FAQ

Yes, if your objective is to market to a key foreign partner or potential distributor, it is wise to have interpretation at your conference into the language(s) your audience speaks, or sometimes, into the language(s) of your guest speaker(s). While English is widely spoken overseas, English is often not spoken at second and third management levels in foreign countries. This is often where purchasing decisions are made. Statistics show that even when speaking English as a second language more than 50% of the message is lost at conferences.

We can determine the type of interpretation your conference will need depending on the type of conference, duration, location, and time frame. The most common types of conference interpretations are: Simultaneous and Consecutive Interpreting:

In simultaneous interpreting, the interpreter sits in a booth overlooking the meeting room. The speeches given are interpreted simultaneously and relayed to delegates by means of special equipment.

In consecutive interpreting, the interpreter listens to the speaker, takes notes and renders the speech in the target language once the speaker has finished. This type of interpretation usually takes double the time, since the interpreter has to repeat the message after the speaker.

Interpreting can be very tiring, especially if the conference lasts for more than 2 hours. Conference speakers tend to speak very fast because they are working against the clock or just because they know their topic very well. Interpreters become knowledgeable about the topic only a few days prior to the conference and they need to not only understand what is being said, but translate without missing the meaning of the message in the span of few seconds. Therefore, interpreters relieve each other every 30 minutes or less.

Our simultaneous Interpretation system works with sound system in the room; our Interpreters need to listen to the conference speaker through our “Simultaneous Interpretation system” headphones, and in turn, interpreters will translate everything that they can hear in the room. For example, during Questions & Answer time it is very important to have a wireless microphone(s) in the room that can be handed to any participant asking a question, so that the interpreters can hear and translate the question.

Translators work with written materials while interpreters work with the spoken language. Translators take a document written in one language and rewrite it in another language. Interpreters listen to spoken words in one language and repeat the same message in another language.