Calling all Interpreters

Do you sometimes wish your clients had been trained to work alongside you effectively? I have a course for them, and an incentive scheme for you.

Please point your clients towards this course from English Unlocked-

How to work effectively with an interpreter

The face to face version of this course was developed for Northumberland County Council, and a webinar version is now available. It lasts two hours and it builds awareness of the difference between fully trained, registered interpreters and those who are unregistered. It includes tips from experienced interpreters on practical Dos and Don'ts for the client, and an introduction to the NRPSI code of ethics.

Your incentives

There are two ways you will benefit if your clients employ me to train the staff you work with.

1. Your working life will be easier.

Staff enroll on the course in order to learn the following-

How can you best enable your interpreter to do a great job?
How does it feel to interpret live speech?
What drives interpreters crazy and how can you avoid making those same mistakes?
Which interpreters are regulated and which are not? (UK relevant)
What are the tell-tale behaviors of a competent and professional interpreter?
How does the code of ethics inform the actions of a good interpreter?

What does this mean for you, the interpreter? It means that after the training your clients will no longer speak in long chunks of speech filled with jargon and acronyms. They will start speaking directly to their client in first person, instead of saying infuriating things like "tell him to sign here." They will have learned what information to include at a briefing, and why de-briefing is a good idea too. Having learned about the code of ethics and how it constrains you, they will be less likely to say things 'off the record' or leave you alone with their client.

Hopefully on reading the above you thought 'This woman has seriously underestimated the skill level of my clients.' If that's the case, good for you. If on the other hand you do have certain clients who could be easier to work with if only they received some training, please send them my way.

2. A monetary incentive

If you make a referral before August 15th 2020 and someone attends this course as a result, you will get 20% of their fee.

If a company or organisation pays me to deliver an exclusive webinar, I start negotiations with a price of £300. This sometimes varies.

The webinar is sometimes available on Eventbrite for individual ticket buyers. Check my Eventbrite page for any ticketed webinars which may be scheduled at the current time.

At the time of writing (July 2020) only the webinar version is available, but after lock down the face to face version will become available again. It lasts half a day and I can deliver it here in the north east or in London.

how to participate

Send an email to the organisation or individual you think will benefit from this training and copy me in before August 15th 2020. Explain to them in your own words why you recommend the course, and include a link to the following page which describes the course in detail. Do not send them a link to this page. If they subsequently book the course I will send you your commission after I have received payment. Feel free to email me a few weeks later to find out if they have made a booking. Please send a separate email to every organisation which you think might benefit.

Terms and conditions

Your referral must be sent before 15th August, but the training and payment can take place any time after that. I will pay you after they have paid me.
If you feel that (in the interests of transparency) they need to know about your financial incentive then you are at liberty to tell them, but are under no obligation from me to do so.
If a referral has heard about my training from more than one interpreter, those interpreters will split the commission fee.
If the staff member who books my course is different from the one you sent the email to it doesn't matter, you still get the fee. However, if it is a different branch you don't (unless they name you.)
In the case that an organisation books multiple training sessions, only the first one will be eligible for this incentive scheme.

Let's get this training out to the people who really need it.

As an interpreter you do a tremendously difficult job and carry a lot of responsibility. I find it strange that although you are thoroughly trained, those who work with you can sometimes be completely ignorant of how interpretation works. It seems a no-brainer to me that training needs to made available to them too, and I'm surprised how few trainers are meeting this need (I have only found one other.)

Do you know other interpreters who might be interested in this incentive scheme? I would be grateful if you would share this page with them.

Why not get in touch?

I would love to hear what you, an experienced interpreter, thinks of my course. (I know that you are probably a registered interpreter because the only links to this hidden page come from the NRPSI.)

I love receiving stories of your personal experiences, especially if they highlight the need for training of this kind. (Do you have any crazy stories about working with public service staff who didn't know how to interact with you?) I would love to connect with you on LinkedIn, or send me an email to say hi.

Warm regards

Shelley Purchon

Director of English Unlocked