KUDO on Interpreting: A Reassuring Message
Cloud-based interpreting (a.k.a. RSI) is the biggest technological innovation in interpreting since the Nuremberg Trials. Granted, audio quality, microphone design and headset ergonomics have all improved markedly since World War II. But despite the modern technology, a microphone is still a microphone. And the headsets used in Nuremberg don’t look drastically different from the ones […]
The Great Race Around the World
Think Magellan was the first man around the world? Think twice. The identity — and status — of the first man to go full circle may surprise you big time. My TED-Ed Lesson on Magellan’s Circumnavigation of the World is out. In a 4-minute video it tells you everything you need to know about this incredible […]
Nice Trumps Nasty
Most of us have learned to see politeness as wimpy and meek. We contemplate meanness as a shield worth wearing, despite the long-lasting harm it does to others and ourselves once the excitement of immediate gains fades away.
Are You The Best of the Best?
“Welcome to the largest multilingual summit this office has ever organized. Congratulations on making it here. You are the best of the best.” With these words, the chief interpreter of a top international organization greeted a team of 70 interpreters in Washington, D.C. Gathered around the u-shaped table, they were briefed on the Summit they would […]