?? What's in the pipeline ?? The latest news from Italian Interpreter London and One Stop Language Solutions ?? May Newsletter 2022

Welcome to the May newsletter, and how quickly this year is passing by.

I have been so uplifted this past month to receive an unprecedented number of requests for?in-person interpreting assignments?in?Europe. So, I have dusted off my?passport?for?business travel?again, and am looking forward to some long overdue trips on the?Eurostar?and short-haul?flights?to some of my favourite destinations.

This month alone I have tickets in my inbox for travel to?Malta,?Brussels,?Paris?and?Dublin?– this will be the most travel I have undertaken since the pandemic.

A brilliant – and tangible – sign of life returning to normal!

Travelling how I missed you!

What events do you have coming up this month, and are you seeing a?rise in in-person meetings?and?business travel?again?

Over the past month, I have been reconnecting with family and friends in?Sicily. It has been a joy to lap up the Mediterranean climate and indulge in some quality time with those who are important to me. However, alongside important personal time, I was particularly interested during this recent visit in the level of innovation and technological developments that I witnessed.?Enel Green Power?is making a huge investment into green hydrogen on the island, the ports on the western coast have been upgraded to?“Smart Ports”, and I also came across some brilliant start-ups, set up by innovative bright graduates, whose primary focus is sustainability. It is great to see these important developments within businesses and I was particularly proud to see these taking place on a relatively small island, primarily known for its production of oranges!

What's coming up this month?

In Italy, Mother’s Day is celebrated in May, (May 8th this year) so as an Italian mother living in the UK, I am fortunate enough to have?two celebrations a year! On the second Sunday in May,?La Festa della Mamma?is an important event in Italy, as indeed it is in many countries on this day in Europe and worldwide, including the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.?The Italian celebration?tends to be less commercial than its counterpart in the rest of the world, with more of a?family focus?(rather than cards and gifts), and often including a church service, as Italy is, of course, a Catholic country. If you are celebrating Mother’s Day this May, I hope you have a wonderful day.

And also, travel!?I cannot wait to head overseas again to work with clients new and old. The connection with clients and colleagues when you're working in the same venue is something I have really missed.

I hear from many colleagues that they are travelling again too and doing more in-person meetings. In May I’ll be working with clients in industries from defence to finance to the public sector.

What translators should know about fees and clients should understand about preparation and unreasonable expectations

It has been quite an interesting month at the office as we have received?more enquiries than usual, often by individuals requesting details on an urgent basis.

We have also received enquiries which have left me somewhat speechless – for example a very urgent request for a translation of a?respondent’s witness statement, fifty pages long, to be completed in one day! …not to mention the?limited budget!

As many of my fellow translators will agree, this sort of assignment to this timescale is simply not possible, and, if by any chance it were, then it would no doubt be completed to a less than adequate standard!

I am so proud that my work, and the work of?One Stop Language Solutions, is always performed to the?absolute highest standards. We work for embassies and consulates and carry out top-level professional translation and interpretation services. Our reputation has been built on the quality of services we provide, and we are not interested in taking on high volumes of work, but in building strong business relationships with our clients and understanding their needs.?This all takes time, research, knowledge and experience.

This is also why it is so hard to be able to give?an hourly rate?for a piece of work.

I have recently had new clients asking to pay for my interpreting assignments?only for the time they are actually using my services, but there are so many unseen elements to working with an interpreter that this hourly rate request is simply not possible.

Whilst an actual simultaneous interpretation, for example, may last for an hour or so, what you do not see are the?extra hours of preparation?and?research?that go into making the session a success. I believe the saying goes, “fail to prepare and you prepare to fail”. This is a trap I certainly will never fall into! So, when asking for a job to be costed, we hope that our clients are aware that to perform our work to the professional level on which we pride ourselves, each job entails so much more than just the work on the day, and our rates take those important hours into consideration, too.

Our reputation is built on top quality work and presentation of documents that are translated to the highest standard. We plan to keep it this way.

Debunking Chunking - A Workshop for Conference Interpreters

Do you sometimes struggle to keep up with the speed and density of information in simultaneous interpretation?

Do you struggle when the structure of the source language is different from your target language?

Do you tend to have a short 'decalage' and stick too closely to the original?

If so, then this workshop could help you improve your interpreting technique and output, by helping you explore ways to chop the source language up into manageable pieces ('chunking', also known as 'salami technique')

Join the Debunking Chunking workshop on Wednesday 18th May at 12noon (UTC).

You will find more details and the registration link below:

A day in the life of an interpreter...

