De Back to Basics: Customer Service for Language Professionals – Christy de Back

Give your business a boost by answering Christy’s 5 questions in this online mini-workshop. Enjoy her fun tips and anecdotes, based on her 20+ years of experience as an independent language professional. Some of the topics include: how to offer added value, how to exceed expectations and turn customers into ambassadors. From ‘killing our customers with kindness’ to really starting to love them.


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About the presenter

 Christy de Back

Christy de Back is enthusiastic, driven and professional. She has worked since 1999 as a sworn interpreter-translator for Dutch and English and as a language trainer in English for the government and the business community.

Positive strategies to combat imposter syndrome – John Linnegar, Naomi Gilchrist, Betsy Hedberg (panel discussion)

We’ve all experienced that sneaking voice in the back of our heads telling us that we’re not good enough – even though we know that we’re trained, experienced, or at least competent and reasonable! What are some good ways to combat that internal nay-sayer? John Linnegar, Betsy Hedberg, and Naomi Gilchrist will give tips and insights into positive strategies to rise above imposter syndrome.


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About the presenters

 John Linnegar

John Linnegar began his career as a teacher of English, History and Mathematics. His passion for working with words was ignited by his high school teachers of English, Latin and German. Those strong grammatical foundations combined with a love of his mother tongue led him towards authorship and, as a direct result, towards improving authors’ texts for publication. He has been an avid ‘improver of authors’ words’ for four decades now, and remains dedicated to making their texts read as clearly as possible (and in the process saving a reputation or two!).

John is author of several texts dealing with matters grammatical and stylistic, including contributions to the Oxford English grammar: The advanced guide (OUP, 2015) and, most recently, with Ken McGillivray, grammar, punctuation and all that jazz . . . (MLA Publishers, 2019). He currently offers a personalised ‘online’ Grammar for Editors course aimed at those who need to brush up their English grammar and an online training course on Plain Language.

 

 Naomi Gilchrist

Naomi Gilchrist worked in various administrative roles (such as Executive Assistant and Training Coordinator) for over twenty years. When she decided that it was high time for a career change, she returned to study. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Translation, Naomi became a freelance translator in March 2021. Her language combination is English to Dutch and she specialises in Entertainment & Popular Culture. She joined SENSE in 2020. Naomi lives in Almere with her (Irish) husband and two children, who they are raising to be bicultural and bilingual. Their beagle Arnie completes the family.

 

 Betsy Hedberg

Betsy Hedberg is a writer, editor, and learning designer who once worked as a counselor. Like many of her former counseling clients, she periodically suffers severe bouts of impostor syndrome. She's also learned some tools and insights to overcome, or at least ease, this affliction.

Editing slam! – Daphne Visser-Lees and Curtis Barrett

As editors, how far should we go (or not go)? During this session, two seasoned editors will share their approaches to editing an example text. We’ll also take a look at the advantages of working together when editing a document. Join us for a lively meeting!


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About the presenters

 Daphne Lees

Daphne Lees arrived in the Netherlands in 1978 to take up a one-year post as a specialist operating department nurse. A decade, one husband and two children later, a chat with a vascular surgeon in the scrub room led to her translating a PhD thesis. Interest fired up, she went on to acquire a diploma in English and translation studies and then to specialize in medical translating and editing. She has also taught scientific writing to PhD candidates and nurse graduates. Daphne retired from nursing in 2016 but continues to operate her business - Meditrans - from home.

 Curtis Barrett

Curtis Barrett received his PhD in neuroscience in 2001 from the University of Massachusetts, followed by postdoctoral training at Stanford University and 3 years as a senior researcher in Leiden. In 2011, Curtis stepped away from the lab bench to launch a new career as a freelance editor, consultant and trainer, helping scientists and clinical researchers around the world obtain funding and publish in high-impact journals. In addition, Curtis has teaching appointments at Wageningen University and Utrecht University, where he teaches academic and scientific writing to MSc students.

How the language industry has changed over the past 20 (or so) years – John Linnegar

 


Click here to sign up for this event or to view a complete programme of all presentations.


About the presenters

 John Linnegar

John Linnegar began his career as a teacher of English, History and Mathematics. His passion for working with words was ignited by his high school teachers of English, Latin and German. Those strong grammatical foundations combined with a love of his mother tongue led him towards authorship and, as a direct result, towards improving authors’ texts for publication. He has been an avid ‘improver of authors’ words’ for four decades now, and remains dedicated to making their texts read as clearly as possible (and in the process saving a reputation or two!).

