A good interpreter doesn’t swap words one for one. They carry what the person meant. Listen like that.

Good interpreters do not trade word for word, because meaning does not survive that. They listen for what the person was trying to do with the sentence, the worry sitting underneath the question, then build something in the other language that does the same job. The literal version is often the least accurate one available.

Listen that way this week in conversations where no second language is involved. When somebody asks whether you are busy Saturday, hear the invitation inside it. Answer what they meant and they will feel understood in a way an exact reply never manages.