Many speeches that you will have to interpret consecutively will be ceremonial, they will be speeches of welcome, inaugurations, or after dinner speeches. You should be aware that speakers, even if improvising, will often stick to certain conventions. Some speakers are naturals, some have speeches written for them, others learn how to speak from guide books and manuals (and some, who perhaps should, unfortunately don't!).
You don't need to re-invent the wheel and start learning to analyse speeches from scratch. There is a good chance that much of any given speech adheres to standard conventions for speeches of the same type. You can call on the expertise of speech writers, and speaking trainers to help you recognize these conventions. This will give you a head start in learning to analyse speeches for yourself and help to recognize the component parts of speeches you are listening to by giving you an X-ray picture of the speech itself.
Books on "Giving good speeches" can be found very easily in bookshops or on the Internet and they can be very useful. Another very good source of tips on giving good speeches, are the toastmasters' websites around the globe. Toastmasters speak for a living and they generally know their stuff. Let's take one example from the many books on the market. In his book Writing Great Speeches, Alan Perlman (1998:69-80) suggests the following guidelines for public speakers introducing other speakers.This type of speech is very common at meetings and events where consecutive is used, although of course it is not the only type of speech you will have to interpret consecutively. His pointers are summarized in the table below.
Speeches of introduction
Aim of the speech is to:
1. give a sense of what is to come
2. familiarize the audience with the speaker's achievements
e.g. biographical details / anecdotes / items of specific relevance to this audience
3. create a sense of antrcipation
Structure should;
4. add finesse to the obvious. If the audience are already familiar with the biographical details of the person being introduced add phrases like, "as we all know.….", "you'll all be familiar with.…."
5. be maximum 7 minutes in length
6. be positive always
7. build suspense
Speech will Include:
8. quotes
9. link to theme of today's conference
10. characteristic of speaker to follow plus illustration of same
11. applause markers e.g. please join me in welcoming..."(These are numbers assigned for the purposes of this exercise not by Perlman.)
For the interpreter working in consecutive mode, knowing in advance that this sort of thinking goes into the preparation of the speech we will have to interpret is very useful. Speeches are not plucked from thin air, they have an underlying structure holding them together. Naturally good speakers do this without thinking about it; conscientious speakers read books like Perlman's; bad speakers do neither but we have to interpret them anyway and the interpreter may improve on the original.
Even the apparently very obvious pointers should be interesting here as they come from a professional speaker, rather than an interpreter AND are very relevant for the interpreter trying to anticipate and prepare for such a job. Just from the above list interpreters have many chies about what to expect and how to speak themselves. Biographical details; length of speech; mood; building to a climax; the end will be important; watch out for quotations; background on today's meeting; dramatic pauses required in interpreting as well as original:having familiarized yourself with these guidelines you are less likely to be surprised by what the speaker says.
Speeches of introduction are not, of course, the only type of speech that is interpreted consecutively. Also you should be aware that conventions for public speakers may differ from country to country. Look also at similar guides in all the languages you interpret from and into.
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