Sophie Llewellyn Smith is a conference interpreter with 15 years' experience of interpreter training. On her site theinterpretingcoach.com, you will find eBooks and eCourses to help you consolidate or update your interpreting skills in areas such as note-taking, research skills, analytical skills, and retour interpreting (working into a B language). Each course breaks the skills down into manageable sections and uses a mixture of text, audio and video to examine underlying principles and work on practical exercises. In this way, you can use self-study at your own pace to target your weaknesses, improve your performance and become more marketable.
The news today is all about the draft agreement at COP26. Apparently, our august leader Boris Johnson is urging world leaders to pull out all the stops to reach an ambitious agreement.
The phrase ‘to pull out all the stops’ comes from organ-playing. If you’ve seen an organ in church, you may have noticed all the pedals and knobs. By pulling out the ‘stops’ (knobs), you can make sure all the pipes are involved in making a richer sound.
To pull out all the stops means to make a great effort, to do everything possible.
Brainstorming exercise
Set a timer for two minutes, and write down as many equivalent phrases as you can think of.
Here are a few other options:
to do one’s utmost (this is the most formal expression)
to go to great lengths
to go all out
to spare no effort
to make every effort
to give it our/your all
More informal
How about:
to go for broke (this has a bit of an ‘all-or-nothing’ connotation)
to give it your best shot
to bust a gut (pretty informal!)
Finally, a couple of expressions that suggest that you are trying very hard to accommodate someone else’s needs (perhaps trying too hard):
to bend over backwards (e.g. We bent over backwards to make his stay pleasant, but nothing was good enough for him)
to jump through hoops (this means that someone is putting a lot of hurdles in the way!)
Improvisation exercise
Choose one of the following three scenarios, and prepare a short speech, using appropriate phrases to indicate you are ‘doing your best’. Deliver your speech out loud.
1. Business Scenario: Launching a Startup in a Competitive Market
Prompt:You are the founder of a new tech startup preparing to pitch your company to potential investors. Your industry (generative AI) is highly competitive, and success is far from guaranteed. In your speech, emphasise the effort, determination, and risks your team has taken to bring the company this far. Persuade investors that you will spare no effort to make the company a successand that your product can successfully compete with others such as ChatGPT or DeepSeek.
2. Political Scenario: Running for Office in Difficult Times
Prompt:You are a political candidate addressing voters at a campaign rally. Your country is facing economic and social challenges, and trust in leadership is low. Convince the audience that you will do your utmost to improve their lives, going above and beyond to enact real change. Use persuasive language to inspire confidence in your dedication.
3. Public Health Scenario: Leading a Crisis Response
Prompt:You are the head of a public health agency addressing the public during a major health crisis (e.g., a pandemic or a natural disaster). Resources are stretched thin, and the stakes are high. Reassure the public that your team is working tirelessly, pulling out all the stops to manage the crisis effectively and protect lives
1. Business Speech: Launching a Startup in a Competitive Market
Good afternoon, esteemed investors and industry leaders.
In a world where 90% of startups fail, why should you believe in us? Because we have spared no effort in turning our vision into reality. From day one, we knew that entering this market would be an uphill battle. The competition is fierce, the risks are high, and every decision counts. But we refused to let those challenges define us.
We have worked around the clock, pulled out all the stops, and left no stone unturned in refining our product. We have tested, failed, adapted, and improved—again and again—because we are committed to excellence. We have already secured key partnerships, proven our technology, and built a loyal customer base. Not by chance, but because we gave it everything we had.
We are not just another startup with a dream—we are a team that goes the extra mile, no matter what it takes. We are here today to invite you to be part of something transformative. Join us. Invest in us. And together, we will go for broke and redefine this industry.
2. Political Speech: Running for Office in Difficult Times
My fellow citizens, we stand at a crossroads. For too long, we have watched as promises were made and broken, as communities struggled, and as faith in leadership declined. I am here today not just to ask for your vote, but to make you a promise: I will give it my all.
We are facing economic turmoil, social unrest, and an uncertain future. But I refuse to accept that this is the best we can do. I will bend over backwards to fight for fair wages, better healthcare, and a safer society. I will spare no effort to ensure that every citizen’s voice is heard.
