Tag: professionals

Self-Care for Busy Professionals

Posted on by drawingboarddesign in Industry Tips, Inspiration, Professionalism

Self-care is often defined as anything we purposefully do to take care of our emotional, spiritual, and mental health. But there is much more to it than that. What we often don’t hear about is self-care defined as the opposite – things we don’t engage in because they are not good for our health. 

Additionally, self-care isn’t always planned activities, but it can be anything that helps you move toward either stillness or growth, such as playing with thinking patterns, exploring attitudes, purposeful reflections, and meaningful connections.  Perhaps one of the most well-known terms in mental health but also one of the most misunderstood, simply because it is difficult to define something that can look, feel, touch, taste, and smell differently for everyone.

Self-care for individuals who work as translators or interpreters may look the same or different from those who work in other fields. Translators, who often work in solitude and interpreters, who have high paced expectations, need to take care due to these special circumstances. Here are 5 ways in which any busy professional may consider for self-care. 

?Connect to Others

Connecting to others is important, especially when working alone is very important. As human beings, we are creatures who not only thrive through human connection, but require it for sustaining life. From an evolutionary perspective, we need each other to stay alive. This was especially true in the past, but our brains have not evolved as fast as society has. We are generally safe in solitude, but at times our brains will tell us that it is dangerous to be alone. In fact, being alone and lonely can trigger our fight, flight, freeze response. Connecting to others (or allowing others to connect to us) is key to mediating this response and may be the most important self-care work we can do.

?Fuel Your Creativity

Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” shows us that creativity is a human need that helps drive us towards “self actualization”, or towards fully knowing our potential and talents, which furthers us towards fulling knowing ourselves. Luckily, as translators and interpreters, you are often working within the realm of creativity. Of course, there are countless other ways to be creative, and integrating more into your life can be an important act of self-care.

?Live in the Moment Using Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a phrase that most people have heard of. It is defined as “a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations”. This helps us understand, tolerate, and live with our internal experiences. There are many resources available for mindfulness, and finding a few practices you enjoy doing can be integrated into your repertoire of self-care.

Create Full Sensory Experiences

Our five senses have a direct pathway to our brain, and thus can help soothe and calm us, or can help us better integrate our learnings. Creating situations during which each of your 5 senses can explore, integrate, and experience can facilitate new brain connections, new behaviors and habits, or can simply produce stillness and calm.  

Validate, Appreciate, and Celebrate Yourself

Finding ways to validate yourself, which means to tell yourself that your inner experiences are all important and okay, is key to self-understanding and self-growth. Equally important is finding time to infuse appreciation in your life, whether it’s from big successes or from simply finding gratitude in the fact that you have the ability to take breaths. Recent research has shown us that gratitude can actually help with integrating learning and helps with decision making, as these areas tend to be more active during grateful moments. Finally, celebrating yourself through purposeful ceremonies and traditions, such as a weekly time to watch your favorite tv show, or a monthly get-together with validating friends, is a lovely tool for self-care, because it shows self-love. 

Creativity Boosting Ideas for Translators

Posted on by drawingboarddesign in Field, Industry Tips, Inspiration, Translation

?Translation isn’t always thought of as a creative process. Some view translation as a simple act of moving already created sentences and phrases from one language to another. Translation is actually much more complex. As a translator, you act as a gateway between two languages, as if you are standing along a border, balancing two worlds. It requires an understanding of the complexities involved in not only the original and translated languages, but also an intimate understanding of the two cultures.  Creativity is present, and even necessary, within the process of translation. 

Creativity, when defined as “seeing the intersection of seemingly unrelated topics and combining them into something new” (Brian Clark), nearly perfectly defines the life of a translator.  Another definition that perhaps fits even snugger proposes that creativity is “starting with nothing and ending up with something. Interpreting something you saw or experienced and processing it so it comes out different than how it went in” (Henry Rollins).  Both of these definitions fully ?capture the role and scope of translation. 

Creativity is sparked in many different areas of the brain. It requires heavy use of the prefrontal cortex, an area responsible for higher level thinking, logic, and cognitive flexibility. However, depending on the type of tasking and creativity you are engaging in will indicate which area will be used. For translators, Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas are more likely to be used in the creative process. Armed with knowledge on the neurobiology of creativity has given researchers and other professionals tools to cultivate it.   

 How to cultivate creativity? 

 1.      Increasing Curiosity 

Curiosity often leads to creativity. Like a developing child that has an innate drive to curiously explore his or her world and creatively provide input back to his or her environment, so too do adults have these needs.  By borrowing the wonder of a child, we can use your five senses to explore the world in curiosity, feel the need to creatively input into our world, and thus grow our creativity.  

