At face value, that’s quite a demoralising sentence, but seen in context, it was a compliment.

At a recent assignment, I was interpreting for the management team of an investment business.

Having worked in this arena for many years, and with a lot of experience interpreting for asset management equity firms, I was able to call on this experience to provide guidance here and there (only when asked by the client, of course!)

At the end of the meeting, the prospective client asked me my role within the company and how long I’d been in asset management. When she found out I was “only” the interpreter, she was suitably impressed.

Why am I posting this? To impress upon businesses the importance of using interpreters with relevant experience and knowledge.

The support and expertise that a suitably qualified interpreter can provide makes them almost an extra team member when you need to pull out all the stops.

How do you vet your interpreters?