SPEAKING SCRIPT

🔷 MEMBER 1 — FOUNDATION + THEORY

🔹 SLIDE 2 — The Core Problem

“In consecutive interpreting, the interpreter is required to perform several tasks at the
same time.

They must listen to the speaker, understand the message, remember the information, and
then reproduce it accurately.

However, this process is limited by what we call Working Memory, which has a very limited
capacity.

So in practice, relying on memory alone is not reliable, especially when the speech
becomes longer or more complex.”

🔹 SLIDE 3 — De nition & Function

“This is where note-taking becomes essential.

Note-taking in interpreting is not simply writing what we hear.

It is a system used to capture meaning and structure, so the interpreter can reconstruct
the message later.

That’s why it is selective, structured, and focused on meaning.

And it is important to understand that it is not transcription, and it is not pure memorization.
It is a support system for thinking.”

🔹 SLIDE 4 — Theoretical Framework

“This approach is strongly in uenced by Jean-François Rozan,

who emphasized one key idea: write ideas, not words.

To support this, he proposed seven principles that guide interpreters in taking notes
ef ciently.”

“First, Ideas over words —

interpreters focus on meaning, not exact wording.

Second, Abbreviation —
words are shortened to save time.
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 Third, Links —
symbols are used to show relationships such as cause or contrast.

Fourth, Negation —
negative meaning is marked clearly to avoid misunderstanding.

Fifth, Emphasis —
important information is highlighted.

Sixth, Verticality —
notes are written downward to show structure.

And seventh, Shift —

the interpreter reformulates the message into a simpler structure.”

“These principles are not just theoretical.

They are practical tools that help interpreters reduce cognitive load and organize
information effectively during interpreting.”

🔹 SLIDE 5 — Core Principles

“From this framework, we can summarize four key principles.

First, interpreters focus on ideas, not individual words.

Second, they are selective—they only note important information.
Third, they use economy, meaning they write as little as possible.
And nally, their notes are independent from any speci c language.

This allows them to interpret more naturally, instead of translating word by word.”

🔻 TRANSITION

“So after understanding the theory behind note-taking,

we can now move to how this system is actually applied in practice.”

🔷 MEMBER 2 — TECHNIQUE + STRUCTURE

🔹 SLIDE 6 — Note-Taking Techniques (Overview)

“To apply these principles, interpreters use a set of techniques.

The goal is simple: to capture as much meaning as possible while writing as little as
possible.

These techniques include symbols, abbreviations, logical connectors, and structured

layout.
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Together, they form a complete system—not separate tools.”

🔹 SLIDE 7 — Symbols & Abbreviations

“One of the most important techniques is the use of symbols and abbreviations.

Instead of writing full words, interpreters use quick visual signs.

For example, an upward arrow means increase, and ‘gov’ stands for government.

This reduces writing time and allows the interpreter to stay focused on listening.

So the goal here is ef ciency—writing faster without losing meaning.”

🔹 SLIDE 8 — Logical Connectors

“Another critical element is logical connectors.

These show the relationship between ideas, such as cause, result, or contrast.

For example, an increase in demand leads to an increase in price.

Without these connectors, the interpreter may understand individual words,

but lose the logical structure of the message.”

🔹 SLIDE 9 — Negation, Emphasis, Time & Numbers

“In addition, interpreters must clearly mark negation, emphasis, and key details such as
time and numbers.

For example, missing a negation can completely change the meaning of a sentence.

And numbers or time references often carry important information,

so they must be noted clearly and quickly.”

🔹 SLIDE 10 — Structure & Layout

“Beyond symbols, structure is equally important.

Good notes are written vertically, not in full sentences.

This allows the interpreter to see the structure at a glance.

Hierarchy shows the relationship between main ideas and supporting details,
while indentation and chunking help organize information into clear units.

Without structure, even correct notes can become dif cult to use.”
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 🔹 SLIDE 11 — Bad vs Good Notes

“This example shows the difference between ineffective and effective notes.

The rst version is written like a normal sentence,

which makes it slow to read and dif cult to process.

