2.

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Stages of the Encounter

For practical purposes, a typical community interpreting assignment
can be subdivided into three stages. The pre-encounter involves
Learning
Overview

what interpreters do from the moment they have been assigned an Objective 2.1
interpreting task until they begin interpreting. The encounter takes
place while the interpreter is interpreting for service provider(s) and After completing this section, you
service user(s). The post-encounter involves everything interpreters will be able to:
do after leaving the assignment. • Identify and describe the
three stages of a typical
This section explores what you need to know about each of these community interpreting
three stages, so that you are better prepared for a typical assignment assignment: pre-encounter,
in the field. Understanding these stages will help you plan ahead, encounter and post-
reduce stress and keep you alert during the session. It will help you encounter.
to understand how a careful analysis of the session can improve your
performance.

The three stages

Three stages of the interpreted encounter

• Preparation
PRE-ENCOUNTER
• Briefing

• Professional introduction
THE ENCOUNTER • Interpreting
• Intervening / Mediating

• Debriefing
POST-ENCOUNTER
• Analysis

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Pre-encounter
Pre-encounter

Why planning matters

The main objective of the pre-encounter stage is to get ready for the assignment. You may need to discuss
the encounter with your employer and/or a contracting party: in other words, the agency or person who
requests you for the assignment. You may need to speak with the service provider in advance to learn details
about the encounter.

Community interpreting is a socially, emotionally and physiologically demanding profession. It is also low
in social support. Assignments can be complex. These are just some of the reasons why each assignment
requires thorough and timely preparation to help you gather general and specific details—at least, when
time permits. In addition, the sheer variety of service organizations, each with their own specialized
terminology, jargon and context, often requires careful preparation of relevant terminology.

General preparation
First, you need to find out the following information:
• Languages and regional dialectical variations: Even major languages such as Arabic, Chinese,
French, Portuguese and Spanish have regional variations. Make sure you ask the specific language
variant needed to help determine if you are qualified for the assignment.
• Date, time and length of the session: Check your schedule before accepting the assignment,
allowing a comfortable “cushion” of time between two assignments.
• Location: Make sure you have not only the address but also, if appropriate, the building name,
floor, suite number (or name) and room number.
• Contact person’s details: Ask for information about your contact person, including a phone
number in case you are caught in a traffic delay or an emergency on your way to the assignment.
• Type and topic of meeting: You can ask about sensitive issues to be addressed.
• Type of documents to be used and/or sight translated: You can inquire if there are pamphlets,
brochures or other information to help you to understand the service and its terminology.
• Payment details: These are affected by your employment status: see Chapter 4.

Plan for the Unforeseen!

You will need both a contact number for the period before the assignment and a contact
number for the date and time of the assignment—especially on a weekend or evening. It is
distressing to be stuck in traffic or to stand outside a locked door with no one to call.

Try to make sure your interpreting toolkit contains at least the following items:
• ID card and badge/name tag, if appropriate
• Pens and notepads (one pen is never enough)
• Dictionaries and glossaries (including electronic devices, smart phones and tablets, but verify first
if electronic devices are permitted and, if appropriate, clarify that you intend to consult your device
only to look up terms relevant to the assignment)
• Water and food (if permitted)
• Necessary items (eyeglasses, tissues, medications, etc.)
• Required documents (e.g., forms required by a hospital or interpreting service provider, such as
proof of vaccinations)
• Pocket money (e.g., for parking, public transport or vending machines)

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Specific preparation
For a successful performance, gather relevant information about the type of meeting, then research the
topic. Prepare your dictionaries and glossaries, including specialized glossaries you have developed yourself
for specific terminology and idioms. Look up websites of related institutions. Contact a colleague. See
Chapter 4 for specific guidance on preparing terminology for an assignment.