While others jump through hoops to protect the powerful, I will go to great lengths to protect you—the people who built this country. A better future is within our reach, but only if we make every effort to achieve it.
So I ask you to stand with me. Join me, and let’s give it our all to build the country we deserve.
3. Public Health Speech: Leading a Crisis Response
I know that fear and uncertainty are gripping our communities. As public health officials, we have one duty above all: to protect lives. And I assure you, we are doing our utmost.
Our teams are working around the clock, pulling out all the stops to ensure hospitals have the resources they need. We are coordinating emergency responses, expanding testing facilities, and securing vital medical supplies. Every single person in our department is giving this crisis their best shot.
This is not an easy fight. We face supply shortages, logistical hurdles, and ever-changing conditions. But we will not back down. We will not rest. And we need you to stand with us—to follow safety guidelines, to support one another, and to trust that we are leaving no stone unturned to keep you safe.
We will get through this together, because we will not falter, and we will not fail in our duty to you.
The background is that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently made a pre-election speech, in which his basic premise was: the world is a dangerous place, so when it comes to elections, stick to what you know (i.e. the Tories, who have been in government for 14 years).
The problem with this is that plenty of things have gone wrong in the past 14 years (austerity, COVID, Partygate, the cost of living crisis, etc. etc.).
The three presenters of the podcast are analysing Sunak’s speech.
[By the way, I really like The NewsAgents as a podcast. The three presenters are on the ball, sometimes funny and irreverent, and they pull no punches in their analysis. There’s a US version if UK politics is too narrow for you.]
You can choose to do the gap filling exercise OR the reformulation exercise. They cover the same material, but the reformulation exercise offers a discussion of alternative phrasing that could be used.
If you want to make the reformulation exercise easier
Obviously, if you do this BEFORE doing the gap filling exercise, you will have heard the answers, which defeats the purpose! 😉 But you could always interpret the podcast afterwards.
Gap filling
Here is a gap filling exercise for you, based on an edited transcript of the podcast. You can find the solutions underneath.
‘At some point in the second half of this year, we will all go to the polls and make a choice, not just about Conservatives versus Labour or Sunak versus Starmer, It will be a choice between the future and the past. Our country stands ________________. Over the next few years, from our democracy to our society to our economy to the hardest questions of war and peace, almost every aspect of our lives is going to change.’ Rishi Sunak is _______________ about the fact he is properly on the election war path right now, and he’s setting out the vision of a country which is a dangerous place. This dangerous world of Rishi means just one thing: you have to stick with what you know and vote Tory. But how do you make the argument that you are the future, when you have been the past 14 years? And Rishi Sunak is trying to navigate between the selective bits of the 14 years that went OK, and forgetting all the bits that went horribly wrong. Will that __________? With everything that’s going on right now in the world, the protests in Tbilisi in Georgia or the circling of Kharkiv in Ukraine by Russia, it would have been very easy, I think, for Rishi Sunak to get up and make a speech about this dangerous world we’re in and why he was the ____________, but instead we got this very _____________, electioneering speech, which tried to encompass everything from defence to Ozempic to education. The funny thing about this speech, given how important it was to Rishi Sunak, was just how much it was _______________ around various different topics, where every single government department said, ‘we’ve got to include a bit on this’, ‘ you’ve got to include a bit on that’, ‘you’ve got to include a bit on something else’, and all these topics kind of came and they went without a central argument. It was __________ stuff wasn’t it? I sort of feel a bit for him that he probably went out thinking or having said, ‘I’m going to make a speech about the dangerous world we live in’, and then so he goes ‘yeah, but don’t make it too dangerous, you know, have a positive spin on it, make people feel good about themselves’, and so actually people have given him a speech that doesn’t _________ in any shape or form. There is no policy announcement, there is no pledge, there is no promise to improve things for any one particular group of people. He just had a go at Keir Starmer, he basically said ‘stop blaming the Conservatives for the last 14 years’. Well if you are going to say that, ‘look at our record, we are the people to guide Britain for the next five years, look at what we’ve done over the past 14 years’ Rishi Sunak has to be very careful in saying to people ‘oh look at what we’ve done over the past 14 years’ because if you ___________ you kind of think, ‘well, what were the great bits?’.
