Feeling left out as the translation conference season was about to kick off again with me still stuck at home, I thought it’d be interesting to chat to colleagues on a one-to-one level. Since some conferences sell access to videos of the talks after the event, others have even been streamed live and blog posts and webinars on a variety of topical subjects abound, it’s the networking you miss out on by not attending events rather than the content. That’s why I asked you all a couple of months ago whether you fancied a chat.

Since then I’ve talked to several people: colleagues I’d met in person before, others I knew relatively well from social media, a couple that had written guest posts for this blog and the rest I’d never met in any shape or form. I also chatted with a fellow translator I’d skyped earlier this year, a conversation that probably laid the seeds for this whole venture.

The topics we’ve touched on have been as varied as the people that signed up for the experience. From strictly business to quite personal; rates, workload and current translations to Brexit, family and our futures. There were no rules, no recordings and, in some cases, no time limits. Some seem to have found the chats quite helpful with a few takeaways, others (I hope, at least) just enjoyed a relaxing half an hour or so. I’ve certainly learned quite a lot.

Now or maybe never

But now it’s coming to an end. I’ve scheduled a few appointments for the rest of October and November, but I’ll be too busy in December with Christmas just around the corner. And I have plans for a monthly blog post series next year that will take up a fair amount of my time. I’m not saying I’ll never do this again, but there’s nothing in the pipeline.

That doesn’t mean the chatting is nearly over. Firstly, because I’m trying to organise group translation chats (at the request of some of the colleagues I’ve skyped). If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, please join the Facebook group and take part in the Doodle poll. If you’re not on FB, contact me and I’ll send you the poll link via email.

Secondly, because there’s nothing stopping you scheduling some appointments yourself (using the free version of Acuity as I do, for example). Chatting to your colleagues about what they’re doing can help you gain a different perspective, teach you something new and help you feel more connected to the translation community.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain

Image by Mary Pahlke from Pixabay

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