RMC Language Consultancy - Blog

The Impact of Videos and Lives on Your Business

9/13/2022

After attending a LinkedIn live by Jarrod Best-Mitchell and Jaime Rampersad on Monday on the things that keep us women back from doing video, I know that I am not alone. These include worrying about / not having enough time for:

Make up
Hair
What to say
What if no-one shows up
What platform is the best place to go live
What time is best

We were reminded that we, women, are our biggest critics.

Jaime Rampersad spoke about perfection being an excuse for procrastination.

Everything that could go wrong in her first live did, but she did not give up.

She looked at the replays of her first few lives, kept going and improved each time.

Here are my takeaways from both Jaime’s and Jarrod’s tips.

Content Ideas:

You can re-post the best performing content as your audience grows.
Put yourself in your client’s shoes – what questions do they ask? What do they want to know?
What pain points do you solve?
Check out a site called “Answer the public” – if you search what you do, you will see what clients ask about your industry. You get two free questions a day.
Structure content – Jaime uses an Excel spreadsheet where she notes her topics as they come to mind
Be consistent in your live activity – go live on the same days / at the same time

Makeup – if you must:

You can do makeup in 10 minutes by laying out a tray with only the stuff you need, instead of digging through a makeup bag
Then, create videos in one go
Every single person who filled out her form got added to a WhatsApp broadcast list

Equipment:

Phone
Tripod
Two LED lights at 45 degrees in front OR ring light

You should know what to say to your leads:

When people interact with your content who fit your ideal client profile, you send them a #videomessage

Best time to post?
Look at Meta Facebook analytics and it tells you best time to post.

How often?

Once a week
For a specific campaign – every day for a period of time
If you run out of ideas – ask your audience what they would like to hear
Also observe what your competitors are posting – what are people commenting?

What if no one shows up?
Most people watch lives on the weekend – not during the live – so don’t worry about it. If you have one person in your audience, that could be one new client!

The impact that videos and going live can make on your business is huge.

For translation (editing, proofreading), interpreting, intercultural coaching and language tuition, email us at pm@rmclanguages.com.

How We Can Support You

9/13/2022

At RMC Language Consultancy Limited, we help our customers to communicate, negotiate and transact business in foreign languages and develop intercultural skills for success when relocating and working with global teams. To date we have:

Served over 160 companies
Translated over 8 million words
Have clients in 8 countries
Coached over 105 global leaders (to be successful on assignment)
Delivered over 300 hours of language classes

We have been supporting private and public organisations locally, regionally and internationally for the last 10.5 years by providing:

·         professional document translation
·         simultaneous and consecutive interpreting (verbal translation)
·         cross-cultural business coaching services
·         language tuition (to adults and children)

Some of the customers we serve include:
·         Government ministries and agencies
·         Export and investment promotion agencies
·         Multinational organisations
·         Private lawyers offices
·         Conglomerates investing in Latin America and the Caribbean
·         Local banks with branches in foreign countries
·         International financial institutions
·         Companies in the energy sector
·         European bodies
·         Individuals seeking official translation of their documents for immigration applications
· Funeral homes and customers seeking to repatriate the remains of their loved ones (from non-English-speaking countries). In addition, we are recognised as an official
translation and interpreting provider by the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs
and the Immigration Division of Trinidad and Tobago, among other official bodies.

Do you need your documents officially translated and certified? Would like to speak with partners, colleagues and stakeholders in another language? Let us interpret for you.

Are your global leaders relocating on assignment? Let us support the adjustment process.
Need to become proficient in a foreign language?

Connect with us at pm@rmclanguages.com.

THE CAVE

9/13/2022

I'm a translator, I love being in my cave and working on my documents.

I don't really enjoy speaking on video and being “out there”.

Yet, I came up with a theme for our 10-year anniversary and published some videos to celebrate the milestone earlier this year. I saw the value in batching content – getting dressed once, doing hair and makeup once.

Do I think the videos were perfect? Absolutely not. Did I still publish them? Yes.

