cases: yet, everything worked out perfectly well… Even if all we had on our hands until that very morning was a generic topic name. 😳

🔦 What did we do right? And what is paramount in these exceptional circumstances?

✨ Here are 5 suggestions:

1- Do any research you can with the little information you have: are there any potentially relevant in your old folders? Any interesting online videos or short presentations that are filled with relevant that you may take note of? 🔎🗂️

2- Try to meet the as soon as you are at the event venue, and ask them to please 🙏🏼 provide you with anything that they might have received last minute: an agenda, a list of speakers/panelists, any notes or slides - anything goes. 🗣️📄

3- Be a great player: whether you already know your boothmate or not (and we happily did: this also helps!), remember that you are playing on the same team. Helping each other out before and during the event is the key to success. 🤝🖇️

4- Prior and : in our case, we both have several years of accrued interpreting in the field of and - and this is, in itself, the best safety net in the face of any risky situations. 💪🏽📚

5 - Grab a nice cup of coffee or tea and some cookies before the event starts: you will need all the you can muster. And, with this, Lucia Melotti and I still feel deeply grateful for having been specially served some coffee and muffins directly in the booth before everybody else. ☕️🍪

P.S. In case you didn’t think that interpreting could be this … You have been warned- and you’re welcome! 🤯