English with Kirsty

The idea for this episode came from a conversation that I had on LinkedIn.Have you ever written something fairly quickly and then took forever deciding whether you actually want to post it? Do people want to read that? Will they understand what you’re trying to get across? If it’s in an additional language, do you check and recheck it, change bits, put it back to how it was, and still wonder whether it’s ready to go?It’s frustrating!It’s not about not having ideas or not knowing how to get them down. That’s a different situation. It’s knowing that you’re giving too much time to this thing that should actually not be taking up so much head space.That’s our topic for today and I’ve got 7 tips for you to stop the procrastination or perfectionism loop and finally get the thing posted!Find out more on the show notes page: https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode296 

Well, this year has been exciting! I’ve met lots of amazing people! I’m becoming better-known for the things on which I want to concentrate! I did most of the things on my 2025-to-do-list and some things that hadn’t even crossed my mind at the beginning of the year!This episode is a reflection on What happened this year What’s coming up on the podcast What’s happening with the 7 main topics that I mentioned at the beginning of the year – spoiler, they’re all still relevant! 5 lessons that I’ve learned this year Is there anything you’d like to share about what you’ve learned this year? What are you grateful for?Find out more on the show notes page - https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode295/

I met Katharina online last year and we decided to have a conversation on the podcast about something that’s important to both of us … networking!Ok, it’s something you hear me talking about a lot, but I thought it would be really interesting to get another perspective, especially from someone who hasn’t always been the biggest fan of the activity and who has learned that its definition goes far beyond some of the common stereotypes.We talked about Some of the different forms that networking can take Why networking is important for us as independent professionals What we enjoy about networking Some of the challenges around attending events in our source or additional languages and some strategies to make life easier for ourselves Click through to the show notes page to get the links that we mentioned including Katharina's newsletter and my events schedule: https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode294/

I came across Sarah’s work when a friend recommended her book. Since then, I’ve been receiving her marketing tips in her newsletter – and it’s worth subscribing to if you haven’t already!A few weeks ago, I saw Sarah giving tips on a subject that often comes up in my conversations with clients and networking sessions – the transition from working solely with agencies to approaching potential direct clients for the first time. So I thought it would be good to do an episode on this topic with someone who could bring marketing experience and practical, implementable tips.We talked about: Sarah’s books for translators and why she decided to write them Tips to consider when you’re planning to contact potential direct clients, especially if you’ve previously only worked with agencies Some common mistakes when it comes to pitching translation services to direct clients and what you can do instead Why having a portfolio can be helpful and what else you can do in addition/instead Why it’s important to feel confident about presenting yourself and your services in the customer’s language. You can find out more on the show notes page, where I've also listed all the links to the books and other resources that we mentioned: https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode293/

I’ve been wanting to talk about this topic for a while and to bring you a conversation with people who are in more of a position to explain, give examples, and help others to either start thinking or learn more about the topic of inclusive language.In this episode we talked about: What is inclusive language? What are some general tips that we can implement to make our texts and speech more inclusive? Are there any language-specific aspects, approaches, or challenges that we should be aware of in terms of the languages represented on the panel? Different experiences of speaking with clients about making their texts more inclusive or pointing out where the original text was not? Inclusive language resources that would be useful for translators. Thanks Renata, Marina, Alicja, Inès, and Charlotte for making this content with me and I look forward to exploring these topics further with you and others in the future.To find out more about my guests and to see the resource list for this episode, visit the show notes page: https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode292

To celebrate 10 years of the English with Kirsty podcast, I’m creating a 10-part series to celebrate 10 different forms that learning can take.The final part of the series is about learning through Volunteering. I had a number of people who wanted to be involved, so in the end I decided to split this into three conversations. The third and final part is with Colette Myler, whom I met back in 2021 when we were attending some of the same international networking events together.What did we talk about?I really wanted to show some of the different ways in which people can be volunteers, so I spoke with people doing very different roles. We talked about: Colette’s story – why she decided to volunteer and which organisations she chose. The skills and knowledge that Colette brings to her volunteering roles and some of the new skills that she’s gained over the years Some of the things that Colette has learned through her volunteering experiences – as well as some of the people whom she’s met along the way. How volunteering and being part of the community are part of the balance we need – and how this balance has more components than just our work and the rest of our life Tips for getting started. Find out more on the show notes page: https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode291/