CONTENT
The ideas came in a wave and I had to take notes immediately. I wrote immediately to avoid losing the trend of thought, the impetus and the flow of ideas.

Do these ideas come at inconvenient times? Absolutely!

Just as I'm trying to wind down or go to sleep, I sometimes get a wave of ideas.

What do I do? I have to record voice notes or write immediately, because just as fast as the ideas come, they go.

There's a lot to learn and improve, but in the meanwhile, I'll keep on keeping because our clients need to hear what we have to say.

Left to me, however, I might stay in my translator bubble and just work on my documents.

It's a safe space, but as the saying goes, the magic happens outside of your comfort zone.

Where are you most comfortable? What one action can you take now that will take your business to the next level?

For your certified translations, email us at pm@rmclanguages.com.

Why We Recently Turned Down A Job

9/13/2022

We recently turned down the opportunity to work on a translation job because the client’s deadline was unrealistic. It was a very difficult one to turn down, because the subject matter – financial statements –is a topic with which I am intimately familiar.

You see, I have done work as the treasurer of two organisations. I did accounting at the ordinary level (fifth year of secondary school) and advanced level (seventh year of secondary school) and I have been serving on the board of a financial institution for some years now and we review accounts monthly. In addition, I interned at two banking institutions and have 10+ years’ experience translating various financial documents.

So you could understand my disappointment when I could smell and taste this project, but knew that it would not be a good fit for us because of the unrealistic timeline for delivery. It was not just interesting for me to work on, but it was a beautiful, sizeable project, so it would have been a lucrative opportunity.

There are sometimes disappointments that I face as a business owner, but I have to assess situations and opportunities before me and make decisions that benefit both the client and the RMC team.

If I were to accept a job which I knew fully well we would not be able to deliver within the limited timeframe, I would be:

extremely stressed out;
disappointed if the client’s deadline was not met; and
I am sure that the client would be disappointed or lose trust in our ability to do what we say we can.

For these reasons, we chose to say no to this project. This is just one of the tough decisions that had to be made, but I can safely say that it was done to the benefit of both the client and our company.

I hope that the client recognises that we made the best decision that we could, and as professionals, we would not accept a project if we did not think we could deliver quality on time.

Have you had to make tough business decisions? Do you turn down opportunities that are not the right fit for both you and the client? Please let me know in the comments.

Email us at pm@rmclanguages.com for more information on how we can help you translate sensitive and confidential documents into another language.

Cross-Cultural Coaching – Relocation Challenges

8/2/2022

What are some challenges assignees face when relocating?

Depending on the industry and their long-term career development plan, assignees may be presented with opportunities to relocate for work. This is an exciting prospect from a career-development perspective and it is an opportunity for the family to have a new experience; however with such opportunities, there are a number of challenges. Furthermore, depending on the organisation, the family may or may not be provided with support by way of intercultural coaching. Here are some factors that assignees have to consider when relocating.

The assignee who is relocating for work is often expected to ‘hit the ground running’

and may be preoccupied with getting up to scratch in the new workplace, meeting new colleagues, navigating the day-to-day realities of a new business culture and meeting the related expectations.

They may have a partner and children who are accompanying them. Partners are often tasked with getting the home up and running. Responsibilities like locating home stores and purchasing the basics to make accommodations liveable initially, then functioning in the medium-to-long term, often fall on the partner.

Depending on the country, living accommodation and local needs, some families ship personal belongings, including furniture and appliances. This in itself can involve delays and a hassle depending on the initial set up in their place of abode. Before leaving their home country, they must also sell belongings or property or get set up to rent their home, all of which places a significant burden on them.

Assignees may be leaving behind elderly parents or other relatives with special needs, where they may have been the primary caregiver. Ensuring that their relatives continue to receive the necessary support will help them to focus on the relocation.

Should the assignees have the opportunity to receive intercultural coaching, depending on the stage in their relocation, they may be distracted as they are managing multiple responsibilities at the time of the coaching sessions. They may be in the middle of meetings, tying up loose ends with the old team, while meeting new team members and becoming acquainted with the set up and responsibilities in the new location. This juggling act is a challenge in itself.

