When planning an event with participants who speak multiple languages, many event organisers may forget that interpreters CONTRIBUTE GREATLY to the success of the event.
Why is this you may ask?
It is common to see regional and international collaboration through information-sharing meetings, training sessions and workshops on a range of topics, from public health, transnational security, trafficking (humans, goods, weapons) social issues, women's issues, environmental topics, gender-based violence and more.
Leveraging technology, specifically online platforms, makes such collaborations more efficient
Why is this you may ask?
It is common to see regional and international collaboration through information-sharing meetings, training sessions and workshops on a range of topics, from public health, transnational security, trafficking (humans, goods, weapons) social issues, women's issues, environmental topics, gender-based violence and more.
Leveraging technology, specifically online platforms, makes such collaborations more efficient
than ever before. You know what else is very important? The ability of all participants to understand and interact with one another in REAL TIME regardless of the language they speak.
This is where qualified interpreters play a significant role. Here are five (5) tips for successful event planning of meetings with multilingual participants.
1. PREPARATION is key. For this reason, at RMC we impress upon our clients the need to send as much background information WELL IN ADVANCE of the event. This is key for the preparation of interpreters. It not only orients them as to the matters to be presented and discussed, but it allows them to prepare glossaries on the subject matter(s). Background information includes the draft agenda, speakers’ bios, countries of participants (regional variants of languages), presentation slides, number of participants, length of the meeting and so on.
2. We also recommend a DRY RUN or TEST CALL in advance of the event to be sure that interpreters can hear speakers and that online platforms and other technical aspects function well.
3. All presenters should also be briefed and reminded again on event days to SPEAK WITH INTERPRETERS IN MIND. This will allow interpreters to convey as much information as possible to participants, enabling participants to fully participate in the meeting/workshop/conference. Remember that interpreters are conveying the information you present in another language, so you don’t want to rattle off your presentation and risk losing your interpreters and audience along the way.
4. For remote and in-person events, in addition to interpreters having a copy of the presentations before them (which is ideally sent well in advance), if working in a booth in-person, HAVING A CLEAR VIEW OF THE SLIDES on the screen as they are being presented also assists in conveying the information in a timely manner.
5. Finally, INTERPRETERS WORK IN TEAMS of a minimum of two persons (per language pair). This allows them to take breaks and support each other throughout what can be very mentally taxing work of interpreting back-to-back presentations, discussions, Q&As and closing remarks, for hours or days at a time.
Multilingual events can be successful with a better understanding of the work interpreters perform, once all of the parties understand what is required. For your event to be successful, interpreters need to be included in the early planning stages.
Connect with us at [email protected] for interpreting at your multilingual events.
This is where qualified interpreters play a significant role. Here are five (5) tips for successful event planning of meetings with multilingual participants.
1. PREPARATION is key. For this reason, at RMC we impress upon our clients the need to send as much background information WELL IN ADVANCE of the event. This is key for the preparation of interpreters. It not only orients them as to the matters to be presented and discussed, but it allows them to prepare glossaries on the subject matter(s). Background information includes the draft agenda, speakers’ bios, countries of participants (regional variants of languages), presentation slides, number of participants, length of the meeting and so on.
2. We also recommend a DRY RUN or TEST CALL in advance of the event to be sure that interpreters can hear speakers and that online platforms and other technical aspects function well.
3. All presenters should also be briefed and reminded again on event days to SPEAK WITH INTERPRETERS IN MIND. This will allow interpreters to convey as much information as possible to participants, enabling participants to fully participate in the meeting/workshop/conference. Remember that interpreters are conveying the information you present in another language, so you don’t want to rattle off your presentation and risk losing your interpreters and audience along the way.
4. For remote and in-person events, in addition to interpreters having a copy of the presentations before them (which is ideally sent well in advance), if working in a booth in-person, HAVING A CLEAR VIEW OF THE SLIDES on the screen as they are being presented also assists in conveying the information in a timely manner.
5. Finally, INTERPRETERS WORK IN TEAMS of a minimum of two persons (per language pair). This allows them to take breaks and support each other throughout what can be very mentally taxing work of interpreting back-to-back presentations, discussions, Q&As and closing remarks, for hours or days at a time.
Multilingual events can be successful with a better understanding of the work interpreters perform, once all of the parties understand what is required. For your event to be successful, interpreters need to be included in the early planning stages.
Connect with us at [email protected] for interpreting at your multilingual events.
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