One drink, please

You are interpreting at a social event where people are drinking. You don't drink while on assignment. Period. It isn't professional. Plus, it's against agency policy. But even if your agency was silent on the issue, you wouldn't drink on assignment.

You are politely sipping your water when a guest at the function brings you a glass of white wine. You will be with this guest most of the evening and he was clearly uncomfortable with your teetotaling. You accept the wine with a gracious smile.

-Do you drink the glass and get another later in the evening?
-Do you keep the glass on hand so when people ask, you can say you have a drink?
-Do you explain you can't drink while working?
-Do you claim to practice a religion that forbids alcohol?
-What are your other options? What are the repercussions of each decision?

How about a poem to me?

Your students are assigned to write a poem praising something. After you interpret the assignment, you suggest writing about your favorite interpreter--you! (me!)--in jest, of course.

Is that overstepping boundaries? Or is that relationship building?

Would it be different depending on the age if the client? (elementary vs high school vs college)

When would this kind if banter be acceptable or not?

Excuse me, please

An alarm on your cell phone goes off while you are the "on" interpreter. The entire class, including the teacher, looks at you. Of course you have to reach into your bag and turn off the phone. Your client asks what happened.

How do you remedy the situation.
How do you prevent this from happening again?

Keep your opinion out of it.

You are interpreting in a drug rehab program. You are interpreting a movie (no captions!! Ug!!) which you find to be overtly simple and preachy. You make a face. As soon as you do, you see your client respond...to your face and then respond differently to the movie.

--what are your options to now erase your opinion from the conversation?
--suppose you hear, a week later, your client quit the program. Are you partly responsible?

No phones!

Electronics aren't allowed in school. The students are putting together a dance and the dance teacher, not bring able to go against school policy, asks the class, rhetorically, how they will bring in music to practice if they can't bring in an iPod, for example. She says, "I can't allow you to bring it in. ... If your smart, you'll understand what I'm saying.". She was implying that if the students brought an electronic device, she wouldn't stop them. But she couldn't openly say that.

The implication doesn't come through in your interpretation. So you decide to be obvious. "if you bring your iPhone," you interpret, "she's not gonna take it away."

Enjoy this book

You gave a book to one of your clients. A novel. Because the two of you have been discussing books. You bought it used on a dollar shelf, anyhow. You don't need it back.

Is it appropriate to share books? No? What would it be ok to share? What would it not be ok to share!

Educational team

A hearing student comments-loudly-that she is planning on cheating on the test tomorrow. You interpret for your student who advises the cheater in her poor idea. But, the teacher never catches on.

Sure enough, the cheater had an answer written on her hand. She shows a number of her peers. Again, the teacher has no idea.

-what is your responsibility? She is hearing, not yours.
-but you are an adult in the room.