 2.      Setting a creative mood 

You can alter your environment to boost creativity. What we take in through our senses can be soothing, energizing, and can change our moods.  It is worth experimenting with different sights, smells, textures, audio or music, and tastes to see what engages your brain into action. Remember, though, what works for one individual may not work for someone else, and this will require you to experiment with different environments, sensory tools, etc, in order to figure out what works for you.  

 3.      Titrating Creativity 

Going back and forth from the opposite forces of creativity and disengagement can lead to a boost in creative moments and decrease moments of stagnation. Further, a longer and more serious disengagement like sleep has been shown to boost our ability to find insight – that is, the sudden gain of knowledge or spark of idea, which are the offspring of creativity. 

 4.      Collaboration and Gathering Feedback 

Creativity can be sparked when we bounce ideas off one another, because sometimes we are too close to an issue or problem to be able to step back and find a new creative path.  Asking for help and advice from friends, peers, and people from your personal network that you trust and respect can provide valuable input to start the creative process. Every person has a unique skill set, experience, and knowledge. A fresh outside perspective can spark some new, creative thinking, particularly when ideas are stuck. 

 5.      Do Something Different, Do Something Fun, or Do Nothing at All 

Finally, when we are stuck and creativity is no longer flowing, it can help to change things up, step out of your professional role, or simply do nothing, Sometimes unplugging your mind rather than actively engaging it can give your mind the break and the rest that it needs. Sometimes the best ideas are born from spontaneous insights rather than active thinking processes.   

Creativity lives within interpretation. The transformative aspect of translation requires it. When creativity stagnates, there are research-supported ways to boost it. Not just for painters and authors of children’s books, creativity is found in all of us, and often in heavy doses in translators.  

6 qualities that set a translation professional apart from an amateur

Posted on by drawingboarddesign in Client Zone, Interpretation, Translation

After hours of scrolling through online profiles of prospective translators, flipping pages of portfolios and references, how do you land on a top few? Or maybe it’s your first time engaging a translator in a project, or you’re partnering up with a new person. What qualities and experiences beyond the professional platitudes found in resumes signal real professionalism?

Before committing to a candidate, get to know them and learn about their approach to translation. Try arranging an informal chat or a call to discuss the nuances of a job and determine if it’s a fit. In preparation for your first conversation, review these hallmarks that can help tell a seasoned translation professional from an amateur.

1) An adept translator will take time to understand your needs. Rather than saying yes to a project from the outset, they will take the time to delve into the details, discuss timelines, and expected outcomes. Discussing a job should look like a full-blown conversation rather than a monologue—not only will it give you reassurance that a candidate is in fact qualified, but also that they are keen on engaging with you, collecting information, and learning more about your business.

2) A professional might not be a Jack of all trades. In other words, if a legal translator is willing to take on an academic paper on trenchless technologies in engineering, they might be overly-ambitions. While a legal translator might be perfectly suited to tackle accounting documentation, if they claim a full mastery of two drastically different fields, be sure they are not exaggerating.

3) A master translator will know their approach to translation. Even though you might not know much about translation theory, ask a prospect how they go about translating a complex, heavily technical documents, where they search new terminology, and how they keep track of the jargon they specialize in. Let their personality come through as they share some of their professional challenges and successes.

4) An accomplished translator possesses specific topical knowledge. On top of fluency in at least two languages, they can hold an educated conversation on the topic of your translation project, and have a firm grasp of the topic.

5) A skillful translator takes interest in the field and is genially passionate about translation. They invest time in honing their skills, growing, and learning. They are members of professional organizations, frequent workshops, and seminars.

6) A professional asks for more context, as needed. With experience comes the confidence to admit that our knowledge is limited. An expert translator might ask for more background information on a project, additional resources, or a contact who might be able to help. They won’t shy away from sharing their concerns, doubts, or dilemmas.

While your initial search might not screen out translation dilettantes from experts, have your questions ready to make the right pick. Even though a prospect might not have the most experience in the field, they might demonstrate superb knowledge of their field, great research skills, attention to detail, a well-grounded approach to translation, professional honesty and integrity—all the key elements to translate your project right.

Setting Up for Success: How to work with a translator

Posted on by drawingboarddesign in Client Zone, Field, Industry Tips, Professionalism, Translation

So, you’ve evaluated your translation needs, made a search on the ATIA membership directory or connected with a good translation agency, and assessed your candidate’s qualifications to find someone professional, trained, and deeply experienced in the exact area of translation that you need. Now, how to optimize your working relationship with this translator?