Stay tuned for part II in our intercultural coaching series which speaks about success on assignment.

Connect with us if you represent an organisation with highly mobile global leaders at all levels of the organisation. Supporting their relocation through intercultural coaching will significantly improve their chances of success in their host country. Global leaders are not all born, but are intentional about their development and we can support that process. Email us at admin@rmclanguages.com for more information.

Cross-Cultural Coaching – Success on Assignment

8/2/2022

Intercultural coaching sessions can provide support to assignees in a number of ways. These include language training, support for daily living, how to do business in the new culture, an overview of the cultural foundations addressing customs and celebrations, deeply held beliefs, dos and don’ts and more.

- Where to locate household items, groceries (where to get cuisine from your home country), specialty items
- Clothing – how to dress based on climate and culture

Medical care and other special needs
Schools and extra-curricular activities for children

Professional and leisure networking groups
Sporting and leisure activities
Driving and public transport
Safety
Accepting invitations to and attending social events (the importance of this for networking and meeting colleagues in certain cultures)

A good intercultural coaching programme will include multiple studies and research that addresses deep-seated beliefs and behaviours in various cultures. It often starts with the examination of assignees’ own understanding and self-awareness about their own beliefs and customs. The programme should include a cultural analysis tool that demonstrates certain aspects of the new culture that vary significantly from their own preferences or behavioural style and introduce the concept of style-switching.

Some examples of cultural differences include the way time is viewed in different cultures. Is the host country considered efficient in its business dealings or is the host country associated with a more laid back culture? What is the experience of conducting business in government offices? Is the country a cash-based economy or can most business be done online using multiple payment methods?

Is the host country relationship or task focussed? Do you need to be introduced to the right people to get things done? Is who you know more important than what you know?

These are just a few of the areas that an intercultural-coaching programme will cover and this type of support can make a significant difference and contribute to the successful adaptation of assignees to a new culture and when working with global teams.

Connect with us if you represent an organisation with highly mobile global leaders at all levels of the organisation. Supporting their relocation through intercultural coaching will significantly improve their chances of success in their host country. Global leaders are not all born, but are intentional about their development and we can support that process. Email us at admin@rmclanguages.com for more information.

The Legacy of Fort George

7/26/2022

Photography courtesy Island Hijabi.

In commemoration of our sixty (60) years of Independence, we seize this opportunity to explore a remnant of Trinidad and Tobago’s colonial past. Fort George is located to the West of Port of Spain, perched upon the hills, overlooking St. James and the sea, protected by now inactive heavy artillery.

It was built in 1804 as part of a series of forts that provided defence for the capital and its harbour against the attacks of European invaders, initiated by Brigadier-General Sir Thomas Hislop. The fort was most prominent among the network of military defences which included the York, Cumberland, Princess Charlotte, Abercromby and Cambridge that mounted the nearby slopes.

It was the gem of the hills in its day, with the pride of locals believing it to be most impenetrable, a succor for ages to come. However, fate had it that it would never be used for military operations. Though it did not fulfil its purpose, it still provided a shelter in uncertain times. The vault hidden within its walls was used to store important documents, records, cash, valuables and more of citizens during hearsay of war.

As a result, it ceased being a military post in 1846 and was converted to a signalling station in 1902, desgined by Prince Kofi Nti, son of the great King Kofi Calcali of the Ashanti region in West Africa. He became a ward of the British Government after a war with the Ashanti people in 1872.

Transitioning to present, Fort George stands as a mere memorial of our heritage and history. It now serves as a tourist attraction, a site where people visit to peer into Trinidad and Tobago’s past and to soulfully relax. Its foundation serves not only as a junction between the past and present but also the ideal getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city life as it stands surrounded by forested hills consisting of a variety of flora and fauna and the nearby beaches.

Just imagine the splendour and awe it was viewed with in its glory days. We hope its story never fades.

Did you enjoy this segment? Have you ever been to Fort George? Let us know in the comments.

Happy Independence Day!

