If you have been a conference interpreter long enough you may have found yourself in a situation where comments or jokes privately shared with a partner in the booth eventually got across to the audience.
I once had it happen twice in a single week. Luckily I was only making suggestions to my booth mate. It was not like I was clowning around, foolishly pretending to speak German in front of a composed delegate standing across the window from us. That was the day before.
Beware of Conference Systems
Interpreters’consoles –the little switchboards we use to activate our mics, select our input languages and outgoing channels– can be tricky. They come in all shapes and sizes. And the ‘cough’ buttons used to momentarily pause interpretation for whatever reason can go by different names like ‘mute’ or ‘off’.
Color codes for microphones may vary, too. Most mics turn red when they’re active and green when off (go figure). Others will alternate between amber (on) and green (off). On a dual mic console, placing the microphone switch the middle position may cut off both mics or activate both, depending on the make and model. Some old shared consoles have individual cough buttons that surprisingly work only on one’s own microphone — so if you’re not the one actively interpreting, pressing the mute button will not cut your colleague’s microphone. That was exactly what tripped me up that day.
Quiet!
Whatever their cause, these mishaps drive an important point home: derogatory and off-topic remarks have no place in the booth. Nor do idle chit-chat or utterances of frustration at a speaker’s high speed or incoherence. So, here are two valid, if belated, pieces of advice that will save us all some embarrassment:
- Resist the temptation to be funny in the booth. Limit any personal comments to the absolute minimum once the meeting has been called to order and whenever your microphone equipment has been switched on. When hundreds of heads turn back to locate you in the booth, let it be for the right reasons.
- Make a point of testing every button if you haven’t seen that type of console before.
- Make a point of testing every button even if you have seen and worked with that type of console before!
- Remember: all good things come to early risers (a lesson I learned the hard way, given my typical Brazilian punctuality).
Let me reiterate this last point: be sure to come in early and test your every move before you go live, so that you can start strong. The first five or ten minutes of a conference are crucial for an interpreter. It’s your only chance to make a good first impression. It’s your chance to build rapport and offer listeners a reliable delivery that is easy on the ears. It’s not a good time to mess around. Once lost, this rapport and confidence may be hard to regain. Especially if you’ve been a bozo for everyone to listen.
Try This at Home
All that said, if you can’t help playing the jester once in a while, here’s something else you may want to try. It is a trick I learned from a good friend and mentor:
Have a wireless receiver with you in the booth and an ear bud that you can place under your interpreter’s headset in order to hear your own interpretation. This adds a layer of complication to an already complex equation. It takes some getting used to but can be a life-saving device for forgetful types. It allows you to monitor what listeners are getting out there. It also helps you modulate and spare your voice, speaking softly yet ensuring good delivery. Finally, it makes you aware of any interference or undesirable noises you might be producing, like scratching your face, lip smacking or swallowing water. Think of it as a type of biofeedback loop for interpreters.
Make sure to allow several days for practice if you intend to experiment with this unorthodox system. Although effective, it can be distracting to some.
Of course you don’t have to try my system. With a little ingenuity, you could easily come up with your own protocol to ensure those on-air bloopers don’t happen to you or your colleague.
Actually, for the technology-averse among you, there is a much easier, time-tested, low-tech variety that will likely yield great results:
Keeping one’s mouth shut and breaking the silence only to interpret.
Tell me what you think about the suggested biofeedback loop. Have you tried it?Have you experienced such on-air bloopers in the booth ? What happened? What lessons have you learned?For more insights and useful tips, check out my articles on LinkedIn Pulse.
The PDF version of this article is here (under a different title)