1. stands at a crossroads 2. making no bones about 3. will that wash? 4. safe pair of hands 5. freewheeling 6. scattergunning 7. whiplash 8. hang together 9. if you cherrypick
Reformulation exercise
Read the text, and see if you can come up with some alternatives for the phrases in bold.
‘At some point in the second half of this year, we will all go to the polls and make a choice, not just about Conservatives versus Labour or Sunak versus Starmer, It will be a choice between the future and the past. Our country stands at a crossroads. Over the next few years, from our democracy to our society to our economy to the hardest questions of war and peace, almost every aspect of our lives is going to change.’ Rishi Sunak is making no bones about the fact he is properly on the election war path right now, and he’s setting out the vision of a country which is a dangerous place. This dangerous world of Rishi means just one thing: you have to stick with what you know and vote Tory. But how do you make the argument that you are the future, when you have been the past 14 years? And Rishi Sunak is trying to navigate between the selective bits of the 14 years that went OK, and forgetting all the bits that went horribly wrong. Will that wash? With everything that’s going on right now in the world, the protests in Tbilisi in Georgia or the circling of Kharkiv in Ukraine by Russia, it would have been very easy, I think, for Rishi Sunak to get up and make a speech about this dangerous world we’re in and why he was the safe pair of hands, but instead we got this very freewheeling, electioneering speech, which tried to encompass everything from defence to Ozempic to education. The funny thing about this speech, given how important it was to Rishi Sunak, was just how much it was scattergunning around various different topics, where every single government department said, ‘we’ve got to include a bit on this’, ‘ you’ve got to include a bit on that’, ‘you’ve got to include a bit on something else’, and all these topics kind of came and they went without a central argument. It was whiplash stuff wasn’t it? I sort of feel a bit for him that he probably went out thinking or having said, ‘I’m going to make a speech about the dangerous world we live in’, and then so he goes ‘yeah, but don’t make it too dangerous, you know, have a positive spin on it, make people feel good about themselves’, and so actually people have given him a speech that doesn’t hang together in any shape or form. There is no policy announcement, there is no pledge, there is no promise to improve things for any one particular group of people. He just had a go at Keir Starmer, he basically said ‘stop blaming the Conservatives for the last 14 years’. Well if you are going to say that, ‘look at our record, we are the people to guide Britain for the next five years, look at what we’ve done over the past 14 years’ Rishi Sunak has to be very careful in saying to people ‘oh look at what we’ve done over the past 14 years’ because if you cherrypick, you kind of think, ‘well, what were the great bits?’.
at a crossroads: you could say ‘at a turning point’, ‘at a crucial point in its history’, ‘at a critical juncture’, ‘at a decisive moment’
making no bones about: ‘is being absolutely clear’, ‘is stating directly’, ‘is being frank’, ‘is being open about the fact…’, ‘is not mincing words’, ‘is cutting to the chase’.
will that wash? is this convincing? Will people accept this version of events? Does this interpretation stand up to scrutiny/examination? Will people swallow it?
safe pair of hands: he is dependable/reliable/trustworthy/competent/experienced
scattergunning: [this means the same as scattershot] random, haphazard, going in all directions
it was whiplash stuff: it gave you whiplash, you didn’t know what to think, you didn’t know what to expect, he kept wrongfooting us with his changes of direction, his line of argument was very unpredictable
hang together: it isn’t coherent, it doesn’t make logical sense
cherrypick: if you are selective, if you pick and choose from the Tories’ achievements, if you pick out highlights, if you don’t give the full picture
Next steps
You could use the podcast transcript as a basis for a summarising exercise, since it’s quite repetitive or long-winded in places.
You could also use the transcript as a basis for a register exercise. Since it’s quite colloquial, you could work on making it more formal.
Here’s an example of a version that is both more concise and more formal:
Later this year, voters face a choice beyond party lines—it’s a decision between progress and the status quo. The country stands at a crossroads, with major changes ahead in democracy, the economy, and global security.
Rishi Sunak is fully engaged in the election campaign, portraying a dangerous world that demands Conservative leadership. But after 14 years in power, can his party still claim to be the future? He highlights selective successes while distancing himself from failures, yet this strategy may not convince voters.
