We've all been there. Or will be there eventually.
No matter how many certifications we hold or workshops we've taken, there will always be a point in your journey as an interpreter where you're faced with a first-of-its-kind-for-you assignment.
That happened to me this week when I was booked to team interpret at a jury selection. Of course, I was upfront and honest with my colleagues and clients about my theory-only knowledge of this type of proceeding. Still, I was up for the challenge to prepare to succeed as best as possible.
So, here's my simple 5-step process to prepare for an assignment:
1. Research
Find out everything you can about your upcoming assignment. And I mean - Everything!
From the location, the name of the parties you'll be working with, the case number if it's a court case, etc. If you didn't get the information upfront, don't hesitate to ask for it! The agency or party who requested your services can most likely provide it or point you in the right direction to find it.
As part of this step, you can also ask colleagues with experience in this type of assignment for pointers to help you prepare. This is also an excellent opportunity to network!
2. Read
This is a crucial step because it will set the foundational knowledge you'll have of this subject. So, you must be careful and selective of the sources you read.
Find sources in the two languages you'll have to work with. Ideally, try to find sources that were originally written in each language and not translated.
Read with the only goal of soaking up all the information you can about the topic, but try not to think about how you'd interpret it as you go along.
Now, since sometimes we can't help but multitask for the sake of time, you can highlight or jot down key terms to research later.
3. Watch
Yep. Watch. Whatever you can find related to the topic. This is by far my favorite step.
Nowadays, with so many court proceedings, medical interventions, and activities of all kinds recorded on video and available for us to watch on YouTube, you can almost become a subject matter expert just by watching videos.
Remember that Netflix and many other streaming services (including some free ones) may offer many options.
4. Glossary
Once you understand the topic well, it's time to start working on your glossary.
You can start by researching key terms you found while reading and keep expanding your glossary as you work on the next steps.
Search online for "[name of the topic] glossary" because, most likely, there's at least a monolingual glossary already created that can help you expand yours.
5. Practice
Now it's time to get down to business and start practicing to cement what you've learned and command that new terminology.
Try to find practice material related to the type of assignment you're preparing for with a recording and its transcript. Having both the recording and the script is essential because a critical element of good practice is recording yourself so you can compare your interpretation to the transcript.
One last recommendation is to print your reference material and bring it to your assignment. As much as I love technology, I don't always get to access my laptop or electronic devices during an assignment, so it's best to bring hard copies of those.
There's a first time for everything, and I hope this little guide helps you create your own system to prepare for your next first-time assignment.
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