Lýdia, a conference interpreter, explains the work of conference interpreters in many details, with numerous practical examples and a couple of funny anecdotes:

1:38 Two practical demonstrations of consecutive interpreting
5:55 What makes a good interpreter?
7:00 Simultaneous interpreting (in a booth with headphones) in practice
12:07 Consecutive interpreting (on the stage) in practice
13:43 An example of interpreter’s notes and what they mean (with an overview of some note-taking symbols)
17:55 Do’s and dont’s in interpreting (In which person to speak? Should you correct mistakes?)
23:26 Crisis situations in interpreting (when you don’t know a word, when a speaker does not talk into a microphone, when you don’t hear properly, when someone in the audience corrects you, when a speaker tells a joke you can’t interpret)
31:47 The pains of working as an interpreter
33:54 The pleasures of working as an interpreter
37:01 How to become an interpreter (including book tips)
39:35 Discussion

Lýdia is a freelance interpreter and a PhD student of Translation and Interpreting studies in Bratislava, Slovakia. She also helps people learn languages and improve their language level as a language mentor.

Find out more about Lydia Machova at http://www.languagementoring.com.

This lecture was recorded at the Polyglot Gathering in Berlin 2015 (http://www.polyglotberlin.com). The official sponsor of this conference was http://www.italki.com.