Conference interpretation

Conferences are organized events where experts, researchers, professionals or interested individuals gather to discuss a particular topic, share experiences, present research, ideas or new developments. Conferences can be academic, professional, business, or thematic, held either face-to-face or online.

Typically, a conference features plenary sessions, panel discussions, presentations by participants, and informal networking.

But what if the participants speak different languages? It is in such situations that the services of a conference interpreter become indispensable, as their role is to help people understand each other.

How does conference interpreting work?

Conference interpreters are real masters who turn a multilingual dialog into a unified communication space. They help each participant to hear and understand the most important things while preserving the meaning and atmosphere of the presentation.

There are several conference interpreting formats:

The interpreter works in a booth at the same time as the speaker, and listeners use headphones to hear the translation instantly. This is ideal for large-scale events, such as important political forums.
The speaker delivers a short segment of his or her speech, and then the interpreter relays the meaning to the audience. This format is called consecutive interpreting and is often used for more intimate meetings.
The interpreter quietly interprets the speech to one or more listeners while sitting next to them. This format is also suitable for more intimate meetings. This type of interpreting is called shushotage.

Each format helps to create a comfortable environment for communication and understanding, regardless of the number of participants or the complexity of the topic. Conference interpreting services can help you find common ground with industry partners, fellow scientists or different teams with whom you collaborate.

Why is conference interpreting indispensable?

Conferences are often the birthplaces of new ideas and projects. But even the most breathtaking speech becomes dull if participants don’t understand each other because of the language barrier.

With a professional interpreter, everything becomes easier:

Participants can focus on the content without being distracted by language differences.
The risk of misunderstandings is reduced and the dialog becomes more productive.
Each presentation is translated into the other language exactly as it was intended, taking into account the subtleties of language play, emotions and semantic nuance.

An interpreter is not only a helper but a creator of a relaxed and natural communication atmosphere.

Conference interpreting services: attention to detail

A conference interpreter is not just an expert in the source and target languages, e.g. Russian and Ukrainian on the one hand and English and German on the other. He/she is a person who is able to adapt quickly, maintain concentration and convey not only words but also full range of shades of meaning.

To work successfully at conferences, an interpreter:

Prepares in advance on the subject matter by studying the materials provided to him by the conference organizers.
Prepares for “surprises,” be it an unusual accent in the speaker’s speech or unexpected questions from the audience.
Works under high pressure, remaining calm and accurate.

The work of a conference interpreter requires knowledge and the ability to feel the audience, as well as the skill to easily adapt to different situations.