I am often asked, what skills are required to be a good British Sign Language Interpreter? You need to enjoy working with deaf people and and learning new cultures. Languages often have a culture associated with them and the beautiful language of BSL is no different. The Deaf culture is special. I have made many friends.
If you are looking to make your career based in the deaf community, these are the skills and knowledge you will need.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
- Good language skills
- Knowledge of English language
- To be thorough and pay attention to detail
- Customer service skills
- Patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- The ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- The ability to work on your own
- To be flexible and open to change
- To be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
In your day-to-day duties you may have to:
- Prepare before an assignment. This will mean, finding out about the situation and any specialist vocabulary you may need.
- Travel to different sites to interpret in a variety of situations
- Use technology to provide ‘virtual’ interpreting services
- Carefully watch what is signed
- Listen carefully to what is said
- Interpret what is said and signed
- Find the best way to express everything that is said or signed
- Do admin tasks like paperwork or booking appointments