The 5 Musts When Choosing Conference Interpreting Services

(Last Updated On: May 8, 2015)

Choose the Right Conference Interpreting Services


We live in a multicultural world, one that has surpassed the cultural and language barriers in order to create business opportunities. The freedom of movement has never been so evident to us, and the global marketplace has become our reality.

People everywhere around the globe are moving places in order to explore those endless possibilities our world has to offer. Unfortunately, in this process of global transition, language is still a barrier. The great news is that you can get access to a large number of conference interpreting services or telephone interpreting services in order to make the process run smoothly and overcome that language barrier.

Most of the agencies that provide conference interpreting services can offer simultaneous or consecutive services. The simultaneous method is widely popular because it allows the conference to carry at full speed. The consecutive method reduces the rate of communication because the speaker needs to have regulated pauses in order for the interpreter to catch up with them.

How can you know if you’re working with the right agency? Well, a good provider will ask you questions about the language, subject matter and details about the audience. An excellent conference interpreting services provider will firstly get their facts right.

How can you find a good Conference Interpreting Services Provider?

There are many companies nowadays that provide conference interpreting services. And, as in all the markets, you can find good ones and bad ones. A bad interpreter can ruin your event, so it is vital to hire a good company. Also, one of the critical conditions is discretion. You should make sure that the interpreter will not repeat anything he heard at the conference to other people.

Here are some tips that will help you choose the right company for your conference:

Research the provider company. What’s their market reputation? What are people saying about them? Are they recruiting the interpreters themselves? If not, you should probably not work with this company. You don’t want the task of recruiting an interpreter to be given to intermediaries.

You can check your service provider's experience in organizing meeting in order to see that they are doing this as a full-time job. If they aren’t, and only provide these services as an add-on job, you shouldn’t be working with them.

They also need to provide you with the communications equipment, so make sure that this equipment is authentic and performant. Ask them to use microphone discussion systems for the conference.

Find out how many interpreters this company ca provide for you per language. You need at least two interpreters per language in order to have everything run smoothly. Also, check their CVs, their experience and their skills. Make sure you get the best ones.

The last but not least thing you should pay attention to is the cost. You don’t want to end up paying an arm and a leg for conference interpreting services so check the breakdown of the costs involved (the SI equipment, the interpreters’ fees, and the company’s charges).

One Response to “The 5 Musts When Choosing Conference Interpreting Services”

  1. Cindy Tesler Says:

    Thanks for pointing out that one of the conditions of a good conference service is discretion. More importantly, you said that the interpreter will not repeat anything that they heard at the conference to other people. I think it’s a good idea to choose an interpreter comes with referrals from trusted friends and family members.

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