Find your Passion, and then Live it

Medellín, Colombia

Monday, March 7, 2011

Not Lost in Translation

So today I was the key part to an important meeting with my coworkers and a client. Two of our clients are giving a really important presentation to investors tomorrow and it happens to be in English. So my job was to go over their presentation and correct any errors in their powerpoint as well in their speech. It was an interesting and fast paced two hours, as we were having quick and intense discussions about what should be said, written and shown within the powerpoint, back in forth between English and Spanish. I had to review the presentation in English, and then if I thought any changes were needed, had to explain to my coworkers in Spanish what needed to be changed and why.

I made several changes to the presentation with regards to grammar/spelling and word flow. I even suggested a new title for one slide that would sound better in English, and really catch people's attention. The client really liked this idea, and told me that it was an excellent contribution, which made me feel really good. Then at the end of the powerpoint there was one slide that had a fair bit of text still in Spanish which my one coworker hadn't translated yet. So I offered to quickly translate the text for him, which he really appreciated.

It felt really good to contribute to something that was so important and do it in two different languages. I was actively apart of the discussion during the meeting, which is the first time this has happened in my job, because the other meetings Ive had, have been mostly to observe. However this time, I was the one suggesting ideas and communicating back and forth in Spanish with my coworkers. It definitely gave me a huge confidence boost in my job and also my Spanish business language.

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