Photo by Shamblen Studios on Unsplash
Welcome to Part II of our interview with Jessie. In Part I, Jessie shared how she first discovered interpreting, the training that shaped her career, and how she eventually joined ICANN.org as a staff interpreter. Now we turn to the craft of interpreting itself. Jessie talks about how she keeps her skills sharp, from reading widely and following current affairs, to preparing for assignments and developing the listening skills needed to navigate the many accents interpreters encounter on the job.
Sijin: I assume that in a position like yours, with high-stakes assignments, the learning never really stops. Could you share a little about your daily routine, or what you do to keep your knowledge and skills fresh?
Jessie: First, I’m genuinely interested in what I do. I think that’s important. If you don’t love what you do, your job can become torture. When I chose this profession at 20 or 21, I knew I would never be bored doing this, and 20 years later, I still feel that way.
I love both sides of the profession, the calmness and independent thinking that come with translation, and the stress, speed, accent challenges, and chaos that come with interpretation.
To keep up my language skills and background knowledge, I read and listen widely. I don’t limit myself to one topic. I read books, listen to audiobooks, use my Kindle, and learn about all kinds of subject matter in both languages. Sometimes I’ll spend a month or two focusing on one author or one topic just to deepen my understanding.
Because life is busy, I also rely a lot on audiobooks and podcasts. I can listen while doing housework or walking the dogs. And during my training, we were taught to stay alert to all kinds of topics, especially current affairs, so following the news has become part of my life.
These days, I use an app called Ground News because I don’t always have time to sit down for a full news session. I like it because it shows how different outlets are leaning politically, and it helps me see stories from multiple angles. I don’t think interpreters need to have a strong political stance, but we do need to know what’s happening in the world. I really think every interpreter should stay informed.
And then, of course, for each specific conference or assignment, I prepare as much as I can. If I get the assignment early enough, I’d like to spend at least two weeks doing research—understanding the client, the subject matter, and building glossaries. That’s how I approach a new assignment.
Sijin: Speaking of assignments, could you tell us about one of your most memorable or most challenging assignments?
Jessie: One of my earliest assignments was definitely one of the most memorable, and it taught me a lot. I did a very long consecutive interpreting assignment in 2006—about two weeks—for Mr. Anthony Seddon-Holland, the managing director of the British Butlers Guild, who had been invited to Wuhan to train a group of young hotel staff.
At the time, some hotels wanted to offer high-end VIP service modeled on traditional British butler service, so they brought in this British expert to train the staff. I was the only interpreter for the entire training, which ran about six or seven hours a day. I was also acting as his liaison outside the classroom—helping him get around, shop, and sightseeing.
Anthony was extremely proud of his profession and took it very seriously. It was summer in Wuhan, so it was brutally hot, but he still wore the full butler uniform every day because that was part of the professionalism he wanted to convey. However, the trainees were very young and not always easy to manage. Some didn’t want to learn; some didn’t really understand what this profession was about.
I came to realize that as a consecutive interpreter, you’re not just an interpreter. You also need to be a manager, negotiator, cultural mediator, and problem-solver. That assignment taught me that technical interpreting skills are not enough. You also need soft skills—judgment, flexibility, communication, and the ability to handle difficult situations. That’s something I really want younger interpreters to understand.
Sijin: That’s such a valuable point. What advice would you give to younger interpreters, or to aspiring conference interpreters just starting out?
Jessie: First and foremost, you need to hone your craft. You must keep practicing translation or interpretation. You must keep your languages current. Watch shows, read widely, and observe how people actually speak. You need to be strong in both languages. I remember Chen Ji, a UN interpreter colleague once said, “You have to be better than AI.” Otherwise, you won’t survive in the market.
Second, this profession is a lifelong learning journey. Your education doesn’t stop when you graduate. You must keep reading, keep learning, keep watching the news, and keep exploring new topics.
For me, a lot of that exploration happens through shows and documentaries. It may sound casual, but it’s actually very useful. For example, if you want to understand butler service, watch Downton Abbey or The Gilded Age. If you’re studying medical terminology, like I did in my medical interpreting days, watching a show like Grey’s Anatomy can be surprisingly helpful. Travel programs, documentaries, philosophy books—they all expand your range.
And if you’re in the market as a freelancer, it’s not just about language skills. You also must learn marketing, client relations, negotiation, and business development. Nobody teaches you that in school, but it matters.
Most importantly, you need to maintain strong professional ethics. Be honest, be punctual, be responsible, be flexible, and work well with others. This is not a one-person show. It’s always about teamwork.
Sijin: You mentioned watching shows and movies, and that really resonated with me. Through my subtitling work, I’m constantly exposed to different lives and ways of speaking, which helps with my interpreting, too.
Jessie: Exactly. And for interpreters, another big challenge is accents. Our ears can’t just be tuned to American English. We need train ourselves to understand British English, and English spoken in other parts of the world—like the Middle East, India, Australia, or Africa.
Recently I watched a show called Sandokan: The Pirate Prince, which takes place in Southeast Asia. I’ve traveled there before, but when you’re visiting, you don’t necessarily spend a lot of time really listening to how people speak English there. Watching the show gave me a chance to pay closer attention to their speech patterns and word choices.
Accents can be one of the biggest hurdles for interpreters. I remember the first time I worked as a liaison interpreter for two Indian clients at the Canton Fair. They were negotiating with vendors about nails and screws, and honestly, I had no idea what they were saying at first. I ended up relying heavily on body language and context just to figure out what was going on.
But that experience taught me an important lesson: you must expand your listening skills. I had a similar experience when I interpreted for a group of Scottish academics visiting Wuhan. When the main speaker sat down with me to go over their schedule, for the first fifteen minutes I genuinely didn’t realize he was speaking English. I’m not exaggerating—it was that difficult to understand the accent.
Sijin: What did you do in that situation?
Jessie: Keywords. If I could catch a few key words, I could piece together the meaning of the sentence. And sometimes you just have to keep asking for clarification.
For example, I didn’t realize that in Scotland they say “loch” for “lake.” We were touring around a large lake in Wuhan, and they kept mentioning “this loch” and “that loch,” and for several minutes I had no idea what they meant.
So, accents are extremely important. English speakers come from all over the world, and their accents can vary widely. India, for example, has so many languages and dialects, and Indian English can sound very different depending on the region. You really have to train your ears.
Even now, I still try to expose myself to different accents as much as possible—through travel, media, and online videos—because it’s a skill that you constantly have to develop.
To be continued: Part III will be posted in May 2026.
With nearly 20 years in the language field, Jessie is an AIIC member and EU-accredited Chinese–English conference interpreter who loves bringing clarity to complex multilingual settings. She is also an ATA-certified translator and CHI™ interpreter, experienced with RSI platforms and CAT tools. With added coding skills for website localization, she enjoys blending technology with human-centered communication. Outside work, Jessie paints in oils and watercolors, sketches flowers, gardens, and crafts. A proud mom to three furry babies, she lives in Memphis, TN with her husband, son, and mother—her daily source of joy and inspiration.
Leave a Reply