Are you looking for online language classes?

7/26/2022

Do you want to gain or improve your language skills and become more marketable through competency in one or more foreign languages? Here are some FAQs about our classes:

Do you offer classes for those who are learning a foreign language from scratch or resuming after a long time?
Yes! We work with beginners and those who are seeking refreshers helping to build competency in all four areas of reading, writing, listening and speaking.

How do I know which level is best for me?
We offer individual assessments to help you determine the appropriate level for you.

Can you work with my schedule?
Yes, we work with busy professionals and will match you with a tutor who is available to work with you and your schedule.

What topics will be covered in my course?
After our consultation call with you, we will design a programme in line with your goals and in keeping with your desired timeline.

How are classes delivered?
Classes are delivered online, live with a tutor. After you register, we will send your login credentials for live classes and credentials for the online learning platform.

Do I receive a certificate?
Yes, you will receive a certificate of participation upon completion of your course.

How do I register?
For enquiries, please email us at admin@rmclanguages.com and we will get back to you.

Need a certified translation in Trinidad and Tobago?

7/24/2022

Do you know that in Trinidad and Tobago documents to be translated and used for legal purposes need to be translated by a public translator accredited to provide certified translations?

To provide some context, and for our purposes, here is a definition of a certified translation provided by Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certified_translation. The requirements can vary from country to country, but a certified translation can be used for legal purposes and the translator or the language service provider accepts responsibility for its accuracy by providing a signed statement and other details as applicable.

If you are in Trinidad and Tobago and need to translate documents such as birth, marriage and death certificates, divorce decrees, educational certificates, transcripts, medical certificates, proof of financial means, power of attorney, notarised documents, affidavits, for civil and criminal proceedings, you need a public translator accredited by the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs.

Proof of status as a public translator is also required by foreign government authorities to accompany legal documents leaving the (Trinidad and Tobago) jurisdiction. Before you have your documents translated, to avoid any hiccups with local or foreign authorities, be sure to do your due diligence on your service provider to ensure that the translations will be accepted.

RMC is accredited by the Trinidad and Tobago Government to provide official, certified translations as a public translator. We are familiar with the steps and can advise you. Email us at pm@rmclanguages.com if you have any questions about this process.

Careers for Polyglots

7/18/2022

Are you a polyglot considering your career options?

During career week at my alma mater, Holy Name Convent, I often speak to students about the opportunities available to those who speak foreign languages.

I explain that language skills can be combined with almost any career and will often complement your job regardless of the field you choose – setting you apart in a competitive job market.

Graduates whom I have never met and who studied languages at university also come across our website and call for advice and guidance about the options available to them.

This article outlines some of the opportunities available to you if you are a language aficionado or a language graduate looking to make a career out of languages.

The path to each career is different, but here are some job options for polyglots:

1) Interpreter – verbally translating speeches from the interlocutor to recipient

2) Translator – converting a document from one language to another

3) Foreign Language Teacher – teaching languages at all levels at educational institutions or privately

4) Diplomat and Embassy Staff – heads of diplomatic missions, i.e. ambassadors, chargés d’affaires and most embassy staff need to function in one or more foreign languages

5) Foreign Service Officer – staff in ministries of foreign affairs interact verbally and in writing with government representatives from foreign countries

6) Hotel Manager – working with a large team and meeting new customers and business partners, a second language is a must

7) Flight Attendant – providing service on flights to different countries or to travellers on board speaking other languages

8) Travel Agent – helping foreign clients book flights and resolve travel issues

9) Tour Guide – must speak more than one language to accommodate tourists and make their experience memorable

10) Human Resource Specialist – interacting with a diverse staff, responsible for reviewing applications and recruiting and resolving floor issues, must be equipped to interact professionally with everyone

11) Social Worker – helping families in crises, especially those that may be refugees who speak another language

12) Customer Service Representative – assisting clients from different countries or those with a different native tongue

Let us know if this was helpful by commenting below. Email us at admin@rmclanguages.com if you or staff from your organisation need to function in a foreign language.