His latest speech, which could have focused on the Conservatives as a safe pair of hands, lacked focus. Instead of a clear policy vision, it jumped between topics—defence, healthcare, education—without coherence. There were no pledges, just attacks on Keir Starmer and a plea to stop blaming the Conservatives for the past 14 years.
If Sunak wants to campaign on his party’s record, he must be careful. Highlighting selective achievements only raises the question: what real successes stand out?
This is a vocabulary-building post about feeling angry. I suppose if you’re interpreting at a conference, you’re more likely to hear expressions voicing mild anger or irritation, but in other settings, I can imagine people being furious.
Let’s get started with a game as a warm-up!
Idioms game
This is a word association game. Your task is to use the image as inspiration to help you find an idiom meaning ‘being angry/grumpy’. The idiom usually has 2-5 words, and if it’s a verb phrase (e.g. to fly into a rage), the first word is ‘to’ in the quiz, and the image might be a bird or a set of wings.
Get the idea? 😉
I’ve used the form ‘one’s’, where appropriate, rather than ‘your’ (for example, it would be ‘to blow one’s nose’ rather than ‘to blow your nose’).
These idioms are all pretty informal; I wouldn’t recommend using them in a conference settings, unless the speaker is being very casual.
Did you get the answers?
to blow one’s top: I told her what happened, and she blew her top.
to explode: When I told my mum the mark I got in my last Physics test, she exploded.
to lose one’s rag
to see red
foaming at the mouth
to go ballistic
to throw one’s toys out of the pram (= to have a temper tantrum)
to get hot under the collar (this can also mean to be embarrassed)
Idioms – brainstorming
Set a timer for 3 minutes, and see how many more idioms you can come up with meaning ‘to lose one’s temper’!
to blow up
to fly off the handle
to lose the plot
to lose it
to have a hissy fit
to throw a fit
to have a strop
to have/throw a paddy – interestingly, this appears to come from the word Paddy (from Patrick), meaning an Irishman; the idea being that Irishmen were easily riled. Some people find this idiom offensive because of the stereotype, others don’t really recognise the link with Ireland anymore. It’s certainly a British American idiom, rather than American English, and very colloquial.
to be fit to be tied (I was fit to be tied when I heard the news.)
to be hacked off
to go berserk
to fly into a rage
to lose one’s cool
Now let’s see how many adjectives you know to describe people who are bad-tempered. Most of these are British English, and you will need to unscramble the words.
tetchy – a very British word meaning someone who gets irritated easily. May have first been used by Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet.
ratty – feeling annoyed (informal)
waspish – someone who makes cutting, cruel comments and sounds annoyed (or the comments themselves can be described as ‘waspish’). Nowadays, in a different register, we would say ‘bitchy’.
querulous – this means someone complaining or fretful (from the Latin queri, to complain) – quite an old-fashioned word
crotchety – this word is used to describe a person who is difficult or cranky. A common phrase would be ‘a crotchety old man’.
snappy
surly – collocates well with ‘teenagers’!!
fractious
cranky
exasperated
Quiz
What word for ‘furious’ is an adjective that originally meant black and blue, then pale, then red?
What word for ‘angry’ comes from the French (via Latin) meaning ‘to smoke’?
What old fashioned word for an ill-tempered person is an adjective describing one of the ‘humours’ (of which bilious is another)?
What word for ‘furiously angry’ could also be used to describe a light bulb?
What colloquial British English word meaning grumpy could also describe a rodent?
What adjective for ‘angry’ comes from a three-letter noun which is a synonym for ‘anger’?
What British English word for ‘grumpy’ may have been used first by Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet in 1592?
What word for bad-tempered comes from the Latin word for ‘break’, ‘shatter’?
What British English word for ‘annoyed’, often used when talking to children, can be represented by this symbol: X ?
livid
fuming – informal
choleric – old-fashioned
incandescent (e.g. incandescent with rage)
ratty – informal
irate
tetchy
fractious
cross
Useful terms for meetings
Not all of the idioms and terms we’ve looked at so far are suitable for meeting situations, where people tend to be relatively diplomatic and avoid expressing very strong emotions. In general, some of the more colloquial idioms may not be formal enough – although it depends very much on the speaker’s style.
