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.
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About the presenter
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.
CPD: Changing professional development – with Lloyd Bingham
As language professionals, we place immense value on continuing professional development (CPD) to evolve our knowledge and skills so we can best serve our clients. But as the world changes, so too do our clients’ requirements and the profession. It’s our job to keep up with these changes and adapt to them.
The number of in-house translator positions is falling, while enrolment on translation degree programmes is up. Will this produce a generation of new translators entering the market without honing their skills first?
The world is switching to hybrid working and we are doing more and more CPD online. Will in-person training become a thing of past?
I will discuss the trends I have observed in the training undertaken by translators in recent years and draw conclusions on what the landscape of education and professional development for linguists will look like in the near future.
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About the presenter
Lloyd Bingham MITI runs Capital Translations in Cardiff, Wales. He works from Dutch, German, French and Spanish into English, specialising in business, technology and education. Lloyd is a member of SENSE and ITI, a committee member of ITI Cymru Wales and a tutor on ITI’s Starting Up as a Freelance Translator course.
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 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.
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 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 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
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About the presenters
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.
How to increase your visibility and market your services – Claire Bacon
Some language professionals find it difficult to market their services and get credit for their work. They may also wonder how they can attract the clients they really want to work with. In this talk, I will describe how I increased my visibility within the editing community to get more client referrals and networking opportunities. I will also describe how I used a content marketing approach (through regular blogging) to target my ideal clients and educate them on what language editing is and why it is needed. My goal is to help you increase awareness of the services you offer and to help you convince potential clients that you are the best person for the job.
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About the presenter
Dr Claire Bacon obtained her PhD in neuroscience from the University of York in 2006, after which she moved to Heidelberg, Germany to work as a research scientist in the department of Human Genetics. Working in a lab with multilingual scientists, she quickly realised that many scientists struggle to publish their work in English and became the official ‘language editor’ of the lab. In 2014, Claire decided to leave academia and set up her own language business. After taking several courses in copy editing and medical editing to develop her skills, she now runs a successful editing business, working mainly for multilingual scientists whose native language is not English. She publishes a monthly blog to help her clients with their research writing and teaches courses on scientific writing and academic publishing at the University of Twente.
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 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 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 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.
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 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.
Language skills in global times – Ellen Singer
We live in a globalized world, in which we are exposed to other languages. Humans absorb language on a daily basis, but as you improve your second or third language, your mother tongue can be affected. How should we maintain our skills in our native language, especially if we are not based in a country where it is spoken? There are many reasons why the language around you is not developing at the same pace as it does in your country of origin: Your partner may come from the country you live in, your colleagues may communicate in English, in a variant used by non-native speakers... When your job depends on language skills, you will need to work on them. But how? As with most issues, you need to be aware of it first, then work hard to reduce its impact. As a native English speaker in a foreign country like the Netherlands, where most people speak English at a reasonable level, you may be influenced by their English and do not always pick up on the latest trends in the UK/Ireland/ USA/Australia, etc. the way you would when living there. Maintaining your native language skills is a sine qua non and investing time in this should be part of your continuous professional development.
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About the presenter
Ellen Singer is a freelance translator with more than twenty-five years of experience as a full-time translator and project manager. She owns a small technical translation agency with her husband that focuses on quality. She loves challenges and knowledge and enjoys co-operating with others. Ellen puts her creativity to good use working as a copywriter and transcreator. Ellen speaks English, Spanish and Dutch and has presented at conferences since 2013, addressing a wide range of topics: from technical translation to Donald Duck, from file conversion to QA or even the question: why translate? She enjoys conferences and meeting people with a multicultural background.
Money management: why you should pay yourself a salary – Martina Abagnale
Freelancing means uncertainty, we have all heard that. It means not knowing how much money you’ll make each month, a pendulum between feeling the richest person in the world and wondering whether you can afford dinner. But does it really need to be that way? What if we paid ourselves a salary?
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About the presenter
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.
On being a specialized generalist – Jasper Pauwels
Many language professionals will either argue in favour of diversifying your services or urge you to specialize in a specific niche. Few people actually talk about combing the two strategies, specializing in a few areas of expertise. Personally, I translate both legal documents and marketing copy, which is an unusual combination that occasionally raises eyebrows. During this presentation, I will explain how I diversified into these very different fields and why it works out for me. From a more general perspective, we will also discuss the pros and cons of diversification, specialization or choosing the middle ground.
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About the presenter
Jasper Pauwels works as a full-time freelance translator, translating from English and French into Dutch for many clients across Europe. His translation and proofreading services cover a wide range of topics, with a strong focus on legal and marketing translations. He holds two degrees in translation from two different countries – a Bachelor of Translation from Zuyd University of Applied Sciences in Maastricht, the Netherlands, and a Master of Translation from the University of Antwerp, Belgium.
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 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 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 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.
Personal branding: Lessons learnt through trial and (t)error – Anne Oosthuizen
Believing that there most definitely is such a thing as your ideal client, Anne has previously been approached to talk about personal branding by Leiden University and NGTV, and will now share with us her ‘lessons learnt through trial and (t)error.’
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About the presenter
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.
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 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 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 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.