Conference Presentations
Barbara Schouten - Putting people first - interpreters, technology and intercultural communication with less well represented groups
Despite the challenges, Barbara Schouten is optimistic both for interpreters and the people they support. She believes the skills of intercultural communication are vital and that there is clear evidence that professional interpreters are valued in health and community settings and make a real difference to people’s lives, health and life outcomes. See Barbara's conference presentation here
Dr Barbara Schouten is a faculty member of the University of Amsterdam's Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, where she specialises in ‘Persuasive Communication’. Her research interests include the role of language-related and culture-related factors in explaining communication difficulties between healthcare providers and ethnic minority patients with low language proficiency in the host country’s dominant language(s). In addition, she focuses on the use of technology in interventions to mitigate language and culture-related barriers in communication.
Dr Diana Singureanu, Dr Sabine Braun and Wangyi Tang University of Surrey Centre for Translation Studies - Integrating automatic speech recognition in remote interpreting platforms: an initial assessment
In recent years, remote interpreting has seen significant growth. While remote interpreting presents its own set of challenges, the digital platforms facilitating it also offer new opportunities to support interpreters.
One promising technology is Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR). ASR can provide interpreters with a real-time transcript of the speech they are interpreting, aiding source speech comprehension, for example, in poor audio quality. It can also extract and display relevant terminology and translations instantly. While some platforms for remote simultaneous interpreting have started integrating ASR features, the exploration of ASR integration in legal, healthcare, and other interpreting contexts remains relatively uncharted. However, it holds promise, especially in unpredictable scenarios with limited preparation time.
The team presented a brief overview of ASR at Interpreters Day, its current uses in conference and legal interpreting, and an initial assessment of benefits and challenges of ASR integration across different interpreting settings and assignments.
For more information please contact diana.singureanu@surrey.ac.uk
Diana Singureanu holds a PhD in Interpreting Studies from the University of Surrey where she is also collaborating as a researcher on various projects on remote interpreting: WEBPSI (developing an EU web portal for video-mediated public service interpreting to improve access to basic services for migrants and refugees) and ASR4Court - Automatic Speech Recognition for Court Interpreting.
Diana holds a Masters in Translation Studies, a second Masters in Conference Interpreting and a DPSI Law. She also works as a Conference Interpreter and legal interpreter, is a member of CIOL Council and coordinator of CIOL's Interpreting Division.
Sue Leschen - Protect your income!
Earning income is one thing, but protecting it both before and after it (hopefully) arrives is just as important! This session was facilitated by lawyer linguist Sue Leschen who is a well known speaker, writer, trainer and public service interpreter and former CIOL Council member.
Sue's presentation covered before and after tips such as the use of deposits whether 25%, 50% or 100%, installments for long running jobs, best and safest online payment systems as well as short payment terms where possible. She also covered credit checking of new clients and different fees for different clients even for the same sort of job as well as savings and investment accounts and pensions! There were lots of need-to-knows for all language professionals.
See Sue's conference presentation here
Mike Orlov - PSI Perspectives
Mike Orlov, Executive Director of the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI) talks about lessons from the past, and priorities for now and the future for public service interpreting.
A Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management (FInstLM), consultant, facilitator, mentor, business coach, trainer, public speaker as well being a published business writer, Mike is passionate about the role of professional public service interpreting and translating and is committed to lobbying and advocating for greater recognition, awareness and appreciation of language-service professionals serving the public and the public-sector in the UK.
See Mike's conference presentation here
Julia Poger - Know Your Worth: Negotiating with your clients
Julia Poger, business, conference, and diplomatic interpreter, talked about negotiating fees and conditions as a freelance interpreter. She said:
"What if negotiating were fun and you could get what you want? As language professionals, we rarely have training in business skills. But we are businesses, and the saying that 'You are worth what you can negotiate' is a truism. Clients and prospects constantly ask us to work for less, for longer hours, or in conditions that we do not wish to accept. And we think that clients have all the power, so we get scared, and take whatever the client offers. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right mindset, you can negotiate the fees and conditions that you want, and both parties can feel like they have made a good deal – and have fun doing it."
Julia Poger is a Business, Conference and Diplomatic Interpreter working with English, Russian and French, who started Know Your Worth to give you insights, a roadmap, and confidence to get more business at higher fees with better conditions. Julia has worked as an interpreter for over 30 years with governments, NGOs, businesses, and international organisations to help messages be transmitted clearly at meetings from international summits to scientific discussions, from business meetings to international arbitration, from building nuclear power plants to putting on a show.
See Julia's conference presentation here
