Workshop Title:
“Forming, Storming, Norming: Interpreting: Exploring team dynamics through The White Lotus”
Workshop Description:
Interpreting and translation are rarely solitary activities. Whether co-interpreting, collaborating with Deaf professionals, or working within translation teams, practitioners must navigate complex interpersonal dynamics. This interactive workshop explores group development through Bruce Tuckman’s (1965) model of forming, storming, norming, and performing, alongside later additions including adjourning (Tuckman & Jensen, 1977), re-norming (Biggs (cited in Miller, 2010), White & Fairhurst, 2007), and comfort zone (White, 2008) phases. Using the friendship dynamics of Jaclyn, Kate, and Laurie from The White Lotus as a metaphorical case study, participants will examine how relationships evolve from harmony to conflict and ultimately renewed connection. The friends’ vacation at a Thai resort serves as a narrative framework for understanding the stages of group development. Participants will apply these concepts to co-interpreting relationships and collaborative translation projects, exploring how conflict can function as a necessary and productive stage of team growth. The workshop will also examine strategies for navigating different phases of group development and strengthening collaborative practice. In alignment with the conference theme “Roots to Radiance,” the session highlights how understanding the roots of group dynamics can help interpreting professionals work more effectively and radiantly as teams.
Educational Objectives:
By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
1) Describe the stages of Tuckman’s group development model (forming, storming, norming, performing).
2) Recognize interpersonal dynamics that commonly occur in interpreting and translation teams.
3) Reframe conflict as a natural and productive stage of collaboration.
4) Identify practical strategies for communication and self-care when navigating team dynamics.
Bio:
Paul Michaels, PhD, has been a qualified, registered interpreter in the UK since 2011. He is also a qualified professional supervisor, having completed a Diploma in Supervision (2018). He qualified as an assessor of trainee interpreters (2022) and undertakes ad-hoc teaching responsibilities. He is an active member of two interpreting associations in the UK (ASLI & VLP) as well as an individual member of the European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters and the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters. He completed a PhD (2023) at Durham University in the UK, which explored the motivations for men in the UK to become sign language interpreters and their experiences within the profession. His other research interests include the advancement of sign language interpreters and the deaf LGBT+ community.
RID CEUs Offered: .15