How to prepare for a session when you don’t have

time to plan
Short-notice assignments are common in community interpreting. Preparing for assignments is ideal, but
often not possible. It may be necessary to “activate” the basic elements of preparation. For example, if you
know the session is a counseling session, a knee-surgery prep or a parent/student meeting, you can:
• Do a mental run-through to quickly analyze the setting.
• Which professional and administrative protocols will you need to know?
• What terminology might be needed?
• Will the session require special protocols or dress codes?
• Evaluate your competence for that assignment.
• Check your emotional state to make sure you feel calm and sufficiently impartial to perform
at a professional level—even you might see blood, witness an argument or interpret for the
perpetrator of a crime.

Briefing
To be able to help two parties communicate and understand the setting, if possible, contact the service
provider for a pre-encounter. Beforehand, ask the person who sent you to the assignment for any details
available, but even if you receive that information it is still ideal to have a briefing—even a minute or
two—with the service provider. This briefing, or pre-encounter, by phone or face to face, allows you to
learn or share specific concerns about the encounter. It can save time and make the communication flow
more smoothly.

Take into account that some service providers might have little to no experience working with
interpreters. A briefing is a great opportunity to help them understand how professional interpreters work.
Justify any request you make, for example, “I hear a lot of noise in this facility. I would need a quiet room
for the session, or I might not be able to interpret accurately.”

Of course, you probably will not have time to discuss most of the points above. This is why you will need
to master the art of a short, professional interpreter introduction (see next page) to clarify your role.

Be Clear about Your Departure Time

If you have a tight schedule or time concerns, let your employer agency,
organization, institution, supervisor, the service provider or the service user know
about it before the assignment.

It would be ideal if you could stay as long as needed, but if you must leave by a
certain time, make sure you let all parties know this before the encounter begins.

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Encounter
Encounter

Focus on interpreting
The encounter is the most important stage of the assignment. You are in the spotlight. The service
provider and the service user both rely on you. Your main objective is to facilitate communication by
managing the flow as unobtrusively as possible, rendering accurate messages, and being impartial.

Professional introduction
Your professional introduction is
critical. It helps all parties to work
effectively together. It introduces the
service user and provider to how a
professional interpreter works. For
example, your introduction should
always disclose that you will interpret
everything stated during the encounter.
In addition, your introduction can
offer clear parameters for how the
encounter will proceed. You can
accomplish this in two languages in an
introduction of fewer than 20 seconds!

Keep in mind that not all service providers and users have worked with professional interpreters.
You may ask them, if time allows, whether they have had any such experience. They might have even
had encounters with untrained interpreters or family members who interpret. Their understanding
of professional interpreting may be minimal. Knowing their past experience will influence how you
work.

See Section 2.2 for how to perform a professional introduction.

Interpreting
During the encounter, take into account the following:
• Positioning (Section 2.2)
• Interpreting in first person (Section 2.2)
• Turn taking (Section 2.2)
• Accurate interpreting (Section 2.4)
• Intervention and strategic mediation (Chapter 3)
• Modes of interpreting: consecutive (usually the primary mode), simultaneous and sight
translation (Section 2.5)
• Summarizing, which may be necessary but only as a last resort (Section 2.5)
• Note-taking (Section 2.6)
• Use of terminology resources, such as dictionaries and glossaries (Section 4.5)

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Mediation
Often you will need to interrupt the speaker to alert
everyone to a miscommunication or misunderstanding.
The act of speaking in your own voice to address
a communication concern is called mediation (or
intervention, especially in the United States for medical
interpreting). During the encounter you are doing only
one of two things: interpreting or mediating. When
you intervene to perform mediation, you are no longer
interpreting. Because mediation is an important skill to
master, Chapter 3 addresses it in depth.

A Common Concern: One Person Starts to Speak the Other Language

Problem: What do you do when one of the parties starts speaking in the
other party’s language?
Solution: In most cases, you could let that person speak in the other
party’s language (even if the communication seems very basic) if the
dialogue flows smoothly. However, stay alert to chime in as soon as you
notice a miscommunication. If the problem interferes with your ability to
concentrate and interpret, you may need to request that each party speak
only one language or inquire if your services are needed: exercise good
judgment. Always speak in a calm, professional tone when intervening.

In a worst-case scenario, you could explain that you may have to leave the
encounter because you cannot work effectively in those conditions.

