5 Tips for Practicing Consecutive Interpreting

Are you a current or aspiring medical interpreter? If so, this video may be for you for. As an interpreter trainer and co-founder of an interpreting practice website, I've facilitated countless consecutive interpreting practice sessions. These are my tips for getting the most out of practicing consecutive interpretation, whether you're practicing by reading a script with a partner, listening to audios, or watching consecutive interpreting practice videos on my channel. Be sure to subscribe!
Do you have any other tips for practicing consecutive interpretation? If so, be sure to drop your suggestions below!
Like this video? Want to see more like it? Videos like these take me multiple hours to produce and I'd really appreciate your support. Consider making a contribution on my Ko-Fi here: ko-fi.com/kghinterpretation

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

Hey there! I'm so glad this video has received such a positive response. I never anticipated it would have gotten this many views! I just wanted to pop by and say that if you like my videos, consider visiting my Ko-Fi to see how you can support my mission to provide free educational content to ALL interpreters! ko-fi.com/kghinterpretation

[@sonias7390]

Thank you for sharing your tips! Very useful! 😀

[@Felipe-ou4jz]

Very true! Create those synapses in your brain and practice your short term memory! We can do this!

[@walterrodriguez8708]

Been doing over the ph interpretation for over a yr and can never stop learning. I've applied these practices in my assignments. Very helpful info. New Sub =-)

[@ayatmasoud7587]

Thnx a lot for ur tips ❤️

[@sunnykim9917]

Thank you. Very helpful!

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

Glad it was helpful!

[@beanhumann]

I’m currently taking training for becoming a consecutive EnglishSpanish interpreter, wish me good look y’all 🫶🏼

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

Best of luck!

[@fiyaflicka1556]

hello

[@user-mi7or6ti2k]

Cómo va tú proceso??

[@hamiltonblankson]

Hello? I just landed here again. How did your training go?

[@ghadamohsen1582]

Thank you so much ❤️

[@mahoudjrovenancehouessou4322]

Very useful. Thanks 😊😊

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

I'm glad you found it helpful!

[@user-sy1ej7ok3v]

Thanks a lot!

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

You're welcome!

[@mehrdad1065]

Good job.keep it up

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

Thank you, Mehrdad!

[@omagodosidiomas]

Thanks for the video! Very informative. It would also be cool to see you actually practicing interpretation. Seeing how you do it would be really interesting. 🙃

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video! I'm not gonna lie, my anxiety and performing linguistically in my non-native language in front of large audiences like that is a big reason why I don't do legal interpreting or conference interpreting (despite loving simultaneous interpretation). I struggled in college even interpreting in front of my small interpreting classes, yet I'm cool as a cucumber in the field. Still coming to terms with it and working towards overcoming it, so maybe one day! Just as I appreciate your taking the time to comment, I hope you appreciate my honesty XD

[@omagodosidiomas]

Oh, I definitely understand what you mean. I'm an introvert myself. I'm also working towards improving my communication skills. But I'm very curious about how interpreters practice. I like to achieve high levels in foreign languages and I also (maybe) want to become an interpreter one day, so I've been looking it up and found your video. Maybe you could show how your practice session looks like interpreting from Spanish into English? If the non-native language is the problem.

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

I will do my best to post a video at some point! I don't practice often because I'm so busy working, but next time I do I'll try to remember to record it. In the meantime InterpreMed, the website I co-founded, does have occasional open consecutive interpreting practice meetings where non-members are invited. If you stay tuned to our Facebook page, my partner posts announcements about our free live practice meetings there. I think that would be a really great way to see how a practice is structured and potentially try out practicing as well.

[@omagodosidiomas]

@@KellyGrzechHenriquez Cool! I'll be waiting for the video. I'll take a look at the website, but it's unlikely that I'm going to be able to join. Busy days 😥 Thanks for taking your time to answer me!