Here are some safe options for describing a feeling of irritation, rather than rage:
irritated
displeased
exasperated
put out
dismayed
And some options for saying that you’re very angry:
incensed – this is generally used about other people, rather than oneself, and has a tinge of being offended by someone’s words or actions, taking umbrage, e.g. She was incensed by the implication she hadn’t worked hard enough on the proposal.
furious
incandescent (often ‘incandescent with rage’) – this describes extreme anger
enraged
fuming – quite informal
livid
seething
infuriated (by…)
apopletic – this means ‘furiously angry’, so much so that it looks as if the top of his/her head is going to blow off! It comes from Ancient Greek via Latin, and means ‘to be disabled by a stroke’
beside oneself with rage
outraged
Of course, there are many other words and expressions, some of which are just too colloquial (or vulgar) for a meeting situation, e.g. pissed off.
Improvisation
Write a short letter to complain to a company about the terrible customer service you have received. Give details about what happened. Use several words or idioms that mean ‘angry’ or ‘furious’.
When you’ve finished, take a look at the example text.
I am writing to express my profound disappointment and frustration following my recent experience with your company. As a loyal customer, I am not only dissatisfied but downright infuriated by the treatment I received.
On 1st September, I contacted your customer service team regarding a faulty toaster. After waiting on hold for an excruciating 90 minutes, I finally spoke to a representative who seemed uninterested and dismissive of my concerns. Despite my attempts to explain the issue clearly, I was repeatedly interrupted and given vague answers that provided no resolution.
What has truly left me livid is that after being promised a follow-up within 3 days, I have heard absolutely nothing. I have since called back multiple times, only to encounter more unhelpful staff and endless transfers between departments. This level of incompetence and disregard is unacceptable.
I trusted your company to provide a certain standard of service, and this experience has shattered that trust. It is bewildering and maddening to feel so undervalued as a customer.
I demand an immediate response to this letter, as well as a clear explanation of what went wrong and how you intend to rectify the situation. A gesture of goodwill to address the inconvenience caused would also be appreciated.
Please understand that I am not just annoyed—I am outraged by the lack of professionalism and courtesy shown. If I do not receive a satisfactory resolution within two weeks, I will have no choice but to escalate this matter further.
I hope this letter serves as a wake-up call to improve the way you treat your customers.
Yours sincerely,
Now:
Rewrite either your text or the example text to make it more informal. Use plenty of appropriate idioms.
Rewrite your text or the example text to make it more formal.
Hi,
I’m writing because I’m absolutely fuming about how I’ve been treated by your company recently. Honestly, I’m at the end of my tether and feel like I’m talking to a brick wall every time I reach out.
On 3rd September, I contacted your customer service team about a faulty toaster. After waiting on hold for what felt like forever, I finally got through to someone who barely seemed to care about my problem. I tried to explain what was going on, but I kept getting cut off, and the answers I got were completely useless.
What really made my blood boil is that I was told someone would get back to me within 3 days, but here we are—nothing. Zilch. I’ve had to chase this up myself, only to be passed around like a hot potato between departments, and still no one’s helped me.
Frankly, I’m spitting feathers about this whole thing. I expected so much better from your company, and this has left a really bad taste in my mouth.
I need this sorted—pronto. I want a proper explanation of what’s gone wrong, what you’re going to do to fix it, and maybe a little something to make up for all the time and stress I’ve had to go through.
If I don’t hear back within 2 weeks, I’ll have to take things further, which is the last thing I want to do—but I will if I have to.
I really hope you take this seriously and start treating your customers properly.
Thanks,
Note how many idioms there are in this version. This supports the idea that idioms are often informal.
MORE FORMAL
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to formally raise my concerns about the unsatisfactory level of customer service I have recently experienced with your company. I am deeply disappointed and feel compelled to express my dissatisfaction in the hope that appropriate measures will be taken to address this matter.
On 3rd September, I contacted your customer service department regarding a faulty toaster. Despite waiting for an extended period to speak to an agent, the response I received was cursory and lacked the professionalism I had expected. My attempts to explain the nature of the issue were met with minimal engagement, and the advice provided was both vague and unhelpful.
