3 Reasons To Hire Experienced Interpreters For Business Meetings

The language barrier is one that’s hard to break through. Without knowing one language on an intimate level, it can be nearly impossible to communicate every last detail without losing anything in the process. This can be particularly detrimental in areas of your life that really depend on the small details. As a business owner, getting every small detail across accurately during business meetings is crucial. This is true for both smaller online meetings and larger conferences.

Large conferences are usually fully manned with a team of interpreters ready for action. Their job is to make sure that everyone understands what is going on. Sure, you could just run your meeting by speaking a foreign language. However, if you’re not absolutely fluent in it, there is a high chance you will not be able to fully convey your message. It goes without saying that this can make or break business deals.

You might be tempted to skimp on money and pay someone without any experience, simply because “they learned that language at school, so they’ll do, right?”. We’re here to tell you that no, they most certainly won’t. Here’s why it’s a bad idea to skimp on your interpreter for business meetings.

Positive Reputation

Additionally, quality interpreters assist businesses in building positive reputations. So let’s say you do go through with it and hire someone who has never interpreted anything in their life. They’re either fresh out of school or just claim to know the language because they’ve read a lot of books. Clearly, the content of your meeting could have been conveyed better in the foreign language. However, a flawed translation is always better than no translation at all, right?

You actually risk more harm to whatever your cause may be by employing someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing. Language is far more layered than just grammar rules and vocabulary. Interpretation is all about being able to catch those nuances and reinterpret them into the target language seamlessly.

What you stand to gain by spending less money on an interpreter you stand to lose in you reputation, business relationships and, of course, potential business deals. A bad interpretation can easily end up causing offense, forever straining any interactions you might have with your business partners in the future. That’s why hiring an actual, professional interpreter is more than just a matter of spending money. It’s a matter of showing respect. If you want to improve your reputation management, hire an experienced interpreter for your business meetings.

Attention To Detail

What many people misunderstand on a fundamental level is that all you need to do to be an interpreter is to know two languages. The truth is that a statement like that is equivalent to saying that everyone with two hands and ten fingers can play the piano. That notion is, of course, completely absurd.

We’ve already mentioned how there’s a lot more to language and interpreting a language than just knowing all the grammar rules and vocabulary you learn at school. What many seem to forget is the fact that language is, first and foremost, a manifestation of culture. And cultures just so happen to be incredibly diverse, sometimes even incompatible. Knowing two languages on a profound enough level to be an interpreter involves knowing all the subtle cultural cues within the language. In turn, you can transform the original sentence into one in the target language that’s not just understandable, but makes absolute cultural sense for the target.

And then there are the neurological processes that the brains of interpreters have to perform to make such a feat possible. Simultaneous interpretation, that is interpretation that happens at the same time as the original speech is being uttered, requires many years of training and rewiring your brain to actually be achievable. Of course, interpretations for business meetings mostly take the form of consecutive interpretation. This type of interpretation is a form of interpretation where the main speaker and interpreter take turns to speak. Nevertheless, it still requires incredible levels of attention to detail and memory retention in order to be performed effectively. Interpretation is a craft, plain and simple. You should be ready to pay more for quality craftsmanship.

Comfortable Audience

An interpreter during a meeting is essentially a bridge that connects you to other meeting attendees that hail from different cultures. You get to learn so much more without spending many years mastering a completely different language. By hiring a professional who knows exactly what they’re doing, you can be sure that all the terms are being conveyed accurately. You can also guarantee that whatever you say or hear is transmitted through an appropriate filter that keeps everyone comfortable. Recognizing different cultures and making them feel welcome is just as important as coming up with new company culture ideas. Both improve overall business functions. Hire an experienced interpreter to upgrade your business meetings.

Getting a professional interpreter is one way to make you seem more professional. It shows that you care about your business partners and are ready to go the extra mile to not only hear everything they have to say, but also ensure that they learn everything you have to offer. That is something priceless.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Scroll To Top