The end of the assignment

Once the service provider and user have finished the interview, you may leave. If you must
leave before the session ends, having let the parties know your departure time when you first
arrived, remember to act with professional courtesy when you leave.

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Post-encounter
Post-encounter

When the interpreted session is over, the work is not done! In fact, some of your most important work
begins the moment the session ends. After the session, do not speak with the service user. However, it might
be both appropriate and helpful to follow up with the service provider. Where feasible and appropriate, you
can also consider the following:

• Debriefing the interpreter: After a stressful session, you can benefit by expressing your thoughts
and feelings with the service provider and getting specialized feedback (particularly in mental
health).
• Post-session provider questions: The service provider might ask, “Do you think she understood
what she needs to do?” “What was going on in there?” Be careful to clarify that you cannot read
the service user’s mind. You may clarify basic communication concerns (for example, “Her speech
was a bit slurred”), but avoid speaking about the service user as a person (for example, never say he
understood the consent form, seemed honest or had a certain belief ). Focus your answers on the
communication, not your opinions about the person.
• Critical incidents: If you witnessed a critical incident during the encounter, you may need to
report it to the appropriate person. (See Section 5.3.)
• Interpreter-service user exchange: After the session, the service user might find you and ask for
your advice. Try not to answer questions: bring the service user to an appropriate provider or the
receptionist’s desk and interpret the question or request. (If you are a bilingual employee acting
called in as an interpreter, answer service user questions that you would normally answer in your
regular job.)

Special note #1: Keep in mind that for legal and mental health interpreting, a freelance interpreter
should almost never speak alone with the service user. The legal or mental health consequences are too
serious to risk.

Special note #2: If you were directly hired by the service user to interpret, then of course you will
need to answer the service user’s questions, but do your best not to offer personal opinions.

Analysis
After every session, try to reflect on the session: what went well, what did not and why? This type of post
analysis can enhance your competence and professional development:
• First, analyze your performance. Identify and write down positive aspects, areas for improvement,
lessons learned and new terminology or protocol.

Build on Your Strengths

Keep in mind that most of us become competent by building on our strengths rather
than focusing too much on our weaknesses. Start by identifying your strengths before you
analyze your weaknesses.

• If you have been emotionally affected by the session, look for specialized support. Unmanaged
emotional burdens can quickly turn into job stress, anxiety, burnout or vicarious trauma. (See
Section 5.5.)

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Stress and Memory

The human stress hormone cortisol has a negative impact on episodic long-term
memory. It temporarily blocks memory retrieval (Wolf, 2009). Emotional burdens
can also turn into cognitive problems, such as longer reaction time, verbal recall
difficulties and memory losses, hesitations, incoherence, etc. These burdens can
also interfere with your overall competence, health and wellbeing (Packard, 2009).

Let’s Practice
Learning Activity 2.1 (a): Prepare for the Assignment
Learning Activity 2.1 (b): Debriefing Role Play

In The Community Interpreter®: An International Workbook of

Activities and Role Plays

REVIEW OF SECTION 2.1

In this section, you explored the three stages of a typical community interpreting assignment. You
learned what to do during each stage:

1. Pre-encounter
• Preparation
• Briefing
2. Encounter
• Professional introduction
• Interpreting
• Intervening/Mediating
3. Post-encounter
• Debriefing
• Analysis

The knowledge you acquired here will help you prepare and perform. You can also analyze your
performance in a dynamic cycle of professional development. Keep in mind:
• Because community interpreting is a socially, emotionally and physiologically demanding
profession that is often low in social and institutional support, you need to prepare carefully for
each assignment (if time permits).
• Gather as much information as you can about the assignment beforehand.
• If possible, try to meet the service provider before the encounter to gather details.
• Make a professional introduction to state how the session will proceed.
• Remember: you are there to facilitate meaningful communication through accurate and
complete interpreting. Only intervene if a serious miscommunication arises.
• Try to monitor your performance and analyze it afterward.
• Look for specialized debriefing and support if you were emotionally affected.

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