The shift towards remote work has ushered in a new era of flexibility, hailed by many as the ideal approach to fostering a healthy work-life balance.
This transformation has made virtual meetings an integral part of our daily routines, ensuring that, regardless of location, collaboration continues seamlessly.
Moreover, as our world becomes increasingly globalized and culturally diverse, it’s not uncommon for these online gatherings to evolve into multilingual events. Participants from various countries connect and communicate in multiple languages, highlighting the importance of ensuring clarity and understanding.
In such contexts, the need for English as a common language becomes apparent, serving as a bridge across linguistic divides. Whether you’re navigating through an international conference or a one-on-one session with a non-native speaker, mastering English empowers you to engage effectively.
Depending on your role, be it as a speaker or organizer, the process of adapting content for global audiences is crucial. This is where the right expertise in language services becomes invaluable, ensuring that, once you step into the virtual space, language barriers do not hinder the flow of ideas, no matter the diversity of the audience.
The best example would be Zoom. It was the most popular video conferencing software used during lockdown, and it hasn’t stopped growing and developing ever since.
The business turned over $4.3 billion in revenue in 2022, and in 2023, it launched its new virtual coworking space.
However, the multilingual environment of certain virtual meetings continues to pose some challenges for its remote audience.
How can you guarantee that every single participant is following or has understood what’s been said?
Moreover, how can you arrange effective simultaneous, or back-to-back interpretation for an online conference call, or online seminar?
The answer to both questions is the same. Irrespective of the context, hire a professional interpreter.
Even though this will incur additional charges, the service they provide is essential for the event to run smoothly.
You are probably wondering why this is the case? Well, keep reading and we’ll tell you!
At a multilingual event, clear communication is a must
The simple fact that there will be participants who do not speak the same language, is enough motivation to hire an interpreter.
You should look to find a possible solution for both in-person multilingual events, and events that take place virtually.
You should also consider using an interpreting service, even if the participants can express their ideas, opinions, or information in another language, such as English.
Having the option to fall back on an interpreter can be a big bonus for your live audience.
In effect, you give the participants the opportunity to express themselves in their own language, which allows them to communicate and deliver their ideas effectively, and at ease.
Equally, the listeners can take advantage of the service provided, as they can follow the conference, without having to worry about trying to interpret the speaker’s message themselves, which was communicated in a foreign language.
As you can see, hiring an interpreter is the best solution. This way, everyone can focus their full attention purely on the content itself.
Video conferencing platforms are already adapted to accommodate interpreting
As a result of the success of online meetings, and bearing in mind its international presence all over the world, some video conferencing applications have recently launched new functions which allow the integration of real-time translation.
This is carried out by artificial intelligence in the form of subtitles, or text which appears in the meeting’s chat. Its accuracy is still reviewed, particularly in a professional context, where mistakes can prove very costly.
Despite the quality of these programs constantly improving, they still find it hard to recognise contextual nuances, humour, and also cultural references.
Our advice would be not to take any unnecessary risks and, seek the assistance of a human translator for any online event.
Hiring a professional interpreter provides you with a high quality service, and ensures clarity and clear communication amongst all participants.
Despite the fact that a few years back, this was an arduous task, video conferencing platforms have now resolved the issue, making multilingual virtual events much more enjoyable.
For example, industry giant Zoom now offers an option for simultaneous interpretation, which allows the host of the online meeting to appoint an interpreter who has the correct means to carry this out.
This way, the participants have the opportunity to listen to the translated version over the top of the original audio, or they can just simply choose to solely listen to the translated version, should they so wish to do so.
Obviously, Zoom isn’t the only video conferencing software available on the market that offers these functions.
There are other platforms out there too, such as Interprefy, Kudo, and Headvox, which were created specifically to help organise multilingual video conferences.
A professional interpreter will make sure that your event runs smoothly
It might seem tempting to get a colleague, a team member, or someone else you know that is bilingual, to help you out and make sure all the participants understand what is going on, but unfortunately this option is bound to cause you problems, as being a good interpreter is much more than just being bilingual, it requires years of experience.
An interpreter is a professional who is used to dealing with these types of events, and will use all of their skills to ensure that coherent communication takes place between all the participants.
The preparation work, the profound knowledge of technical terms in the source and target languages, the ability to communicate and listen, and a wide understanding of culture, is what separates the men from the boys in this industry.
Another important thing to mention, is that hiring an interpreter for a remote multilingual event will save you money on travel expenses, and you won’t be faced with the difficult task of finding an interpreter who can speak all the languages you need, as well as being located in your area.
BeTranslated: the solution to all your interpretation needs
Are you in search of the right interpreting service to suit your specific needs for a multilingual video conference? Whether you require consecutive, simultaneous, or liaison interpreting, we’ve got you covered.
Our technology ensures seamless communication for a diverse number of participants, bridging the gap when people from different backgrounds come together.
Through our services, working and speaking in various languages has never had a more fluent solution.
Reach out to BeTranslated today for a specific quote, tailored just for you, with no obligation.