The second version is structured.

It shows the main idea, the result, and the reason clearly.

This structure allows the interpreter to quickly understand and reconstruct the message.”

🔻 TRANSITION

“So after understanding the system and techniques,

we can now see how note-taking is actually used in real interpreting.”

🔷 MEMBER 3 ( DEMONSTRATION )

🔹 SLIDE 12 — Process Integration

“In real interpreting, note-taking is part of a continuous process.

The interpreter listens, understands, analyzes the message, takes notes, and then
reformulates it.

Importantly, note-taking does not happen word-by-word.

It happens after the interpreter begins to understand the meaning.

So notes and memory work together, especially under the limits of working memory.”

🔥 SCRIPT (SLIDE 13)

Speak slower here. This is your highest-value moment.

🎤 OPENING

“Now I will demonstrate how note-taking works in real interpreting, step by step.”
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🔹 STEP 1 — SOURCE (SET CONTEXT)

“The source sentence is:

‘Although the company faced losses last year, it is expected to recover due to increasing
global demand.’

This sentence contains three key elements:

• a past condition

• a contrast

• and a future prediction with a cause.”

👉 (Pause brie y — let them process)

🔹 STEP 2 — NOTES (WRITE + EXPLAIN LOGIC)

“As the interpreter listens, they do not write full sentences.

They extract key ideas and relationships.”

✍ Line 1:

“First, we write company — this is the main subject.”

✍ Line 2:

“Then, LY: loss —

‘LY’ stands for last year, and ‘loss’ captures the core meaning.

We don’t write ‘faced losses last year’ because that would be too slow.”

✍ Line 3:

“Next, we use the symbol ≠.

This is very important—it shows contrast, meaning the next idea is different from the
previous one.

This replaces the word ‘although’.”

✍ Line 4:

“Then we write future: recover.

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This captures the prediction.
We simplify ‘it is expected to recover’ into one clear idea: future recovery.”

✍ Line 5:

“Finally, we write: → ↑ global demand.

The arrow means cause or result,

and the upward arrow shows increase.

So this line means:

recovery happens because of increasing global demand.”

🔹 STEP 3 — STRUCTURE (WHY IT’S WRITTEN LIKE THIS)

“This note is written vertically, not in a sentence.

Why? Because vertical structure shows hierarchy and logic:

• The main subject is at the top

• Supporting ideas go below

• Indentation shows relationships

This allows the interpreter to see the structure instantly.”

💡 Strong line:

“If we wrote this in one line, the logic would disappear.”

🔹 STEP 4 — INTERPRETATION (RECONSTRUCTION)

“Now, using these notes, the interpreter reconstructs the message:

Meskipun perusahaan mengalami kerugian tahun lalu, perusahaan diperkirakan akan pulih
karena meningkatnya permintaan global.”

🔹 STEP 5 — DEEP INSIGHT (THIS IS WHAT MAKES YOU STAND OUT)

“What’s important here is that:

• The interpreter is not reading the notes

• The notes only act as triggers

For example:

• ‘LY: loss’ triggers the past situation

• ‘≠’ reminds the interpreter to express contrast

• ‘→ ↑ demand’ signals the cause

So the full sentence is reconstructed from meaning, not copied from notes.”

🔥 CLOSING LINE (DELIVER CLEAN)

“This is why note-taking in interpreting is not about writing—it is about organizing

meaning under time pressure.”

🔹 SLIDE 14 — Common Mistakes

“Many students make similar mistakes.

They write full sentences, which slows them down.

They don’t structure their notes, so ideas become unclear.
They overwrite, which creates overload.
And they miss connectors, which breaks the logic.

These usually happen because they focus on words instead of meaning.”

🔹 SLIDE 15 — Advanced Insights

“In professional practice, interpreters develop their own note-taking systems over time.

They also train regularly by listening, taking notes, and interpreting progressively more
complex material.”

🔹 SLIDE 16 — References

“These concepts are supported by established interpreting research, including work by

Jean-François Rozan and Andrew Gillies, as well as resources from AIIC.”