Working with high-end clients:
Visibility, trust, and the skills that really matter**

 As agency rates plummet, many translators consider turning to high-profile—often direct—clients as a way out. Or at least a way forward. But what they find is a whole new ecosystem: different rules, different gatekeepers, and very different skillsets.

This session draws on real-world experience with high-end clients to explore why even talented, well-intentioned translators can struggle to gain traction—and what to do about it. It highlights how many of the habits that help you survive, temporarily, in the race-to-the-bottom world of commoditized translation will backfire when stakes and expectations rise.

We'll look at concrete, usable strategies to help you enter premium markets with greater confidence and clarity.

  •  Premium clients — What are they, really? And how do you break into their world(s) without dithering around the edges?

  •  Visibility — If it matters (spoiler: it does), how do you emerge from the shadows and build a convincing presence when and where it counts?

  • Skills, hard and soft — Which ones still matter in an AI-saturated world? Which ones don’t? And how do you build/strengthen the right ones fast?

Whether you're mid-career, pivoting, or trying to future-proof your practice, this is about thinking sharper, not just working harder (although hard work is definitely part of the deal).

**[FOR TRANSLATORS WITH AT LEAST 5 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE]

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Chris Durban creció en el norte del estado de Nueva York (EE. UU.) y estudió lenguas modernas en Montreal antes de trasladarse a Francia, donde se especializó en lenguas y estudios empresariales en la Universidad de París. Tras varios años como traductora interna en un banco de París, inició su carrera como profesional independiente. Con más de cuatro décadas de experiencia, colabora con grandes corporaciones y pymes en Francia y otros países, principalmente en estrategia empresarial, relaciones con inversionistas y comunicación financiera. Ha recibido, entre otros, el Caravelle Florence-Herbulot de la SFT en 2020 y la medalla Alexander Gode, el galardón más prestigioso de la ATA, en 2001. Es cofundadora y coorganizadora de la UETF y de los encuentros “Translate in”, dirigida a traductores interesados en mejorar sus capacidades y destrezas.