As an?interpreter?working with a broad range of clients, it is rare for any two days to be the same. I am a creative individual, and this perpetual change is one of the reasons that I really love my job! I wanted to give you an insight into what my “average” day entails.?Perhaps you are thinking of becoming an interpreter, or perhaps you just have an interest in the industry.?Either way, I am delighted to share what happens in my day with you…

06:00?My alarm goes off… and I press the snooze button! I admit this may continue once or twice again, but eventually, I stir. I check my phone and then rise to make an espresso and complete my?gratitude journal. My best friend at the start of each day is a book I highly recommend, called?Five Minutes in the Morning. This superb publication gives me a chance to take a breath before the busy day commences. It offers a beautiful space to clear my head, along with creative exercises to encourage reflection and intention-setting before I head off to the office. I also like to check in on social media, especially perusing?Linked In, Instagram?and sometimes?Twitter. For me, reading others’ posts can be?inspiring?and encourages me to focus on my professional aspirations. It also provides ways in which I can improve my working.

I tend to post inspiring and encouraging messages too every morning!

“A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new tree”?Amelia Earhart

08:00?I jump on a?zoom call?with a?new client?to receive a brief on an assignment. Meeting new clients is always interesting; I love collaborating to achieve the best outcome and holding a thorough fact-finding meeting in advance of interpreting enables this to happen. Every client works differently, and I thrive on this new engagement.

10.30?After a quick?cappuccino, I put my head down and complete a complex translation of?Italian property purchase documents. My customer requested a?quick turnaround time?for these documents, which is not uncommon with this sort of document, but fortunately, I have translated such documents many times before and am very familiar with the format and legal terminology. For me, it is not a hugely arduous task and I complete it and return it to the customer well within their requested time-frame.

13:00?I have an interesting, and important?Zoom?simultaneous interpretation to undertake this afternoon. Today it is an?EWC extraordinary meeting?organised to appoint a member of the Steering Committee and a vice-chairman to replace two members who have resigned. The client is a?Swiss multinational food and processing conglomerate corporation, with headquarters in Switzerland. I spend an hour preparing for the call, making sure I have re-read all the background documents, am familiar with the names and positions of the people on the call and understand the purpose of the meeting. Being?prepared?and undertaking your?research?really is key to success as an interpreter, and, as such, I take preparation very seriously! The call goes well and the client is very satisfied with the outcome; a job well done!.

16:00 Zoom assignment is?over, and it has been a busy day, so I take a little time to check in with my husband and family on the phone and head out of the office for some fresh air on a brisk walk, along with a very overdue?espresso! I have lived and worked in?London?for many years but am still struck by the history and beauty etched in the city, and I find the time away from my screen is rejuvenating, restoring my energy for the rest of the day (or perhaps that was just the espresso!).

17:00?Time for a short?boxing session?– my favourite kind of workout – with my personal trainer. A training session after I’ve had a productive day in the office really works well for my psyche, although I know it’s not for everyone. (I love Aqua and Yoga too)

18:30?After clearing my emails, setting up calls for later in the week and finishing certifying a birth certificate I am ready to leave the office.

Today I have a networking event in Piccadilly with the?UK Confederation by Confassociazioni, and these events are always a joy to attend. Meeting with fellow Italians guarantees a lively and spirited occasion and the energy and joy is contagious! I gain new connections on?Linked In?which I will follow up later in the week, and am also glad to reconnect with the many Italian colleagues and acquaintances I have made over the years.

20:30?A long day! I’m on the train home and start a conversation with a gentleman sitting opposite me who notices my badge for the networking event and by chance is also Italian! I’m never afraid to talk to people here, there, and everywhere, and as two Italians in London, we exchange?QR codes for my Linked In profiles.?Who knows when our businesses might overlap?

21:00?I arrive home and enjoy dining with my family around the table with a delicious meal and a glass of Barolo. We share stories from our day and enjoy a lively conversation and sometimes a bit of a debate! Spending?quality time?with those who are so important to me is a joy.

23.00?A late night, but there’s still time to quickly check my schedule for tomorrow, make sure there are no last-minute emergencies, and then listen to my?Calm app?for some relaxation and to mentally switch-off, before starting it all again tomorrow.

Final thoughts…

In the interpreting industry, May through to Mid-July are historically busy months for interpreting work in the conference sector. I can certainly see the shoots of green emerging, but it will be interesting to see what these months have in store, especially now that travel really is an option again. This time last year we were inundated with remote conference interpretation requests, so I’d like to hope that this year there will be more in-person roles and a conference sector which is returning at least to a hybrid structure, if not slightly weighted towards in-person attendance.

I'd love to hear your thoughts about this newsletter and what you might be interested in hearing more about in future correspondence. If you know anyone else who might enjoy these newsletters, do let me know and send this one their way!

I'll be reaching out to you again next month. In the meantime, I wish you a wonderful, prosperous month of May.

Thank you for reading, as always.

To your success,