Good communication is key to any working relationship. Provide a detailed description of the services you need and a clear outline of requirements and deliverables. With a comprehensive understanding of the nature and complexity of the project, the translator will be able to not only provide you with a more accurate picture of cost and delivery time, but also flag any potential challenges or stumbling blocks.

It is important for both client and translator to set clear, agreed upon terms and conditions from the beginning. When agreeing to hire a translator, make sure that you have the answers to the following questions:

How does the translator charge? You’ve probably already considered how much the translator charges, but make sure you understand how he or she charges – per page, per target word or per source word? If the translator charges per source word, the cost will be based on the number of words in the document you provide. If the charge is based on the number of target words, or the words in the translated document, the final cost will vary depending on whether the target language tends to use more or fewer words than the source language.

Does the translator include revisions in their cost estimate? If so, how many and with what turnaround time? Revisions and comments are an expected part of any writing project, so it is best to make clear and agreed upon arrangements in advance about how comments and revisions will be handled.

What file format will the completed translation be provided in? Make sure that the translator knows how to provide the finished work to best suit your needs.

What are the translator’s confidentiality policies and practices? Translation agencies will have their own confidentiality policies in place, but a freelance translator may not. Note that all ATIA members are bound by a Code of Ethics that protects your confidentiality. When in doubt, ask for an ATIA-Certified Translator.  

Ask about discounts for large volume jobs, redundant translations or not-for-profit clients. Not all translators will provide discounts, but it is worth making inquiries about discounts at the outset of a project rather than during the course of the work or after receiving an invoice.

And finally, make sure you understand the terms of conditions of payment and pay your invoice in a timely manner!

Establishing a clear understanding of your project’s priorities and needs and your translator’s practices at the outset of the project is the best way to set yourself up for a successful working relationship!

Are You Cut Out to Work as an Interpreter? Six key traits of professional interpreters

Posted on by drawingboarddesign in Field, Interpretation, Professionalism

Are you a bilingual or multi-lingual individual thinking about putting your language knowledge to work? Perhaps already working as a translator and looking to branch out? Interpretation is rewarding work, but knowledge of languages is only a starting point for success in the field. Do you have several of these six traits of successful and fulfilled professional interpreters? You might be cut out for a career as an interpreter!

Good listener. The ability to speak fluently in multiple languages is, of course key, but more than half your time as an interpreter will actually be spent listening! Interpretation requires focused, attentive listening, often for long periods of time. Your client is depending on you to capture every detail and aspect of an interaction and to convey their meaning accurately, so it is important to be fully attentive to all parties. In addition to the very focused listening required while interpreting in the moment, at the outset of any job you will have to listen to your clients and make sure that you have a clear understanding of their needs and of the situation that you will be entering as their interpreter.

Ability to multitask. Interpretation requires a very particular type of fast paced, mental multi-tasking. Interpreters have to watch and listen (often while taking notes), absorb the meaning of what was said, as well as non-verbal cues, mentally translate the meaning, and then speak clearly and fluently. It is a rapid process, and the interpreter must also be able to easily alternate between translating and speaking both languages.

People skills. While translation can be a solitary, cerebral occupation, interpretation is a highly person-oriented occupation. Good interpreters are not just attentive, focused listeners, they are compassionate and patient listeners. They have the ability to connect with people and establish trust, sometimes under very difficult circumstances such as a medical appointment or court appearance.

Cultural competence. Communication involves much more than spoken language. Non-verbal cues inflect the meaning of the words that we choose, and make up a significant component of how we make ourselves understood. Like words, expressions and gestures vary across culture. An interpreter should have sufficient fluency in both cultures to interpret non-verbal cues. Understanding of cultural norms and expectations is also important to understanding both parties and helping to navigate misunderstandings that go beyond language.

Specialty knowledge (or the motivation to acquire it). Interpreters work in many different areas of specialization, such as community, medical, court or conference interpretation. Each of these areas has its own sets of technical vocabulary and cultural norms that must be mastered not just in one language, but both. If you have existing knowledge of the court system, for example, this is an advantage to becoming a court interpreter. What is more important, however, is the motivation and passion to do the additional learning required to master a specialization.

Emotional resilience. As an interpreter, you will be doing highly demanding work. This is what makes interpretation rewarding. But, you may also find yourself in emotionally difficult situations, such as having to interpret bad news from a doctor, or supporting someone in the legal system, or in the middle of a conflict. While good interpreters are compassionate, they must also be able to maintain boundaries. It is important to be able to sustain your own mental and emotional well-being, as well as your professionalism and dedication.

Does this sound like you? Do the challenges and demands of interpretation sound engaging and rewarding? Then interpretation might be your best next career move!