I was assured during this interaction that my concerns would be escalated and that I would receive a resolution within 3 days. Regrettably, no such follow-up has occurred. Instead, I have been required to contact your company multiple times, during which I was transferred between departments without any clear resolution. This process has not only been inefficient but has also caused considerable frustration.
I must express my dismay at the lack of communication and accountability demonstrated throughout this ordeal. It is entirely unacceptable that as a loyal customer, I have been treated in such an unprofessional and dismissive manner.
I respectfully request a detailed explanation of the delays and lack of resolution, along with a prompt and effective solution to my original issue. Furthermore, I expect a gesture of goodwill to compensate for the inconvenience and time lost as a result of this situation.
Please respond to this letter within two weeks with your proposed actions to resolve this matter. Should I not hear back, I will be left with no choice but to escalate my complaint to the relevant consumer protection authorities.
Yours faithfully,
Note how much milder the formal version is.
I hope you enjoyed these exercises!
p.s. The word fractious is a very common term to describe political parties that argue, debates that are ill-tempered, etc.
Here are some examples from The Guardian:
“Thought for the Day” boring? So why does it provoke such fractious debate?
This is just one instance of the power of drawings, and their role in the often fractious relationship between architect and client
Fractious EU summit rejects Franco-German plan for Putin talks
But the EU, fragmented, disputatious and wounded to an extent unusual even by its fractious standards, is taking one day at a time.
While I consider myself a vaguely creative person, I’ve never thought of myself as artistic. It’s a long time since I’ve put pencil (or paintbrush) to paper for the purpose of creating art, but it’s my daughter’s favourite subject at school, so I enrolled with her on a 12-week course called ‘Art for the Terrified’.
Things rarely go to plan in life, and we’ve only had two sessions out of four (I was ill for one of them, the teacher was ill for another). After ‘colour’ and ‘line’, last night’s theme was ‘tonal value’ – or what I think of as ‘shading’.
I found the session enjoyable, partly as a way to switch off from real life, partly for the process of making art, and partly because it made me think about parallels with interpreter training.
Sheep 1, copied from Henry Moore
Outline of an art class
Here’s what our teacher Jane had us do yesterday.
First, she gave us a sheet with examples of different shading methods: hatching, cross hatching, stippling (where you draw lots of little dots), smudging/blending, and ‘scumbling’ (a word I had never heard before.)
As far as I could see, the teacher’s version of scumbling means drawing lots of little squiggles on the page to create shading. This does not match the Collins dictionary definition at all:
(in painting and drawing) to soften or blend (an outline or colour) with an upper coat of opaque colour, applied very thinly
But never mind! Scumbling (or scribbling, basically), seemed like fun.
After trying out some of the exercises on the handout, we moved on to the pièce de résistance of the evening, which involved copying a line drawing by Henry Moore, who, apart from being an incredible, world-famous sculptor, also enjoyed drawing sheep.
Sheep are close to my heart, since Yorkshire, where I live, is full of them. They dot the countryside and form an erratic counterpoint to the straight lines of dry stone walls.
[As a side note, my husband and I were once driving through the Yorkshire countryside, and I pointed out that the fields were pecorous. ‘What does pecorous mean?’, he asked. ‘Full of sheep’, I replied. To which he said ‘Sophie, sometimes YOU are full of sh**’. After that, I stopped trying to introduce interesting Latin-derived words into our conversations.]
But back to our art class, where after attempting to copy Henry Moore, I tried my hand at copying a photograph of a sheep:
Sheep 2, copied from a photo
Parallels between interpreter training and learning to draw
I spend a lot of time teaching, but I rarely attend classes these days, so I found it a very interesting experience.
I felt there were many potentially useful parallels between this art class and the process of learning to be an interpreter. Here are some of my thoughts:
Since art is an area where I have no great knowledge, expertise, or confidence, I found it useful to have a ‘guide’ (i.e. our teacher) to structure the session, give a brief demonstration, and set tasks. I’m sure once I have more knowledge and confidence, I’ll be able to shape my own learning journey.
