“An alien from Planet Ice” was how one of Tony Robbins’ stage assistants referred to him in his “Unleash the Power Within” seminar in San Jose, California. Not that he’s a distant or cold guy, but he does freeze everyone with extremely low-temperature air conditioning and he is awkwardly tall. Maybe his body temperature is so high because of his very warm heart and in order to function properly, he has to make places comfortably cool for him, which tends to mean uncomfortably cold for the rest of us mere mortals. But don’t for a second think that the freezer-like venues drive people away from him. No way, Jose! We all want to experience him so badly that we are willing to dress ourselves up as Eskimos, spend 14-hour days with hardly any breaks and sleep only five to six hours a night. Being close to him and watching him “do his magic” makes you almost think this man has super powers. No wonder he became so wealthy and famous in spite of a humble and difficult upbringing.
But I’m not here to write a clichéd article on Tony Robbins’ amazing achievements and what a great author, leader, communicator and people-reader he is. Instead, I will focus on how interpreting for Mr. Robbins is completely different from anything else I have ever done as an interpreter. So, if you’re ever hired to interpret Mr. R, be advised:
– He speaks machine-gun fast and because he tells a lot of very detailed stories and uses this rapid pace to keep the energy level high, there’s not much you can edit. You have to put your brain on turbo and just sprint with him;
– He also works with a lot of cues to the audience in which he asks people to raise their hands, say yes or say “aye” and if the interpreter is too far behind the speaker (called the ear-voice span or décalage), those listening to the interpreter will respond only a while after everyone else, which looks a little dumb and is kind of a pace-breaker;
– Tony and his team use a lot of songs as empowering anthems. All of them are played very loudly to produce an effect on people and create what he calls “peak state.” The purpose is to engage everyone’s nervous system in the process of preparing for breakthroughs. While the song is being played, he makes a few comments over it. It is hard to hear and you have to shout the interpretation so that your listeners can hear you, too. That is, never run out of water and Ricola when interpreting the ‘T Man’;
– So you thought songs weren’t supposed to be interpreted, right? So did I. At Tony’s events, though, because the songs are carefully chosen for their lyrics, the listeners expect you to give them an idea of what is being sung. And are they ever grateful when you do that! At “Date With Destiny” in Boca Raton, some Brazilians went to the booth to thank us for interpreting the songs. And yes, we are lousy singers, but they were still thankful we were helping them connect even more to the whole atmosphere of the event.
– Do you have a problem with cursing? Oh well! Get over it if you ever interpret Mr. I-am-not-your-guru. He curses a lot and is clearly a very intense guy. This intensity must come through in the interpreter’s delivery. So FUCK sophistication and unleash your badass persona.
– Be ready to cry or interpret on a broken voice. Some interventions are really intense and it’s impossible not to be moved by some of what’s going on.
– Forget about high heels, and suits and ties. There’s a lot of jumping and moving around. On my first day interpreting for TR I wore high-heeled boots, a push-up bra and large earrings. I quickly learned that I had to lose those and replace them with sneakers, a sports bra and no earrings at all. In other words, think of a marathon and dress accordingly.
– Last but not least, as Tony’s speech is very passionate, fast and intense, I tend to interpret standing up. I feel that when I engage my physiology in the interpretation I’m able to keep my energy as high as his and so guarantee a more faithful delivery.
Interpreting Tony Robbins was one of the most challenging but also most rewarding assignments I have ever done. How about you? What was YOUR most challenging-but-rewarding assignment? How was it different from your other gigs? Share your thoughts in the comments area below.