To celebrate 10 years of the English with Kirsty podcast, I’m creating a 10-part series to celebrate 10 different forms that learning can take.The final part of the series is about learning through Volunteering. I had a number of people who wanted to be involved, so in the end I decided to split this into three conversations. The second part is with Diana Silva Franco, whom you may remember because she was also my guest in episode 219.What did we talk about?I really wanted to show some of the different ways in which people can be volunteers, so I spoke with people doing very different roles. We talked about:🎧 Diana’s story – why she decided to volunteer and which organisations she chose.🎧 The skills and knowledge that Diana brings to her volunteering roles, plus some of the things that she enjoyed🎧 Some of the things that Diana has learned through their volunteering experiences – one of which was to go in with an open mind and be prepared for the role to change, depending on the needs that arise.🎧 Exploring different parts of our personalities as we explore our additional languages🎧 Tips for getting started with volunteering .Find out more about Diana and the organisations mentioned in our episode here: https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode290

To celebrate 10 years of the English with Kirsty podcast, I’m creating a 10-part series to celebrate 10 different forms that learning can take.The final part of the series is about learning through Volunteering. I had a number of people who wanted to be involved, so in the end I decided to split this into three conversations. The first one is with Sónia Rio and MIRIAM SANTOS FREIRE – both independent professional colleagues from LinkedIn whom I didn’t know very well before we got together on Zoom.What did we talk about?I really wanted to show some of the different ways in which people can be volunteers, so I spoke with people doing very different roles.We talked about:🗣 Sónia and Miriam’s stories – why they decided to volunteer and which organisations they chose.🗣🗣The skills and knowledge that they both bring to their volunteering roles🗣 Some of the things that my guests have learned through their volunteering experiences.🗣 Some strategies for finding time and managing it so that there’s enough to support others through volunteering🗣 Tips for getting started with volunteering.Thank you both for joining me on the podcast - it was wonderful to get to know you better! And thank you also to @diana and @colette, whose episodes on this topic are coming soon.Links to all of the organisations that we mentioned are listed on our episode's page, so go and have a look if you want to learn more about them.You can find the show notes page with my guests' LinkedIn links and all the links for the organisations here: https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode289/ Do you have any stories that you'd like to share about what you've learned through volunteering?

I met Laura at one of my networking events and decided to have a chat with her on the podcast because we’re offering something similar for different source languages. I work with people who translate from English and who want to feel more confident when speaking it. Laura has a new service to provide support for people who want to communicate more confidently and spontaneously with customers in German.We talked about:Laur’as story and how languages became part of it Some of the benefits of working as a freelance translator and working with international clients Laura’s new service for people who want to improve their German speaking skills Why it’s good to have choices and the benefits for freelancers when we can communicate with customers directly in their own language … in both conversations and emails. You can connect with Laura on LinkedIn if you want to carry on the conversation or find out about her services to help you speak more confidently in German - https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-schartmann/If you are a freelance translator and you want to reactivate your spoken English, you can find out more about my programme here: https://englishwithkirsty.com/english-speaking-skills-for-freelance-translators/Access the full show notes page here: https://www.englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode288

I've recently come back from a week away and I spent some time reflecting on time. How I organise mine. What happens when you try to cram too much in and how that leaves no room for spontanaity. How having a different relationship with my to-do-list would make me happier! It's a week since I recorded the episode now and so far, the changes that  I put in place are still working!I also started thinking about what it means when we say that we have no time for things. Sometimes it just means that we're in a super busy period and it feels as though we don't have time for anything. But I mean more generarlly. Are we really saying "this isn't a priority for me right now"? or "I don't actually want to do this thing, but it's easier to say I don't have time"? Or "I'd like to, but I don't have time because I need to set some different boundaries with myself or others"? Or maybe it's more of a case of how we organise our time and build things into our schedule to make sure there's room for them.We don't need to justify ourselves, but at least for me, I found that exploring what I really mean with these four words - I don't have time - gave me some interesting insights into my own time management! How about you?Find out more on the show notes page - https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode287/Or connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirsty-danielle-wolf-a8478235/