John is author of several texts dealing with matters grammatical and stylistic, including contributions to the Oxford English grammar: The advanced guide (OUP, 2015) and, most recently, with Ken McGillivray, grammar, punctuation and all that jazz . . . (MLA Publishers, 2019). He currently offers a personalised ‘online’ Grammar for Editors course aimed at those who need to brush up their English grammar and an online training course on Plain Language.

Intercultural business communication – Nandini Bedi, Kenneth Quek, Wendy Baldwin (panel discussion)

Formal or casual emails? Direct or indirect conversations about money? Small talk or – please no – anything but small talk? Nandini Bedi, Kenneth Quek, and Wendy Baldwin will discuss the trickiness of business communication across country lines and how to best to bridge those cultural differences.


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About the presenters

 Nandini Bedi

Nandini Bedi teaches English, copyedits, gives intercultural trainings and posts on her blog taal-tale.com. Via her trainings, she builds a bridge between the Netherlands and India. She does this with reverence and humour. She has settled in Oegstgeest with her partner, flown-out-of-the-nest-but-visiting twin boys and live-in cat, Sher Khan. More about her is available on www.nandinibedi.com.

 Kenneth Quek

Kenneth Quek is a Singaporean who resides in Helsinki. He is fully bilingual in English and Mandarin Chinese and works both as a freelance academic revisor for the University of Helsinki Language Centre and as a freelance editor and copywriter in the corporate sector. He has previous experience in private teaching, translation and journalism.

 Wendy Baldwin

Wendy Baldwin is an independent authors' editor and Spanish-to-English translator, specializing in a range of disciplines related to the brain, language and cognition. She is also a writing and language instructor, working primarily with multi-language scholars and academics. She taught at universities in the US, Sweden and Spain, and she now operates as an independent academic writing facilitator and trainer, running structured writing retreats, online writing groups and other #acwri training for academics. Originally from Los Angeles, she has been living in Donostia/San Sebastián, Spain, since 2005. In addition to being a member of SENSE, she's also a member of MET and EASE.

What the SENSE Mentoring programme can do for you – Nandini Bedi, Kate Sotejeff-Wilson, Jackie Senior, Jenny Zonneveld and Martina Abagnale (panel discussion)

The SENSE mentorship programme pairs up language professionals looking to further develop themselves professionally. Young or old, translator or copywriter; everyone is welcome to sign up! Nandini Bedi, Kate Sotejoff-Wilson, Jackie Senior, Jenny Zonneveld, and Martina Abagnale will go into detail about the benefits of mentorship and the options for learning within the SENSE network.


Click here to sign up for this event or to view a complete programme of all presentations.


About the presenters

 Nadini Bedi

Nandini Bedi teaches English, copyedits, gives intercultural trainings and posts on her blog taal-tale.com. Via her trainings, she builds a bridge between the Netherlands and India. She does this with reverence and humour. She has settled in Oegstgeest with her partner, flown-out-of-the-nest-but-visiting twin boys and live-in cat, Sher Khan. More about her is available on www.nandinibedi.com.

 

 Kate Sotejoff Wilson

Dr Kate Sotejeff-Wilson MITI is an advanced professional member of the CIEP. Born in Wales, she lived in Poland and Germany, and now resides in Finland. She translates, copywrites and edits for academics, and is happiest in the space between languages, reading or on writing retreats.

 

 Jackie Senior

Jackie Senior, BSc, has had a long and varied career as an editor and translator in the Netherlands, working at Shell, Rabobank, translation companies, plus more than 25 years in medical research departments at UMC Utrecht and UMC Groningen. She also taught the SENSE-ITV Editing course for 5 years and still does some freelance work. She is British, but has lived in the Netherlands for more than 45 years.

 

 Jenny Zonneveld

Jenny Zonneveld has a business background. Before she became a freelance translator, copywriter and editor almost 25 years ago, she spent more than 15 years at a firm of management consultants and worked in the UK, USA, Belgium and the Netherlands. She specialised in managing IT and Logistics projects. In her current work, her clients appreciate Jenny for her insight into language matters as well as all things technical.

 

 Martina Abagnale

Martina Abagnale is an English and Dutch into Italian translator based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. After starting her career as a project manager at a translation agency, she became a freelance translator in 2019. She specializes in legal and financial texts,helping companies prepare their documents for legal use in Italy. She regularly organizes (virtual) events for beginner translators.

