A Day in the Life
You turn and see Carlos is walking up to meet you at the front of the room.
"Hey! What's up!" Carlos says. Katie breaks her professional demeanor and matches Carlos' laid back greeting. She throws her head back and looks confident just as Carlos does. You're really warming up to Katie as an interpreter and appreciate that you are getting Carlos' personality in the interpretation. She continues to interpret as Carlos suavely moves a chair next to Katie until it is facing you and slightly angled, now you can see Carlos and the interpreter at the same time. Carlos is great like that. He picks up on the nuances of communicating with an interpreter and a Deafie without you having to explain. He goes ahead and does what he thinks will be best for our communication without freezing up or feeling awkward. Sometimes I do have to let Carlos know when our communication is not effective and how he can accommodate the situation as a hearing person. He takes it in stride and is always willing to make those minor changes that make communication accessible. This is what makes our professional and friendly relationship work.
**PAUSE** Read How to Work with an Interpreter (pg. 10-11) in your packet.
We continue chatting as the room fills and our manager stands up to the podium. The manager calls attention and our conversation ends when I see that Katie sign, "PRESENT PERSON" points towards the podium, then interprets the presenter's message. The meeting is typical. Useful information but still boring. Carlos is doodling on the notepad he brought to take notes and I'm watching Katie interpret.
"Lastly," our manager concludes, "there will be a new HR Representative beginning at the end of this week. Though we will be sad to see Karen leave, we wish her luck in her future endeavors. Everyone, please welcome our new HR Rep, Sam Heathers." He motions to the opposite side of the room where there is a man, presumably Sam, waving back at the politely applauding crowd.
The meeting concludes and you think it might be good to introduce yourself to the new HR Rep. You didn't know Karen was leaving but that shouldn't be a problem. Sam will just have to take over the company's interactions with the interpreting agency.
"Hey! What's up!" Carlos says. Katie breaks her professional demeanor and matches Carlos' laid back greeting. She throws her head back and looks confident just as Carlos does. You're really warming up to Katie as an interpreter and appreciate that you are getting Carlos' personality in the interpretation. She continues to interpret as Carlos suavely moves a chair next to Katie until it is facing you and slightly angled, now you can see Carlos and the interpreter at the same time. Carlos is great like that. He picks up on the nuances of communicating with an interpreter and a Deafie without you having to explain. He goes ahead and does what he thinks will be best for our communication without freezing up or feeling awkward. Sometimes I do have to let Carlos know when our communication is not effective and how he can accommodate the situation as a hearing person. He takes it in stride and is always willing to make those minor changes that make communication accessible. This is what makes our professional and friendly relationship work.
**PAUSE** Read How to Work with an Interpreter (pg. 10-11) in your packet.
We continue chatting as the room fills and our manager stands up to the podium. The manager calls attention and our conversation ends when I see that Katie sign, "PRESENT PERSON" points towards the podium, then interprets the presenter's message. The meeting is typical. Useful information but still boring. Carlos is doodling on the notepad he brought to take notes and I'm watching Katie interpret.
"Lastly," our manager concludes, "there will be a new HR Representative beginning at the end of this week. Though we will be sad to see Karen leave, we wish her luck in her future endeavors. Everyone, please welcome our new HR Rep, Sam Heathers." He motions to the opposite side of the room where there is a man, presumably Sam, waving back at the politely applauding crowd.
The meeting concludes and you think it might be good to introduce yourself to the new HR Rep. You didn't know Karen was leaving but that shouldn't be a problem. Sam will just have to take over the company's interactions with the interpreting agency.