Diplomatic Interpreting comes to TerpSummit

This has been a busy week, and the first three days have been particularly long and intense, but also remarkably rich and rewarding. The one and only Sophie Llewellyn Smith a.k.a. The Interpreting Coach has successfully pulled off the third edition of her incredible TerpSummit, and it has proven to, yet again, be a resounding success.

It took me a full day to rest and recuperate, so I really don’t know how she does it.

The group of speakers and the assembled topics were downright amazing, and every talk or panel discussion I tuned into – riveting and inspiring.

This year I was also able to play a more active part in the event, giving a talk about Diplomatic Interpreting, and taking the leap from theory to practice, and I am grateful to Sophie Llewellyn Smith for her trust, and for this wonderful opportunity.

Diplomatic Interpreting is something that I am deeply passionate about, and it was a real pleasure to talk about it, and read and hear what others had to say. We could have obviously gone on for longer, but I hope we’ll get another chance to do that.

I used the bridge in the photo below in my presentation, and since a few people have said they liked the metaphor, I thought I’d share it here again.

I do like the image of a linguistically well equipped, emotionally intelligent, and culturally versed ghost in the room, and I do believe that, as conference, business, and diplomatic interpreters, we should do our utmost best to help build those bridges between languages and cultures, to allow for a free flow of ideas and seamless communication.

And ideas did flow quite freely during this latest edition of TerpSummit. The overarching topic, coopetition, is also one that is dear to my heart, and I hope others found it as enlightening and as thought-provoking as I have, and I do hope to see more coopetition going forward.

As for the bridge below, I borrowed the image from the Conde Nast website, but I do hope to see it one day for myself, and I will leave the metaphor in your hands, just as our clients leave their goals and their messages in ours.