13 Tips for taking notes while Interpreting

Over the years, based on my experience and discussions on forums I have compiled the following list of tips for interpretation. 1. Interpreting is considered to be a difficult job. Sometimes you have to listen to a speaker for 5 minutes - sometimes even longer - before you can start your interpretation. You need to take notes; there is no other way to remember all the facts (and numbers) after a couple of minutes. Instead of trying to copy every word, invent some abbreviations or, even better, symbols that represent some words or ideas. Everyone uses their own personal symbol. The most important thing is that you remember instantly what they mean when you see them. 2. There are a lot of different settings where the interpreting can take place, and a lot of different terminologies used. Therefore it is good to take notes if you need them. Some people can have hard time with names and numbers, and that is what should be written down. For example if you need to remember several names at once (that are totally unfamiliar to you) you should probably write them down. 3. It is useful to use a small notebook, like the ones we used to take to school, because they are very manageable. Write only on one side of the page, it is faster, and when you finish with the notebook, you can always turn it round and start using the other sides. The point is, taking notes is to ensure that you convey every bit of information. 4. You have to learn the technique, you have to learn to take the right notes. 5. Don’t write down everything. Just write those main topics as a reminder of your memory. 6. To listen attentively is of first importance. Strike the right balance between note-taking and listening (ie analysing and understanding). 7. Before the conferences, research all the speakers for whom you would be interpreting and read documents written by them so that you could familiarize with the terms used by them. 8. You must exercise control. You have to make your presence visible. Interrupt them, if it\'s necessary (never rudely, of course); just start interpreting whenever the speaker finishes a sentence and stops to breathe. After a while they will have understand and will wait for you to step in. 9. Be precise on the hard data (figures, dates, names, etc) and express the rest in your own words. Do not repeat everything. Stick to the essentials. Cover the message, not the words. 10. Ask in advance what the case is about and ask for background material. 11. Short term memory is a must. 12. If You realise you made a mistake...just stop and correct it. 13. Dress well and always smile.

Useful Method to Improve Memory for Consecutive Interpretation

Useful Method to Improve Memory for Consecutive Interpretation Interpretation is definitely much tougher than doing translation jobs as the work involves translating and speaking in real time. As there is no time to think back and research what is being said it necessitates the interpreter to be very good in both the languages. Among interpretation jobs, many interpreters opine that consecutive interpretation is much tougher than simultaneous interpretation. With consecutive interpretation, there is a likelihood of forgetting what the speaker had told and the possibility of missing out on important details in the speech. This is even more difficult when you need to remember details such as names, numbers, dates, etc. For this reason, many interpreters are not too comfortable in taking up consecutive interpretation work. If you are planning on getting into consecutive interpretation or would like to get better at it you can follow some simple but very important method that is described below. You can start by taking up some online speeches that are available in your local language and start working with it. You can even try to do it with the local news on the television. Transfer these speeches or a portion of the news into a digital recorder. Play the speech sentence by sentence and try to remember the summary of each sentence by stopping in between. Try not to think of the actual words but to remember the concept that is being conveyed. As you become more used to it, try and begin to translate into the other language that you are taking up interpreting in. Once you are more comfortable doing this sentence by sentence, you can take up longer parts of the speech to work with. Use notation systems for names, number, dates and anything else that you could forget. If you follow the method described, you can slowly become proficient with doing consecutive interpretation with very less amount of taking notes and remembering most of the things spoken. But, most important thing to remember is that it is not an easy job and requires a lot of practice and effort to become a master.

8 Useful Pointers for Notations in Interpretation

Photo Credit thorinside 8 Useful Pointers for Notations in Interpretation Unlike translation, interpretation is much more difficult as you do not get any time to go and perform research through a dictionary or any other means to get your work done. This necessitates you to be much more proficient and be able to remember lot of things on the go. For easing down the work, many resort to notations to help them remember what they need to convey. Here are some useful pointers in aiding you to develop an effective note taking system that will make your job much simpler and more adept: 1. Go through some useful books that are available on the subject in order to help you understand good methods for note taking. Some good books that are available on this subject include Jean-Francois Rozan’s Book Note taking in Consecutive Interpreting and Andrew Gillies’ Book Note taking for Consecutive Interpreting- A Short Course. 2. Develop your skills by constant practice. Use some videos of some speeches for conducting your practice sessions. 3. In interpretation, you need to concentrate on conveying the meaning and not the words. So, try to hone your skills in doing this. 4. While taking down notes, it is important not to put in too many details in one page as you should be able to understand what you need to convey by just a brief peep into the written material. 5. You can develop your own abbreviations, symbols or pictures for notations but use something that you can easily remember. Some information for this can also be found in the books that are available on this subject. 6. Take down important details such as numbers, names, etc that are the most difficult things to recollect from memory. 7. Linking the sentences together is also important. For this, your note taking should be able to help you get the right links between sentences to keep your interpretation flowing smooth and fluent. 8. Be sure to take down details such as the speaker quoting somebody else or the sequence in which the speaker lists out something. Remember, constant training and practice is what makes you perfect. Strive to be better and developing personalized skills will make your job much easier and more enjoyable.

Tips to Improve Interpretation Skills

Tips to Improve Interpretation Skills While some people are excellent with their translation they still are not able to do a good job at interpreting because they fail to give notice to other important issues such as tone of voice, pronunciation and intonation. So, what should be borne in mind while improving these qualities to provide better interpretation service? The tone of voice plays an important role in interpretations. It is best to carry out interpretations in a calm neutral voice although some interpreters may even try to replicate the passion of the speaker’s voice. This reproduction of emotions of the speaker can be permissible if it is kept without going to any extremes which may then sound disrespectful. Also, speaking with great emphasis could leave the interpreter drained and lose vigor quickly. It is also important to bear in mind the usual tone of voice that is used in communicating different languages. Some languages are spoken in a very calm voice while others are spoken with more emphasis. The tone of voice must be adjusted such that languages spoken with different pitch should be quite similar to one another. This will prevent misunderstandings between people understanding different languages that you are interpreting. Correct pronunciation is important for you to relay whatever the speaker is communicating properly to the others. The audience must be able to understand what you as the interpreter are trying to tell for which pronunciation and vocabulary must be quite exceptional. Another factor that needs to be given importance for you to excel as an interpreter is to have the right intonation. Accent is a huge problem while learning other languages as your accent for the native language influences the way you speak the other language. Try to develop good pronunciation skills while learning the other language without much influence from your native language. This needs special exercises and training to achieve and may not be very easy. Work hard and practice on improving on skills such as tone, pronunciation and intonation and add it to your skills of translation and very soon you will definitely come out in flying colors.