 

Peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing – Martina Abagnale, Anne Oosthuizen, and Danielle Carter

Martina, Danielle and Anne met at the 2020 SENSE Jubilee Conference. Though initially brought together by recognising one another as fellow starters within the language industry, the three soon realised they struggled with quite different, but related things and could easily help each other out. They found that the advice from a peer is often more current and free from judgement, because this person has recently undergone a similar experience. Thus, they stumbled upon something the modern language industry is currently in the process of waking up to: horizontal (as opposed to expert-driven) knowledge sharing. It is this peer-to-peer learning that they brought to SENSE by establishing the Starters SIG, and also what informed every decision made in the planning of this year’s PDD. During this plenary, Martina, Danielle and Anne will share their experiences with collaborative, horizontal group learning.


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About the presenters

 Martina Abagnale

Martina Abagnale is an English and Dutch into Italian translator based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. After starting her career as a project manager at a translation agency, she became a freelance translator in 2019. She specializes in legal and financial texts,helping companies prepare their documents for legal use in Italy. She regularly organizes (virtual) events for beginner translators.

 Anne Oosthuizen

Anne Oosthuizen is a Dutch-English translator and editor. She completed her BA English Language and Culture at the University of Amsterdam and the University of Otago in New Zealand, and graduated with honours from Leiden University, earning her an MA in Translation Studies. Anne has been a freelance book translator and academic editor for just over two years. This year, she was one of the lucky few awarded a grant for special-interest sample translation by the Dutch Foundation for Literature. In addition to translating literary and non-fiction prose, Anne’s super special nice is poetry and song translation.

 Danielle Carter

Danielle Carter is an academic copy editor and museum language services specialist. After working for several years in the arts and cultural sector, Danielle transitioned in the language industry, where she has found a niche copy editing academic books ranging from film studies to architecture to fashion, writing and editing coffee table books about arts and media, and revising translations and copy editing for cultural organizations.

Keep track to keep up: organizing your workflow – Ashley Cowles

As freelancers, we juggle multiple projects for multiple clients at any given time. Some will be easy to fit in – or so your clients will argue – while others will take more time. But when things get especially busy, it’s easy for projects to slip through the cracks… So how do you keep track of everything? In this presentation, Ashley will discuss ways to manage your workflow, time and clients.


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About the presenter

 Ashley Cowles

Ashley Cowles specialized in marketing copy for tech and innovation for close to 10 years before making the jump to in-house online marketing in late 2019. Her favorite way to keep up with the constant context switching that comes with juggling multiple projects for two vastly different teams involves making (and ticking off) lists. She lives in Utrecht with her husband and their two children aged 4 and 6.

Prompt! Investing in creativity... – Lizzie Kean and Carola Janssen

What gives you energy? And how do you earn a living doing that? These questions drove the professional careers of translator Lizzie Kean and writing coach Carola Janssen along different paths to come out at Prompt! Writing inspiration for language professionals. And they’re happy to share that same inspiration with you in this talk.


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About the presenters

 Lizzie Kean

Lizzie Kean was a professional musician from the age of 18. Although she still is, there came a point when she felt the need for a new challenge and she studied translation at ITV, gaining her bachelor’s degree at age 60. She now divides her time between the two, enjoying the synergy and the energy she gets from the combination.

 Carola Janssen

Carola Janssen is writing coach and text writer at Kiezel Communicatie. She devised Prompt! Writing inspiration for language professionals. Kiezel is originally a Rotterdam agency that now operates from Eindhoven. In a previous life, Carola was a musician and her friendship with Lizzie Kean, with whom she is taking this new step, started up in that world.

An ergonomic workspace: keep fit while you work – Jenny Zonneveld

We sit at our desks almost 24/7. Experts say ‘sitting is the new smoking’ & ‘poor posture is the most common cause of RSI’. A few years ago, I discovered the standing desk and I’ve not suffered from RSI since. In this short talk, I’ll explain my office set-up and how I keep fit while working.


Click here to sign up for this event or to view a complete programme of all presentations.


About the presenter

 Jenny Zonneveld

Jenny Zonneveld has a business background. Before she became a freelance translator, copywriter and editor almost 25 years ago, she spent more than 15 years at a firm of management consultants and worked in the UK, USA, Belgium and the Netherlands. She specialised in managing IT and Logistics projects. In her current work, her clients appreciate Jenny for her insight into language matters as well as all things technical.

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