The Great British summer season

Despite the usual rainy weather and frequent gloomy forecast, there is summer in Britain and The Season is a big, enjoyable deal. Traced back to the 18th century when people of society followed the movements of the Royal Family in and around London during spring and summer, The Season no longer i...

by Cecilia Lipovsek — Aug 25, 2026 united kingdom

When spotting the friction beats speaking the language

Speaking the other language is a strong asset. But it only accounts for less than half of what you communicate. The other half — the non-verbal, the relational, the situational — operates on a different frequency entirely. And that is the frequency where things quietly go wrong or quietly go righ...

by Cecilia Lipovsek — Aug 25, 2026 slots v. loops™

One less meeting, one more friend

As a self-confessed foodie and a born and bred Latin American, I consider food and meals (especially shared ones) to be a central and most enjoyable part of life. But have you ever wondered how big a part they play in the success of your business goals? The concept underpinning such a bizarre que...

by Cecilia Lipovsek — Aug 25, 2026 temporal dimension

5 Tips to engage with Latin America

Interpreters never interpret only language as in interpreting only words. Instead, we interpret meaning. We interpret context. We interpret speakers. We interpret culture. So here are some of the key cultural factors to keep in mind when dealing with Latin America and Latin Americans – if you all...

by Cecilia Lipovsek — Aug 25, 2026 latin america

The amazing domino effect of Slots v. Loops™

You have a bilateral meeting on the calendar. Two hours. A fixed agenda. You go in, you come out, you move on. Except that is rarely what actually happens. What happens in a British–LatAm meeting is not contained by the meeting itself. What happens there: how the room feels, whether the other sid...

by Cecilia Lipovsek — Aug 25, 2026 slots v. loops™

Applying Slots v. Loops™ to trade

_*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> Everyone in British–LatAm trade knows the principle: people do business with people. It is repeated at trade missions, cited in market entry reports, acknowledged in every serious piece of writing about doing business across cultures. _*]:min-w-0 gap-3"> What gets far less...

by Cecilia Lipovsek — Aug 25, 2026 slots v. loops™

Applying Slots v. Loops™ to diplomacy

Diplomatic meetings are not like other meetings. The formats alone signal this: bilateral visits, working lunches, table-top exercises, roundtables, opening ceremonies, press conferences, trade fair sidelines, formal dinners. Each one operates under a different set of unspoken rules about who spe...

by Cecilia Lipovsek — Aug 25, 2026 slots v. loops™

Are you really sure you speak English?

Most Latin American professionals entering the British market have been speaking English for years. Many are fluent. Some are near-native. And almost all of them, at some point, walk out of a British meeting quietly unsure whether what just happened was a yes, a no, or a polite form of neither. T...

Aug 25, 2026 united kingdom

Are you really sure you speak Spanish?

Spanish is the de facto lingua franca of Latin America. Spoken in 19 of its 33 countries, it was introduced to the continent by the Spanish conquistadores, and is now spoken by over 400 million people in Latin America alone, not to count the rest of the world. Although there are many regional dif...

by Cecilia Lipovsek — Aug 25, 2026 latin america

What The Queen taught British-LatAm professionals

On the day Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest after seventy years of service, the tributes rightly focused on her dedication, her steadiness, and her remarkable ability to hold relationships across cultures and continents. What was discussed less — but deserves more attention — ...

by Cecilia Lipovsek — Aug 25, 2026 musings

How does interpreting work?

Interpreters talk. A lot. Basically, we listen to what someone is saying and repeat it in another language, in real time, and on the spot. It may sound simple, but it is actually quite a complex process that takes years of training to master. Think of it as re-gifting. One of my grandmas (not say...

by Cecilia Lipovsek — Aug 25, 2026 conversational dimension

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Cecilia's Blog

My notes on the friction that costs British and Latin American executives and diplomats trust, deals, and influence. Observations and systems for the real work.

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My notes on the friction that costs British and Latin American executives and diplomats trust, deals, and influence. Observations and systems for the real work.

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