How to develop interpreting skills

1. Communicate effectively
1.1. Listen – Think – Speak
When interpreting, your brain has to do two things in parallel: listen and understand the meaning of a message given in this language; at the same time, find a way to convey that message in another language.
Having good hearing ability is not enough. What you need is the ability to understand, evaluate, and interpret the original message into the target language without any omissions, unnecessary additions, or changes. Therefore, a smooth combination of listening – information transformation – speaking skills is very important for an interpreter.
You can only do this by practicing a lot through listening and interpreting videos or podcasts online. Then, compare your interpretation with the premade Vietsub to see to what extent your work meets the needs.

1.2. Quick reaction
To accumulate effective reaction skills and practice interpretation skills, interpreters should not miss the opportunity to confidently interact with their partners. Once you take on the job of interpreting, you are responsible for what you interpret. Therefore, in order for the interpretation session to take place smoothly, do not hesitate to exchange with your partner. Show your partner that you are confident and responsible at work. Prepare everything effectively for your interpretation session so that it occurs skillfully.
To do that, interpreters should discuss carefully with their partners. Ensure your concerns are resolved. So the experience for you is that you should not miss the opportunity to present queries. Question what you still have problems with. Once you have resolved those problems, you will definitely complete your job productively.

1.3. Connect with people
Many people can feel nervous when dealing with a foreign language they are not fluent in, and this is where an interpreter comes to the rescue. If you wonder how to become an interpreter, you need to be someone who is willing to be a bridge for people with language barriers. A genuine interpreter, in addition to growing proficient in language skills, should have the ability to connect with many people.
With high IQ and EQ, you can eradicate these barriers and bring people from different cultures closer together.
Thus, to communicate positively, you need to practice active listening, confident speaking skills, the ability to reflect, interact and connect with partners.

2. Organization
Working as an interpreter can conduct multiple interpretation projects at once, so an interpreter prepares might well-developed organizational skills. These skills contain the ability to effectively goal setting, prioritize, decision-making, schedule, plan, delegate, teamwork, and time management. An interpreter can use their organizational capabilities to maintain oversight of tasks, responsibilities, and deadlines and to be a productive team member if they work in large groups.

3. Flexibility and Adaptability
Flexibility and adaptability are critical soft skills as they showcase the ability and willingness to encounter new tasks and fresh challenges composedly and without complaint. A flexible interpreter is willing to help out wherever they’re needed, take on extra responsibilities, think and act quickly to adapt speedily when plans shift. Interpreters, who can demonstrate a willing and upbeat attitude and are unfazed by change and persist in the face of unexpected difficulties will constantly achieve high efficiency at work.

4. Emotional regulation
Working as an interpreter in various environments, the interpreter will confront varying sensitive situations, so the interpreter needs to have nerves of steel to maintain his reason and emotions, simultaneously, stabilize people through language communication. Don’t let personal emotions impact the communication intentions of the partner—the person who is relying on you to convey their message.
Furthermore, there is no profession regardless of criticism. Knowing how to accept criticism and change from new suggestions can assist you promote further. Thus, to efficiently manage emotions, interpreters need to practice cultivating mindfulness, self-reflection, compassion, respect, and emotional intelligence.

5. Pressure management
During the interpretation, you should try to maintain your concentration and attention. Avoid distractions, such as noise, movement, or personal thoughts, and focus on the speaker’s message and delivery. Listen actively and critically, and use your memory, logic, and intuition to understand and convey the meaning. Monitor your own performance, and correct any errors or omissions as soon as possible. If you encounter a problem that you cannot solve, don’t panic, but signal it to your client or colleague and move on, maintaining healthy habits, keeping calm in the face of difficulties.

1. Always Respect the Original Wording

One of the common mistakes made by inexperienced interpreters is altering the original wording, which inevitably changes the meaning of the sentence. The essential principle is therefore to preserve the original wording as closely as possible. Modifying the source wording or its expressive nuance can distort the intended meaning. To avoid this error, interpreters must retain the source term, understand its meaning, and interpret it within the proper context of the sentence.

In addition, when interpreting, one should not only convey the meaning accurately but also refine the expression so that the sentence is both faithful and elegant. To achieve this, interpreters are encouraged to learn from native speakers or from experienced interpreters in order to render words and sentences with precision and accuracy.

2. Pay Attention to the Quality of the Expression

A natural, lucid, and eloquent style enhances the quality of the interpretation.

3. Emphasize Fidelity and Accuracy

The interpretation should not be made more appealing by adding or omitting information or data. The most essential requirement is to reflect the intention of the source speech with accuracy and honesty. To achieve this, interpreters must be diligent in expanding their knowledge and continuously refining their linguistic competence.