[@tintintin070]

very random but I love that I've now watched two interpreters on youtube with facial piercings lol, I thought I was the only one

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

Not random at all! I've gotten some rude comments about my lip piercing. Of course, I delete them. So it's nice to see a positive comment about it. My lip shiny doesn't detract from my skills 💪🏻

[@Daubentonia88]

Hi, thanks for sharing. Can you suggest companies that might be hiring European interpreters for remote working? Thanks

[@user-fl6kq2jq8y]

The key point is your ironing memory

[@SR-jx8yu]

Thank you for this! I am an MA interpreting student and I have to say I really don't like consecutive! I find the aspect of relying on memory difficult. I also have really bad note taking strategies!

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

We're all still learning, even if we're not currently students. Some of us are better at some things than others, but as long as we practice and focus on getting better, we should improve as time goes on! I have a (free) training available on Americans Against Language Barrier's KZbin channel about techniques in mental health interpreting, but I go over some things like memory techniques and notetaking strategies. This links directly to the section about memory: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2rGan1-gc2jj5o And this links directly to the section about consecutive, which starts off with notetaking: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2rGan1-gc2jj5o Perhaps those might be of assistance?

[@DerPauleglot2nd]

Hey, thank you so much for sharing your insights as a professional! I was wondering what you think about adjusting the speed of recordings. Would it make sense to slow down a recording as a beginner or to speed up recordings during listening practice?

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

Certainly! For any of my videos, if you click on the little gear in the bottom righthand corner of the video that says "Settings" you can adjust the playback speed. Keep in mind that when you make the utterances slower, it will also make the pauses longer as well.

[@DerPauleglot2nd]

@@KellyGrzechHenriquez Thanks for the reply! I am having a hard time finding research on this topic so I guess all we have to go by is experience. Thanks and keep up the good work :)

[@enlogged]

Can you make more videos about how to improve memory for consecutive interpreting?

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

I will do my best to make a video like this in the future! In the meantime: I did this video on mental health interpreting techniques for AALB, and in the chapter "How to Practice: Memory" (linked here) I discuss some memory techniques. I also go over notetaking in this video (which helps with memory): kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2rGan1-gc2jj5o

[@jazminneardonrodas4208]

Hi, I loved your video! I'm using it to practice my subtitle skills, if you don't mind, I would like to know what do you say in the second 0:45, do you say "ideally"? Thanks in advance :)

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

Thank you! That's super cool! It does sound like I say, "ideally" ;)

[@jazminneardonrodas4208]

@@KellyGrzechHenriquez Thank you so much!!! :)

[@danielsakowicz1]

Hello, can you help me please with one thing. One i do consec with notes I am oftentimes more focused on notes and it affects my memorisation. Some speech are easier to remember, other harder. Is consecutive inter trainable?

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

When we are taking notes while interpreting consecutively, it can definitely be a challenge choosing what to let your memory take care of, and what you need to take notes on. Sometimes we get too detailed in our notes, and then we can miss the things people are saying because we're so focused on taking notes on details! So it's a matter of knowing which things are easier for you to remember without notes, and which things are easier for you to remember with notes. It'll be different for each person, but generally speaking these are the things that people have difficulties with remembering and take notes on: - Numbers, dates - Names, organizations, places - Lists For me, I try to let my memory do most of the work and only write down notes on something if I know I'm going to have trouble recalling it. Part of this is experience, and part of this is knowing yourself, your brain, your memory, and your limits. I find numbers and lists are the two most difficult things for me! Usually for each item in a list I'll write a "clue" for each list item. I would say at the end of every practice session, reflect on your practice, and include a memory component. What things did I remember well without needing to take notes? What things did I struggle with remembering? Can you notice any trends? Then you'll have a decent list of what you need to focus on taking notes on, versus the things you can rely on your raw memory for.

[@wendyhsu4608]

I’m not sure about number 3? I have always thought interpreting actually required no tone and simply just translating verbally. Could someone clarify this for consecutive interpretation?