I found the process of copying an expert very useful. I wouldn’t have known where to start with my scribbly pen drawing of a sheep without that structure. Copying Henry Moore’s technique was an opportunity to think about why and how he had done certain things: scribbled harder in darker areas, used straight lines vs curls, used precise outlines, etc. It made me think about why those techniques were successful (or not), and it gave me a template to follow in my second drawing, where I was copying a photo. For me, the parallel with interpreter training is that if you listen to an experienced interpreter, or attempt the same material and then listen to their version, you can analyse how they approached certain difficulties (speed, numbers, idioms, etc.) and try out the same techniques in your interpretation.
Having the task broken down into stages – first, copying Moore’s drawing, then attempting to use similar techniques to copy a photo of a sheep – was very useful. It meant that I had a trial run before trying the more difficult exercise, and I could then try to replicate the techniques. Not trying to do everything at once helped build my confidence, and by the time we got onto copying the photo, I had at least some idea of how I could approach the drawing. In interpreter training terms, this is similar to introducing consecutive note-taking or simultaneous skills gradually, both to build confidence and to create a strong foundation, rather than throwing interpreters in at the deep end.
One way in which the sheep exercise was very different from my days as an interpreting student (or a student of many other things: ballet, piano, etc.) was that I approached the process with curiosity rather than judgement. I really wasn’t bothered whether the end result was ‘good’ or ‘bad’ (according to whose standards, anyway?); instead, I was simply working through the exercises and then assessing what happened. Did I learn something from copying Henry Moore? Was I able to apply those teachings to the second sheep drawing? Was the second drawing, where I had more freedom, as successful as the first? More successful? Why? This was a very liberating experience, because I really didn’t care whether I was ‘good’ at art, or whether I drew a ‘good’ sheep. Instead, I viewed it as a learning experience and looked for what I would do the same next time, and what I would do differently (sheep 2’s head is too dark, for instance, so it doesn’t contrast enough with the background, and it’s too dark compared to the rest of the body). This is a really great approach to learning, because it means you don’t get depressed by ‘mistakes’, you focus on your performance in a specific exercise rather than your (supposed) ability or talent, you can appreciate incremental progress, and you can be constructive about what to do next.
One of the good things about the class was that the exercise sheet encouraged us to experiment with several different shading techniques. Without that encouragement, I would have stuck to smudging/blending, which is what I always used to do when I drew pencil drawings as a teenager. Trying something new gave me new insights, showed me that I actually liked some of the other techniques, and meant I drew a picture I would never have managed in the past, since I had never before done a drawing in pen or used scumbling for shading. Trying new techniques even if they don’t appeal to you or you don’t think you’ll be very good at them is important, but difficult to do, particularly if you’re a perfectionist type. For example, when I teach simultaneous, I often encourage students to play with décalage or try using salami technique, because if we stick to what we always do, we’ll…always get the same result! Trying a new technique when your existing strategies aren’t working any more is part of having a growth mindset.
My final thought is about the other participants. There was no opportunity to walk around the room and see what everyone else had produced. I thought this was a pity, because you can learn so much from examining other people’s work, whether they are experts or not. I would have appreciated the opportunity to see what shading techniques they had used and to pick up any of their tricks for dealing with aspects of the drawing I found difficult. In the same way, whether you’re an interpreting student or an interpreter in, say, a practice group, you can learn a huge amount from colleagues, whether or not they are at a more advanced stage than you are.
Growth mindset and learning
My biggest takeaway from last night’s session was about how enjoyable and constructive it was to apply growth mindset principles to my learning, in a way that I haven’t always done in the past. Perhaps it was easier to do that as an adult learner, and because there was nothing at stake (it wasn’t a vocational course to prepare for a new career, for instance).
Of course, the fact that I approached the class with a growth mindset, when I wouldn’t have in the past, is a great demonstration that even people who tend to have a fixed mindset (me!!) can change that.
Can you see parallels between your interpreting practice and another skill you’re learning, or a hobby of yours? Can you transfer your approach to learning a different skill across to your interpreting practice, to make it more productive or enjoyable? Is there scope for you to apply more growth mindset principles to your learning?
There are so many expressions containing the word hands (and feet!). How well do you know them?
