World Leaders Are Role Models For Speech and Translation Students
Over the years, translators and interpreters have viewed public speaking as an important communication tool. Even today, more than 25 centuries later one of Pericles of Athens’ maxims is still topical: Forming a view on anything that cannot be explained in a logical way is worthless and makes little sense. Language translation, as its name implies, is a way of making your ideas public—of sharing them with international audiences for the sole purpose of influencing those who are listening. History knows lots of occasions of people all over the world communicating their thoughts a larger international audience. Among many, we can point out prominent US orators like Ronald Reagan, Martin Luther King, Hillary Clinton, John F. Kennedy, Billy Graham, Cesar Chavez, Barbara Jordan, and Barack Obama. On an international scale public speaking was made known by people like British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, South African leader Nelson Mandela, Burmese democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi, and Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, to name the few. Going over this list we get the feeling of universal insignificance – in oder words, this is none of our business. Yet, translation, interpretation and communcatioun of high quality are on such a demand that we will certainly need them one day or another. Can you imagine yourself in any of these situations?
Imagine you were one of ten assistant managers in a large distributor of automotive spare parts. A lower-management position has just opened but only one will get it. An interview with the candidates will be held to determine their strengths and weaknesses. You and your colleagues are examined based on competence, past achievements, and all the skills necessary for a manager in the company. They have no foreign language experience and lack public speaking skills. Significantly, your skills from the Portuguese Translation and the courses in public speaking play vital role. The only applicant who is capable of delivering a clear, concise and persuasive talk to Brazilian clients is you. Logically, you are given the job.
You are a Frenchman, who has been moved to the company’s headquarters in New York. One of your children is handicapped. For budget reasons the local school board is going to cut off the position of the teacher who has been helping your child. In order to speak for yourself you hire a French Translation Services company to persuade the school board not to lay off the specialized teacher. Consequently, the school board decides to change its mind.
You are the assistant manager in the branch office of a global company. Your immediate supervisor is about to retire and there will be a retirement dinner. All the top-ranked managers from the Berlin headquarters will attend. You are asked to give a toast at the party as his immediate subordinate. Employing your German Translation Services skills, you make up and deliver a German/English speech that pays tribute to your former manager. There is a round of applause after the speech – a few people even have tears in their eyes. The following vveek you are named to a management position.
All of these situations could occur. In a survey of 480 companies and public organizations, communication skills—including translation and public speaking—were ranked first among the personal qualities of college graduates sought by employers In another survey, college graduates in the work force were asked to rank the skills most essential to their career development. Guess which one won?
The importance of such skill is true across the board—for accountants and architects, teachers and technicians, scientists and stockbrokers. The importance of such skill in translation and communication is indispensable – for book-keepers and engineers, lawyers and teachers, university professors and business people.