Interpreting Services: How to Choose the Right One
Quotes from Interpreters are provided by top companies that include:
Get a fast free Quote from approved Interpreters
As the world becomes ever smaller and your business is as likely to deal with the Far East as East Anglia, having a good team of interpreters in your address book is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. But how to ensure your interpreting agency is delivering the required quality of service? Well, to start off with, it is advisable to tick off the range of interpreter services that should be offered against what is being offered. Interpreting services can be categorised in four principle areas:
Simultaneous Interpreting
The most expensive service, where the speaker talks naturally and the interpreter translates what is being said in real time, enabling the free and easy communication of ideas just as if you were having a meeting in the same language. The interpreters are seated in a sound-proof booth and are equipped with microphones that transmit their voice through wireless technology to the participant's earpiece. When conferences are interpreted into multiple languages, each language is broadcast on a separate channel so attendees can select the appropriate language. Ideal for board meetings and conferences.
Bear in mind that simultaneous interpreting demands so much concentration that interpreters work in shifts for jobs lasting over an hour, with the resting interpreter following the proceedings so they can pick up the thread when their turn comes round again.
Consecutive Interpreting
A slower, more cost efficient method that includes a pause between the language conversion as the interpreter listens to the entire original phrase or passage before interpreting it. No sound booth is required because this kind of interpreting isn't done in real time. Offshoots of this service include whispering interpreting, where the interpreter whispers the translation into the interlocutor's ear, and phone interpretation, where all the participants including the interpreter dial the same number at a prearranged time.
The advantages of this method are that it allows the parties to take their time, order their thoughts and seek clarification about ideas that are new or unfamiliar. Also, no equipment or planning is required so the session can be held more spontaneously. Perfect for product presentations or business meetings with foreign suppliers and clients.
Escorted Interpretation
A service that is ideal for business or diplomatic travelers, whereby the interpreter travels with the client, and is available during the whole trip. Can be used either for employees of your own company on business trips, or for foreign clients visiting you.
Facilitated Interpretation
A more ad hoc service where one principal language may be used throughout the course of the meeting or business trip, but you want someone bilingual on hand to meet and greet, make your guests feel at ease and clear up misunderstandings as they arise.
As will already be clear, interpreting is a highly skilled job requiring not only linguistic skills, but technical expertise and a sensitivity to cultural nuances. As such, it is vital the interpreter understands what your business is about and the various technical terms that will be used in any meeting with foreign partners or clients so that precise questions can be answered and correct specifications communicated. This is of particular importance with simultaneous interpreting, as there are no second chances to go back and revise the translation.
In fact, it is worthwhile employing an interpreter who already has some experience of your industry, and a good agency should be able to provide one in whichever language you need for whatever period of time you want and wherever you want, including accompanying you on business trips. Such a service is even available with simultaneous interpretation so long as the agency has the technical sophistication to have soundproof booths that can be packed and built on site. And of course the interpreter will be able to record the meeting and bring it back for transcription or summarising. You might also ask the agency to provide references from clients who have used them in the past and whether the agency can offer any guarantees for the work they perform. For example, if something is incorrectly translated in your dealings that leaves you out of pocket, will the agency reimburse you?
No matter how you find your interpreter, however, here's hoping nothing gets lost in translation with your business dealings.
Republish this Free Guide:
All of our Translation Service articles are available for republishing, but full credit must be given to Approved Index in the form of a direct
text link back to the Translators Quote page.
