Hello, everyone! Here is a tip for the interpreters out there. Imagine yourself in a scenario when you are interpreting for your deaf client. Inevitably, there will be a time when the client fingerspells something; when that time comes, you catch some handshape letters but miss some of them as well. At that moment, you become unsure of what you are seeing. In the situation like this, the typical interpreter – while continuing to voice for the client – will ask the client to clarify the information by fishing for more information or by asking the client to say that again. “Say that again” is a very dangerous phrase to ask the deaf client! How so? Once you utter, “say that again,” guess what your client does?! Your client raises one eyebrow and subtly confirm that you want him/her to say that again. Your client then relays the information again… from the beginning. And the worst part is that the fingerspelling is at the end of the information (s)he is telling – for five whole minutes! During the client’s five-minute-long explanation, you are nodding your head as if you understand the information and wait in anticipation for the most important part… the fingerspelled word! When the client fingerspells it, you prepare yourself for it; it is your time to get it right! Sometimes the situation takes a different turn than you expected, and you miss it for whatever reason. But you need the information in order to articulate and interpret it properly, so you embarrassedly ask your client to “say that again.” Your client is caught off guard by your question, but as the polite deaf person your client is, (s)he informs you that it is fine and proceeds to repeat the information from the beginning. Before (s)he repeats it all, the thought of you as an inexperienced interpreter crosses his/her mind. As your client repeats the five-minute-long message, you try to inform your client that it is not what you want. But it is too late and there is nothing you can do but wait for your client to finish. In a situation like this, when you miss the word your client fingerspells, here is my tip for you. Sign this: Fingerspell what? In a word, this means, “Can you fingerspell that again please.” Aha! Signing Fingerspell is the answer! Crisis adverted: five minutes saved, fingerspelling understood, message aptly interpreted. Thumb up!