Gary Smith

More than a translator: a business partner

This presentation will look at how to gain the confidence of wary new monolingual clients, allaying their fears about the mysterious process of translation and guiding them through it to get the end result they truly seek.

There will be tips on how to stop clients from meddling with the translation while getting their necessary input, explaining cultural differences and tactfully warning them when the source text is inappropriate or simply badly written. And above all, we’ll look at how to do so with humour so we don’t end up injuring our foreheads on our desks.

BIOGRAPHY

Gary Smith is an independent translator whose clients include many universities in Spain, NGOs and multinationals.

He originally came from an engineering background, which helped him specialize in such fields when he began translating, later gaining experience and knowledge in translating research papers and business contracts. He has given presentations at many international conferences for translators, mainly about the business and organisational side of translation, as well as the translation of scientific and technical texts. He is the author of the book Confessions of a Freelance Translator.

A former president of “La Xarxa”, the Valencia region association of translators and interpreters, he now helps on the board of IAPTI.