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

Tone is absolutely part of being accurate as a medical interpreter. I'd daresay across all disciplines. If someone says, "Yeah, sure, I'll come to my appointment next week," in a happy tone, it means they're probably coming. If they say the same thing with a sarcastic, mocking tone, it probably means they're not. Tone has SO much meaning. According to the NCIHC's standards of practice, standard 2 states: The interpreter replicates the register, style, and tone of the speaker. (See the Standards here, second to last document: www.ncihc.org/ethics-and-standards-of-practice) CHIA's ethical principles state for performance measure C for the ethical principle of accuracy and completeness: Maintain the tone and the message of the speaker even when it includes rudeness and obscenities. (See page 30: www.chiaonline.org/CHIA-Standards)

[@wendyhsu4608]

@@KellyGrzechHenriquez thank you so much for clarifying this for me in so much detail ! It was very helpful . Thank you!

[@marcoarrieta4983]

I'm a total begginer. I have a decent accent and a decent level. I wanted to ask you: When you make flashcards on Quizlet... do you use monolingual definitions? Do you write the translation in your native language? Do you add examples to the flashcards? Is there a video on this that I haven't watched?

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

Marco, I'm finally getting to my backlog of comments! Thanks for your patience. Typically when I make flashcards (now and when I first started) I always do one language on one side, and the translation in the other language on the other. Because that's one task, knowing the equivalent term. If I struggle with understanding a CONCEPT, like... What is dialysis? I don't typically do flash cards. I will read about it in both languages (oddly enough some aspects of dialysis made MORE sense to me in Spanish than in English), watch videos with visuals, and maybe write a whole page of notes on it with doodles and stuff. Understanding how everything works together has really helped me when I interpret. Something I've really benefitted from lately has been doing flashcards where instead of putting a single word, I'll do a part of a sentence. As we both know, some words mean different things in different contexts, meaning how we translate it will be different. Example: "to seek input" vs. "sensory input." The word "input" in the first case is more like to seek suggestions or contributions, whereas the word "input" in the second sentence is more like "data."

[@marcoarrieta4983]

@@KellyGrzechHenriquez Awesome. Even if you took time to answer to my question, you've gave me what I wanted. Wait for me 'cause sooner or later I'll join your Patreon

[@ozkan8118]

Thanks for the tips and i like your accent, in which province do you live?

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

I'm glad you found these tips helpful! I'm based in Richmond, Virginia, USA.

[@ahmadtabush6806]

Thank you so much, Very useful tips, Also you’re so beautiful ☺️

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

I'm so glad you found the tips useful! And thank you!

[@thallitamsf]

Thank you!

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

You're very welcome!

[@user-ri1em2zo5g]

Im a interpreter beginner viet-eng, do we need to be a good speaker or good at speaking English first to become an interpreter?

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

Absolutely. You should have native or near-native proficiency in both Vietnamese and English.

[@imaginadan7334]

when we are practicing consecutive interpreting. Is it good taking random videos on internet a good way of practice?

[@raounak2820]

Hi! Plz could you tell how are you practicing for consecutive interpretation ?

[@chrisrodriguez5915]

Yes! Medical interpreting isn’t just medical terms, you’re also interpreting everyday language. So don’t forget to know how to interpret common words that we may forget about.

[@raounak2820]

@@chrisrodriguez5915 Thank you very much sir

[@fiyaflicka1556]

please suggest me a senior Interpreter or educator for Medical Interpretation

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

You might not find a lot of reputable resources like mine on KZbin or for free, but you can check out the trainings page on my website for other training resources. I list my resources first, but after that I list a bunch of resources by national interpreting organizations and other trainers: kghinterpretation.com/trainings/

[@Sergei39301]

As an interpreter I don't think that one should convey emotions of a speaker. An interpreter should allways remain neutral.

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

Across codes of ethics, spoken-language interpreters should convey tone of voice. If someone says something in a happy tone, I interpret that happy tone. If someone says something in an angry tone, I interpret that angry tone. People often convey their emotions with tone of voice, as well as word choice. Being impartial or neutral is about not letting my *own* emotions, biases, beliefs, thoughts, and opinions interfere with what I'm interpreting.