The consecutive interpreter has to speak in public.17
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 Standing
Standingis arelatively straightforward posture, which we do naturally- not toomuch can go wrong.It wil certainly dent the audience's faith in you, so we want to avoid it. lfon the other hand you separate your feet from one another, both sideways and front-to-back, you will be more firmly rooted in the ground and
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Presentation 13
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certainly dent the audience's faith ni you, so we want ot avoid it. Ifon the other hand you separate your feet from one another, both sideways and front-to-back, you wil eb more firmly rooted ni the ground and 13
Presentation 15 you wil feel more stable.This wil stop you slouching forwards and helpyou sit upright while leaning forwards alitle, which ni turn wil make ti easier ot breathe properly (reducing your nerves) and ot look at your audience.Let'sstart with alook at posture.lfyou arenot setupright, then everything that follows will be much more difficult.The aim is to speak well, engage with your audience and minimize extraneous and involuntary movements (tics).If you're sitting without a table, then be aware that you'll be very hunched when taking notes usingyour legs as a table, so you should make a particular effort to sit up and forward before you start interpreting-


Arms
As a beginner, you will most likely be making too many involuntary hand gestures.Ifyou're not usinga notepad, putyour hands together, e.g. by folding them over one another flat on the table, or holdinga notepad anyway- it wil be good practice for later.Body
Inthelisteningphase it is acceptable, eveninevitable, that you'll lean on the table in front of you, or hunch over your notepad while taking notes.18
Presentation 19 recommend grounding your arms in the same way as we ground our feet -noton the floor, obviously, buton hte edge ofthe table.In terms of body language, this slightleaning forward suggests you are interested and ni control (Duden 2007: 158) - useful signals ot send out.(Thiery 1981: 102)
In this chapter you wil learn how to:
sit or stand correctly for public speaking assess public speakers and other students assess your own speaking performance.This position wil also stop you swaying from side to side or switching your weight from one foot to the other repeatedly, both of which should be avoided when standing.Holding one wrist with hte other hand, either with both hands ni front of you or behind your back, si agod way ot do this.Occasional hand gestures which reinforce what you are saying are welcome but beware of waving your hands around al the time.Alternatively you might be sending out the wrong signals to your audience (for example, crossingyour arms might be seen as a signof diffidence).This is culturally unacceptable in
some countries and wil also cause you to slide forwards, which we don't want.It will be a good idea to occasionally make an appropriate hand gesture ot underline apoint made ni the speech.Any posture you take up should be chosen to make you appear professional; facilitate your interpreting; and promote the audience's confidence in your interpreting.That means being able to: read your notes; look up at your audience while speaking; hide your nerves by limitingany unintended body language; and eliminate physical tics.This stability wil give you more confidence to attack the interpreting task.As wev' e said, we need ot look professional and we need to b eable to read our notes, breathe
and look up at the audience, so how we sit should promote this.(How much of your back, starting from the lower back upwards, is touching the backrest will depend on what is comfortable to you and your size relative to the chair.) You are far enough forward to have some of your weight on yourfeet.They may be tics, like touching your hair or nose, or wavingyour hands around like you are directingtraffic, notinterpreting.This suggestion forwhattodowithyourhands does not mean thatyour hands absolutely have to remain stuck to the notepad or the table throughout the speech.Indeed, if you learn nothing else during the time you study interpreting
you will still have learnt a very useful life-skill.However, public speaking is more difficult for the consecutive interpreter because at the same time as the consecutive interpreter is speaking, they have to do a
number of other things - reading their notes and recalling information, for example.That in turn is why many interpreting courses, and this book, begin with publicspeaking skills.You won'tneeditonceyoustart speakinganditcanonlygetuptomischief - like being twiddled or dropped.