Exercise 1
Grab a pen and paper (or just type into your Notes app or similar).
How many idioms and expressions can you think of containing the word hand or hands?
Hang onto your list, as you’ll need it soon!
Exercise 2
Can you fill in the blanks with a suitable expression? They all contain the word hand(s).
“Why can’t you move the meeting to the following week? It would be much more convenient.” “I’m afraid my _______________. This was the only day the Village Hall was available to rent for our club meeting.”
“Now I’ve shown you round the antimatter factory, I’ll leave you in my assistant’s _________________ for a tour of the Large Hadron Collider.”
Veronica Walker is best known for writing a book about consecutive note-taking, but did you know she also _____________ in designing the SCIC Speech Repository? [note: this sentence is completely made up!]
“You think we should collaborate with our political opponents on this project. I wouldn’t __________ the idea _________; it could definitely work to our advantage.”
I think anyone who tries to lecture young people about the dangers of drugs needs to have experienced them ________________.
The current owner of the bank is Swiss, but the company has________________ six times in the past decade.
“Why can’t you move the meeting to the following week? It would be much more convenient.” “I’m afraid my hands are tied. This was the only day the Village Hall was available to rent for our club meeting.”
“Now I’ve shown you round the antimatter factory, I’ll leave you in my assistant’s capable hands for a tour of the Large Hadron Collider.”
Veronica Walker is best known for writing a book about consecutive note-taking, but did you know she also had a hand in designing the SCIC Speech Repository? [note: this sentence is completely made up!]
“You think we should collaborate with our political opponents on this project. I wouldn’t dismiss the idea out of hand; it could definitely work to our advantage.”
I think anyone who tries to lecture young people about the dangers of drugs needs to have experienced them firsthand.
The current owner of the bank is Swiss, but the company has changed hands six times in the past decade.
Exercise 3
I’ve given you some definitions; can you fill in the appropriate expressions containing the word hand(s)?
to help someone
??????????????
to get out of control
to be very busy with something
to have a go at something (e.g. a sport)
by far (e.g. ‘it’s by far the best thing I’ve tasted’)
to act on your own initiative, to act off your own bat (because no-one else is)
to be experienced at doing something
to admit that someone deserves praise or credit
to help someone
to lend/give someone a hand
to get out of control
to get out of hand
to be very busy with something
to have your hands full with something
to have a go at something (e.g. a sport)
to try your hand at
by far (e.g. ‘it’s by far the best thing I’ve tasted’)
hands down
to act on your own initiative, to act off your own bat (because no-one else is)
to take matters into your own hands
to be experienced at doing something
to be an old hand
to admit that someone deserves praise or credit
“I have to hand it to you”
Exercise 4
Can you match the explanation to the idiom?
to harm someone who is good to you or does things to help you
to be caught with your hand in the cookie jar
it’s better to have a small (but certain) advantage than the possibility of a bigger one
to live from hand to mouth
to be caught doing something wrong or illegal or to be caught stealing something (often money)
a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
not to know where your next meal is coming from; to survive on little money
to bite the hand that feeds you
to harm someone who is good to you or does things to help you
to bite the hand that feeds you
it’s better to have a small (but certain) advantage than the possibility of a bigger one
a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
to be caught doing something wrong or illegal or to be caught stealing something (often money)
to be caught with your hand in the cookie jar
not to know where your next meal is coming from; to survive on little money
to live from hand to mouth
At hand, to hand, on hand?
There are subtle distinctions here, complicated by differences between American English and British English.
To hand seems to be more common in British English. To me, it means an object that is physically nearby in case I need it:
“Keep your mobile phone to hand in case you need to take some photos.”
At hand means close in time or space. American English users would probably use at hand where I would say to hand. To me, it can mean something like ‘imminent’ or ‘it’s coming’ (‘retaliation is at hand’, ‘help is at hand’).
On hand means something closer to ‘available, nearby’: ‘The emergency services were on hand to give advice about heat exhaustion’.
Honestly, the distinctions are so small that it’s probably not worth worrying about whether you’re getting it wrong.
A poem to finish
Do you know this poem, one of my favourites, by Percy Bysshe Shelley?
Ozymandias
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
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