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What to look for in a business interpreter?

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- June 25, 2018
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The quest to expand your business overseas involves a variety of challenges, among them, that of communicating effectively with audiences and business associates who differ from you in culture and language.

Interpreters, translators, and localizers are among your necessary allies to reach the global market.

In this post, we will focus on interpretation services. A professional interpreter can make communication easy, seamless and clear, during interviews, negotiations, conferences, presentations, and meetings.

We’d like to share with you some of what, according to the experience we’ve accumulated over the past eleven years, are some of the traits that make a business interpreter great at what they do.

Bilingual and Agile

Interpretation consists of mediating an interaction by, simultaneously or continuously, translating what one part has said in one language (source language), to the language spoken by the message’s receptor (target language). This process, on the part of the interpreter, requires substantial knowledge of the intricacies of both languages, as well as mental agility. The interpreter might have to, within a very short time frame, translate an idiom for which there isn’t a near equivalent in the target language.

A fluent interpreter might be able to do the job, but some contexts require the intervention of a professional specialized in mediating those sort of situations, in particular.

Specialized

If you’re going to be conducting a conference filled with language that is specific to your discipline or industry, it’ll be best to have it handled by an interpreter who’s knowledgeable about what you do, and has experience translating for people and companies dedicated to similar activities.

Always learning

It’s also vital that the professional in question has a continuously growing base of knowledge regarding your industry or discipline, as to be able to handle recently established terminology, with ease.

On the other hand, as technology evolves, new channels of communication arise, and the demand for interpretation services changes. It’s vital for interpreters to be up-to-date in this regard.

Culturally aware and knowledgeable in etiquette

A good interpreter can act as a cultural aide, providing communication and etiquette-related advice to their client. Awareness of the differences in etiquette and communication styles between the cultures of those interacting makes it possible for an interpreter to mediate the conversation wisely, translating in the correct tone and using language to transmit the respect extended by both parties.

We’ve got your back

This is the criteria through which we evaluate the professionals we’ll select to work in our business interpretation team. We make sure our professionals exhibit these traits, to ensure that the services our clients receive are up to par.

Reach out to us, whenever you need us, to receive instant over-the-phone interpretation services, or request our in-person interpretation services, to have professional available at your desired location, within 24 hours upon request. You can get in touch with use by calling 1-800-969-6853 or sending us an email at Contact us.