It is not an easy task to choose the right interpretation company that fulfills all your linguistic requirements. You need to consider many things to ensure that the selected interpretation company is your right decision. Before going for this difficult task, you first need to differentiate between linguist and interpreter. These two words are often used interchangeably. The translator deals with the written text whereas the interpreter deals with the live communication.
Understand your Requirements
When looking for an interpreter, you should not select the first interpreter company that you come across. You need to understand your requirements. This will help you to find the right company that fulfills all your requirements. Many interpretation companies are working around the globe. Each company has its areas of expertise. Some are good at providing interpretation services for legal purposes while others are good at providing business interpretations. You need such a company that has prior experience in your required field.
How to Select Right Interpretation Company
In this globalized world, every company wants to spread its business outside the boundaries. There is a probability that people in different target markets speak different languages. Thus, to expand your business in the global market you need to choose the right interpretation company. It will portray your brand image and develop a long-lasting relationship with your clients. For choosing the right interpretation company, you should go for a company that has interpreters who possess the following qualities:
The interpreter should be a good listener so that he can comprehend the information with speed. The interpretation task will be easier if the interpreter can understand the client’s requirements effectively.
- The interpreter should be certified. The certification should be from a recognized institution. This will ensure that the interpreter will provide error-free results.
- The interpreter must be proficient in the language pairs because they get very limited time to interpret the message from one language into another. Apart from the language proficiency, the interpreter’s vocabulary and grammar skills should be good.
- Interpreters should be knowledgeable. They should not rely on the information that clients provide, but they should know the global updates.
- Go for the interpreter that is proficient in research. The interpreter's linguistic skills should be good. In addition, he should be good at research. This will help the Interpreter to know about the different cultures of the target market that speak different languages and make them more efficient. Furthermore, it will help the interpreters to become inquisitive about the projects and topics that result in a smooth interpreting process.
- The interpreter should follow the codes of ethics. Furthermore, you need to check how they handle sensitive and confidential data.
- The interpreter should be inquisitive. If you talk to the interpreter, he should have all the knowledge about your project.
- Select an interpreter company with a good reputation. While talking to the interpreter company, do ask about references and do read the testimonials of the customers. If the previous clients have good views about the interpretation services, then it shows hiring such an interpretation company will give you good results.
Subject-Matter Experts
Some interpreters are good at providing consecutive and simultaneous interpretations that are required in big events. Whereas, some interpreters provide services for small events such as business meetings, media interviews, and HR interviews. Some interpreters provide services over the phone while others provide remote video interpreting or work face to face.
Interpretation companies are specialized in different fields. Some companies have a good reputation for providing healthcare and medical interpretation. The others are good at providing legal interpretations. Moreover, some companies provide interpretation services in the military, insurance, marketing, manufacturing, and many other professions. Each interpretation company has a professional background. They have a team of interpreters that are subject-matter-expert of their fields. They understand the difficult terminologies that help them to understand complex topics. Thus, it becomes easy for them to interpret the message and information that the speaker provides.
Public Speaking Skills
Choose such an interpreter that possesses good public speaking skills.
Clients provide interpreters with information regarding topics, biographies, and speeches. Interpreters use this information to learn more about the event and the audience that is attending the conference.
Interpreters should prepare themselves like presenters. They should know the number of the target audience, their ages, and their profession. Moreover, they should be aware of the venue, whether it is a big hall or a small room. In this way, they can use their accessories accordingly.
The interpreters should take voice training because the lower voice makes the listeners comfortable. Moreover, they should understand phasing. In this way, the audience can easily understand what the speaker is saying.
The interpreters should know when to lower their voice and when to keep the voice pitch high. Generally, they need to speak loudly, but they should not shout. A lower voice will help to make the audience attentive. Therefore, the interpreters should be trained to match the speaker.
Memorizing Skills
The interesting thing about interpreters is that they have excellent memorizing skills. Although they are not born with this skill, the professional translation company’s training helps them improve their memory.
Top interpretation companies have years of experience that makes them handle consecutive and simultaneous interpreting effectively. Remember, that machine cannot do real-time interpreting. Only human interpreters can provide accurate and precise interpretation services. You can witness the memorizing skill during simultaneous interpreting. When the speaker starts speaking, the interpreter understands the message in the source language and at the same time understands the same information in the target language. The process looks easy but the interpreter uses all the sensory and motor skills to produce accurate results. This is an ongoing process. The interpreter does their job in real-time without giving any pause.
Following the Rules
Following the rules is very important in the translation industry. You should go for such an interpretation company that abides by federal and state laws. The interpretation company that is providing medical interpretation should abide by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act HIPAA. It ensures that sensitive data of the company is not disclosed. Therefore, before choosing the interpretation company do ask the company whether they have signed a non-disclosure agreement or not.
Wrapping Up:
No doubt, choosing the right interpretation services is a difficult task. But if you are clear about your requirements and if you check the qualities of interpreters in the translation company then you can easily make the right choice!
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