These tips will help you optimise the output of your interpretation services:
Documents:
Interpreters have a wide range of knowledge but cannot be experts in all subject areas. To familiarise them with the subject matter of your conference, please make sure that you forward the conference documents in all languages as early as possible. Your interpreters can study these documents and create their own glossaries. This will help them get a better idea of the topic to be discussed and to understand your speakers more easily, especially those who have difficult accents or speak very quickly.
Apart from the agenda and the written speeches, please send the interpreters the minutes of previous meetings on the same subject, background information about your company or association, the names of those responsible for the organisation and the speakers. The interpreters should be provided with the same documents as those made available to the participants.
If your event is very technical, it is advisable to organise a briefing session between the interpreters and the speakers. This allows the interpreters to ask questions about terminology and procedure. For organisational reasons, we recommend a Skype conference or similar or a briefing session on the day of the event itself.
Contact person:
To ensure smooth coordination, it is advisable to nominate a person who will be available to the interpreters as a contact person at the conference.
Speakers:
Please give each speaker a copy of the "Tips for Speakers" available from ad hoc.
Conference interpreting is a team effort and it is therefore advisable to introduce the interpreters to your staff and the technician before the meeting.
Technical equipment:
If the interpreting equipment is not provided by ad hoc providers, please ensure that your supplier provides the required number of booths and channels, that the equipment is reliable and that there are sufficient receivers for all participants. Ask the chief technician to check that the equipment is working properly before the meeting starts.
Projection:
If films, slides or transparencies are to be shown and require interpretation, please ensure that the screen is clearly visible from the booths and that the interpreters have received a script or copy of the texts to be projected in advance.
Interpreter room:
For conferences with more than one team of interpreters, if possible, provide an office or area where the interpreters can collect documents, study conference papers when they are not working in the booth and where messages can be left for them.
Beverages for the booth:
Please make sure that there is enough to drink for your interpreters in the booth.