4. Ensure Confidentiality

Confidentiality in interpretation refers to the process of safeguarding information that is being interpreted from one language into another, ensuring that it does not fall into unauthorized hands. This is particularly critical when dealing with sensitive contexts such as important speeches or interpretation in education, Buddhism, or any domain where information is classified.

To accomplish a perfect interpretation, every interpreter must work at full capacity, applying all the necessary skills. However, if one masters the correct methods in interpreting, the work will become simpler, easier, and less error-prone. According to the experience of long-standing interpreters, there are five fundamental steps that should be applied when embarking on translation work.

1. Determine the type of source speech before interpreting
Before undertaking the task of interpretation, the interpreter must clearly identify what type of speech is to be interpreted in order to select the most appropriate expression. Exploring in advance the type of speech to be interpreted enables the interpreter to actively determine the approach, method, style, and tone to employ, thereby both shortening the time and improving the quality of the interpretation.

In addition, each speech is directed towards specific audiences and purposes; thus, interpreters should clearly determine the context before interpreting in order to select the proper register for expression.

2. Listen attentively 
Carefulness, meticulousness, and patience are indispensable qualities for those engaged in interpreting.

Interpreters need to cultivate skills of speaking and listening. Repeated speaking and careful listening are methods that enable one to capture the central content, thereby facilitating a smoother interpretation process.

Since one cannot listen to the speaker repeatedly, it is necessary to concentrate fully and listen attentively. One must not be negligent but should quickly capture the “keywords” to comprehend the essential meaning being conveyed. When the volume of information is large, one may practice shorthand, promptly noting down keywords in order to use them when needed.

This is an important method that interpreters should apply, for it greatly supports the interpretation task, ensuring that the transmitted information is not only sufficient but also accurate.

3. Consult additional speeches of the same type in Vietnamese
For interpretation to be effective, besides being proficient in the foreign language, one must also master Vietnamese. Many individuals may comprehend a foreign language well yet encounter difficulty when re-expressing the content entirely in their mother tongue. Therefore, consulting materials of the same type in Vietnamese will provide interpreters with additional experience in language usage, word choice, grammatical arrangement, and the appropriate style of expression. This method simultaneously allows the interpreter to supplement foundational knowledge when exposed to and familiarized with new concepts, thereby providing source references for rendering the original text. One should not think this is redundant or unnecessary; in reality, whether a Vietnamese interpretation is appropriately and effectively expressed depends greatly on this method.

4. Research specialized speeches
In interpretation work, it is essential to possess a foundational understanding of the field one is interpreting. This is particularly important when rendering in specialized professions or when dealing with speeches of a specific technical nature, such as in education or Buddhism. In such cases, the interpreter’s task becomes manifold more difficult. It is not possible to interpret carelessly in a superficial manner; yet to interpret deeply and accurately is extremely challenging for one who lacks sufficient knowledge of the specific domain. Therefore, before interpreting in any specialized field, one should devote time to studying specialized speeches, supplementing foundational knowledge, and grasping distinctive characteristics to be applied in the work.

1. Forms of Address in Interpreting

During the interpreting process, interpreters may choose the form of address that best fits their level of comprehension and the communication context.

Method 1: Using the First Person

The interpreter conveys the speaker’s message directly using the first person (e.g., I, we). This approach is usually applied when the interpreter feels confident that they fully understand the content and are able to transmit the speaker’s message almost completely and accurately.

Method 2: Using the Third Person

The interpreter shifts the speech into the third person (e.g., Venerable, the teacher, the monk, the speaker stated that…). This is the more common approach in interpreting practice because conveying 100% of the speaker’s meaning and nuance can be very challenging. Using the third person helps reduce the risk of misrepresentation while also reflecting the interpreter’s caution and humility.

2. Concentration and Information Processing in Interpreting

In interpreting, the brain’s ability to maintain concentration is limited. When a high level of focus must be sustained for approximately 45–60 minutes, the brain may experience cognitive overload. At this point, although the interpreter may still hear the sounds, the ability to process and retain information can decrease significantly.

In such situations, interpreters may apply several strategies:

• Politely ask the speaker to slow down or shorten the content, especially when the information is important.

• Request clarification or repetition to ensure the message is conveyed accurately.

• For less critical information, the interpreter may summarize the main ideas or omit minor details in order to maintain the flow of communication.

3. Attitude and Learning Mindset of the Interpreter

In real interpreting situations, interpreters may not always be able to maintain full alertness and concentration, especially when facing demanding schedules or the natural limitations of individual capacity.

Therefore, when the conveyed message is not entirely complete or does not fully satisfy the audience, interpreters should maintain a humble attitude, sincerely acknowledge any shortcomings, and remain willing to learn. Such experiences should also be viewed as motivation to continue improving and refining their interpreting skills for future occasions.