Mind your manners!

By Michelle Hof, AIB

Conference interpreters must be a very poorly behaved bunch. Why else would there be so many resources out there dedicated to teaching us proper manners? There are seemingly countless articles, slide presentations and videos explaining the dos and don'ts of interpreter etiquette, as well as the inevitable cartoons poking fun at those interpreters who don't seem to have consulted any of the former before stepping into the booth. Today, I'd like to go through some of what's out there.

To me, minding your manners as an interpreter should essentially be a matter of common sense: try to treat your colleagues how you would like them to treat you. However, for the novice interpreter, it's not always clear just exactly how one would like to be treated, or what constitutes good and bad etiquette in the booth.

I still have vivid, and mostly painful, memories of some of my own slip-ups during my first few weeks in the booth. One day, I had to be reminded by a senior colleague not to munch my sandwich in full view of the delegates ("but I was on my break, what harm could a quick snack do?"). On another occasion, I was told never – NEVER! – to touch another interpreter's console ("but your turn was over, I thought I'd just switch off your mike for you!"). Needless to say, these are lessons that I will never forget.

Fortunately, thanks to all of the resources available, interpreters these days should not have to learn the hard way. Let's take a look.

Not just for newbies

The International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC) has kindly prepared not one, but two sets of guidelines on booth manners. The first, Understanding Booth Manners, is a short, checklist-style guide for beginners on the main points to keep in mind as they head off for their first assignment.

The second article, creatively named Booth Manners, was written for seasoned interpreters and is an in-depth, no-holds-barred, three-part exposé on the topic that has seen various versions published over the years (which just goes to show that you can never say enough about minding your manners, even to veterans).

Miss Manners would be proud

It's interesting to see that most self-respecting interpreter training courses include booth manners on their curriculum. Even the EMCI Core Curriculum includes a reference to them. There, they are called "working practices", but I've seen instructors' notes for this point and I can assure you that that's just a fancy euphemism for how to behave yourself on the job.

The National Network for Interpreting is a UK-based initiative that offers a range of resources for trainers and students of conference interpreting. On their interpreting skills map, you will find no fewer than three resources on etiquette-related skills: tact & diplomacy, professionalism, and teamwork. The section on teamwork leads to a slideshow of interpreting cartoons by Clic!, by the way, so if you are looking for a light-hearted approach to the subject, be sure to check it out.

The Interpreter Training Resources website, always a great source of information for trainers and students, has its own article on booth etiquette to offer. In this case, it's an excerpt of the book entitled Conference Interpreting – Principles and Practice.

Booth manners and social media

To conclude this round-up of pieces on booth manners, let me just point you to a couple of resources on social media. The Q&A site interpreting.info has no fewer than seven questions tagged with "booth manners", with a total of 29 answers. I personally like the one that asks if it's okay to use Facebook or Twitter in the booth (how time marches on!).

And what compilation of interpreter resources would be complete without a video by Lourdes de Rioja? I'll leave you with this entertaining video, featuring my colleague Matt Perret, called – wait for it! – Booth manners.

VIDEO
**This article is a modified version of an article originally posted on theinterpreterdiaries.com**