Luxury and beauty at London’s The Gherkin

I wanted to share with you a brilliant event at which I recently worked, located at one of London’s most iconic buildings, the Gherkin.

This architectural marvel, nestled in the heart of the city, offers an experience unlike any other.

From the moment you step into the Gherkin, you are met with a blend of modernity and elegance that is truly unique. Its distinct structure, reminiscent of a gigantic glass cucumber rising into the sky, provides an almost futuristic vibe. Yet inside, it’s all about style and comfort.

I had the privilege to be introduced to a phenomenal speaker, Renato Mosca, Founder and Senior Partner of Training Luxury, who held the audience captive with his engaging and motivational style.

Renato, in his inimitable way, shared fascinating stories about luxury and beauty, even discussing how the advanced derma sector could borrow key ideas from the luxury industry. His insights were eye-opening, revealing how these concepts could transform how patients perceive the industry, ultimately attracting more business and fostering loyalty.

But the most unforgettable moment of the evening which truly stood out for me, was having the privilege of a personal pre-speech briefing with Renato himself.

Amidst the excitement and flurry of activity, he graciously shared the highlights of his speech with me. From captivating anecdotes to a tribute to the legendary Coco Chanel, and even a tantalising mention of the elusive “potion of immortality,” Renato’s insights were priceless.

This pre-speech briefing was hugely valuable to me as an interpreter. It allowed me to build a mental sequence of images linked to his speech, ensuring that my translation into English truly captured the essence of his message.

It reinforced the importance of having a detailed conversation with the speaker before an interpreting assignment – a step that is often overlooked but one which greatly enhances the smoothness of the interpreting process.

As a member of the project management team, ensuring the flawless execution of the event from an AV and interpreting standpoint was hugely important to me, so witnessing the overwhelmingly positive reactions from our diverse guests left me in awe.

They couldn’t stop complimenting Renato’s top-notch speech, a testament to his incredible ability to engage an audience.

Being part of this event was a fantastic experience, and I will cherish the memories for years to come!

Empowerment and positive energy with Ideandum

Last month (June 2023) I had the pleasure of working with the fabulous team at Italian dental marketing company, Ideandum, interpreting for an event they held in Canary Wharf. Whilst I spend many of my days interpreting for different events across London and further afield, this event has stuck with me as it was such a positive experience, so I thought I would share more about it with you.

Ideandum are such a lively, fun team, and from our very first meeting they had such a positive vibe about them it was impossible not to feel as excited about the event as they were! I was embraced as part of their team from the word go, and so at all times felt like my input was valued and useful.

The two-day event had a hybrid interpreting structure: on the first day I carried out remote interpretation from a separate room to the main speakers and on the second day I was interpreting side by side with the speaker. Both sessions worked really well – the technical elements I had put in place ran smoothly and we worked well as a team for the whole event.

What I most appreciated, however, was how much the team at Ideandum embraced working with me. We were on similar wavelengths when it comes to social media which was great, too! We enjoyed putting some stories out on Instagram after the event and capturing me at work during the proceedings!

Not just stopping with some wonderful reviews on Google, I was especially touched by Ideandum adding a slide in their deck dedicated to thanking me! It was the loveliest gesture.

In the past, I have received many rounds of applause, flowers on stage and even a watch from a client in America, but I have never been recognised with my own page in the main PowerPoint presentation before! It honestly meant a huge amount to me and provided a wonderful boost, empowering me to always strive to provide the best service and excel in my role.

In so many assignments the interpreters are just a voice from a dark, separate booth or room, being required to blend in and be invisible from the speaker. This assignment compensated so wonderfully for those inconspicuous times. It was uplifting to be seen as an integral part of the communication process and to demonstrate my experience in a visible and meaningful way. So thank you Ideandum – I cannot wait to work with you all again!

My month ahead…what’s in store for July?

This month I will, for a time, be based in Europe at a conference in Paris (which is starting to feel like a second home considering the number of assignments I have had in the city and also visits to see my daughter at university over the past years!) I then have further work commitments in Amsterdam where I will be interpreting for a global wind turbine manufacturer.

I will also be carrying out assignments with more medical companies, including a pharma company leading in the production of hyaluronic acid in dermoaesthetic applications. This particular company offers a range of products whose production, from research to trading, is completely Italian. I am looking forward to finding out more about this advance in skincare innovation.

I will also be working with a biopharmaceutical firm focused on finding treatments across immunology, oncology, virology and neuroscience. These sorts of assignments are often fascinating but do require significant preparation as the language is specific and detailed. It’s vital that I have the correct words to hand – especially when it comes to complex medical terminology.

In between these contracts, with the GCSE exams now over, it will be great to spend some time with my family and feel like we can all truly relax, for a few weekends at least!

Meta AI’s latest innovation in speech technology, Voicebox

I was intrigued to come across the news about Meta AI’s latest innovation in speech technology called Voicebox. It’s fascinating to see how the boundaries are continued to be pushed in this field: just a few weeks after introducing their impressive Massively Multilingual Speech (MMS) project with speech-to-text and text-to-speech capabilities in 1,100 languages, they have now unveiled Voicebox.

What particularly caught my attention is the claim that Voicebox can adapt and generalise to speech-generation tasks it wasn’t specifically trained for. This kind of adaptability is a game-changer in the world of machine learning, meaning that the model can dynamically adjust and perform well with new data it hasn’t encountered before.

As an interpreter and translator, these sorts of AI developments do bring with them some concerns about the impact they may have on my profession, however, I sincerely believe that a human interpreter brings with them the essence, emotional and cultural subtleties of communication which machines may struggle to replicate.

For interpreters, technologies like Voicebox may have their applications, but they are more likely to complement and enhance our roles rather than replace them. Staying informed about emerging technologies, continually expanding your skill set and embracing opportunities to collaborate with these tools to deliver even better language services is key. Ultimately, the expertise, cultural knowledge and human touch will, I hope, continue to be highly valued in the field of interpretation and translation.