For 25 years, Zollverein has held UNESCO World Heritage status, and this milestone was celebrated in style on UNESCO Wold Heritage Day on June 7, with the opening of the new World Heritage Forum in Essen. For me, however, Zollverein is much more than a World Heritage Site. It has also been the setting for some of the most memorable assignments of my professional life over the past two decades. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of: • providing interpretation at the exhib

Before every event, long before the audience or participants arrive, I’m already at the venue. I need time to tune into the atmosphere, get familiar with the flow of the space: Where’s my spot on stage? Which corner might cause microphone feedback? Where’s the best lighting? I coordinate with the tech team, do a soundcheck, go over last-minute programme changes and final details with the organisers, and introduce myself to the speakers. Once the first guests start arriving, I

Writing cue cards is not that different from consecutive note-taking . They contain bullet points, symbols, and abbreviationsm which - just like a single snapshot from your camera - can trigger entire chains of memories in the brain. Like tying a knot in your handkerchief. The important thing is not to write out the entire script word for word, but to focus on the essentials — the things I really don’t want to forget. Ideally, of course, I prefer to speak freely as a moderato

Remember when I emceed my close friends‘ wedding anniversary? It was the start of a wonderful journey that let me to become an event moderator! As a conference interpreter, I'm experienced in speaking publicly. I learned quite a bit about public speaking when I was at uni. I practised speaking in front of an audience with confidence and ease in consecutive interpreting seminars and developed rhetorical and speech skills with the help of video analysis. I‘m used to speaking to

This October, my fellow interpreting colleague Andrea Wilming from Proscenium and I had the great honour and pleasure of offering our interpreting services at the German Dance Award at the Aalto Theatre in Essen. The German Dance Award is considered the most prestigious prize for dance in Germany.We decided to start a series on LinkedIn to offer (potential) customers and anyone interested a glimpse behind the scenes. This summary of said series shall give you an overview of

This September, we had the pleasure of interpreting at an international youth conference on Climate Justice organised by Kindernothilfe...

The slow-down button is a relic of old times, I find. It is said that, back in the day, when simultaneous interpreting equipment was...

Before every assignment interpreters will spend several hours to familiarise themselves with the topic and vocabulary. But what happens...

I just returned from an interpreting assignment in Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany, where - according to the locals - they are...

With collective bargaining negotiations for the German public sector in full swing, town hall meetings are now being held with the...

In-person events are back! Clearly, you can tell that organisers, participants and interpreters alike are beyond excited to be back on...

At one of my last hybrid assignments I had the pleasure of using a simultaneous interpreting console equipped with a so-called gooseneck...