Almost everyone suffers from stress. Interpreters certainly work in stressful situations where messages have to be translated in real time to people who are present and demanding. The fact that most interpreters work in a simultaneous mode – listening to English speech and at the same time signing in BSL – is intensely demanding. This guide has been written to explain the situation of interpreters such that better organisation can help to reduce the pressures. This section is mostly directed at interpreters themselves but it is important for those contracting interpreters to realise that this is a highly stressed situation.
A certain amount of pressure is no bad thing and many people perform better when deadlines for work are set. The degree to which an individual can tolerate stress has much to do with personality, past experiences and the availability of emotional support from others.