What is the most difficult thing about interpreting?
For most people it must be stage fright… I would think? I remember, in the start of my career, I was offered to do some interpreting on very short notice at one of the Northern Forum Conferences where people from a few countries were gathered, including: Japan, Finland, Norway, Russia and Canada. I was given the assignment to interpret for a couple of Russian men from Yakutia, not on a stage, but in the back of the room behind the audience. I found that it would be easy enough and readily accepted the offer. At first, there was no actual problem. Two Russian-speaking gentlemen listened to my whispers attentively, occasionally asked questions to clarify the content, but soon one of them was invited to the stage to present his speech. I looked around, and realized that none of the on hand interpreters were walking to the stage with him. There was not much time to think about it, and I rushed to the stage with him. Even though, it was a beginning of my interpreting career, I already had
