When people think about the challenges of simultaneous interpreting, they often assume the difficulty lies in the language itself or in specialised terminology.
But in practice, another factor often plays an equally important role: the way a speech is delivered.
Interpreters constantly adapt to different speakers, topics, and speaking styles. In that sense, the job sometimes requires a bit of chameleon energy — adjusting quickly to new rhythms, personalities, and ways of structuring ideas.
Most of the time, experienced interpreters can handle a wide range of speaking styles. But certain habits can make the task significantly more demanding.
Here are a few common ones:
Speaking very fast
Imagine trying to summarise a podcast while it’s playing at 1.5× speed. Interpreters face a similar challenge when speakers talk extremely quickly. There is simply less time to process the content and present it in a way that makes sense to the audience.
Very long or complex sentences
Some sentences go on for so long that the main point only appears right at the end. We have to mentally open several brackets in a sentence and only close them at the very end. Where possible, I try to visualise what is being said to avoid getting muddled up.
Reading dense slides or scripts
My personal pet hate: speakers reading out large chunks of text at breakneck speed. It becomes particularly “interesting” when the script hasn’t been shared in advance…
Humour and idioms
This is actually one of the fun parts of the job and what keeps us on our toes. But not all puns or cultural references travel neatly between languages. At the same time, it’s incredibly satisfying when you find the perfect idiom or turn of phrase that fits the context.
The good news is that small adjustments make a big difference:
- speak at a moderate pace
- structure ideas clearly
- share slides and speeches beforehand
These simple steps help ensure that your message doesn’t get lost in translation.
Related post: https://www.unlockingwords.co.uk/the-brief-makes-the-difference-how-to-brief-conference-interpreters/
