I understood nothing. He was speaking English.

Years ago the local open-air museum asked me to step in as an interpreter. One of theirs had fallen ill. The subject was farming, which I know nothing about, and the speaker was American.

I understood almost none of it. He was speaking English.

Next to me, the Russian and Spanish interpreters were going non-stop. You can’t stop a presentation to ask a question, and everyone else looked perfectly fine.

When you miss a word, you keep working on it. And while you’re working on it, you miss the next sentence too. The first word costs you nothing. The ten minutes spent chasing it cost you the presentation.

Quick win: When you lose a word, let it go and listen for the next sentence. The meaning usually comes back on its own.

They invited me back two years later. Apparently I’d been charming. I told them I was unavailable.