Get to know the conference interpreters!
When we talk about international conferences, meetings, or even organizational training at the international level, it cannot be denied that communication is of utmost importance in conveying opinions, knowledge, experiences, and promoting participation.
Conferences, training sessions, and seminars that prioritize the use of interpreters often succeed in making everyone understand and achieve the meeting goals, objectives, and stimulating participants to express their opinions and engage more than events without interpreters.
The next question is, which type of the conference interpreters should the organizer choose?
Normally, interpreters are divided into two main types:
Simultaneous Interpreters
Also known as simultaneous interpretation, this type of interpreter, whether called a booth interpreter, live translator, real-time interpreter etc., all fall under the same category.
Performing this type of interpretation requires the interpreter to listen, process, and translate simultaneously with the speaker. Therefore, simultaneous interpreters must have good listening skills, quick processing abilities, and the capability to provide accurate and easily understandable translations. This type of interpretation requires additional equipment, such as interpreter booths, control systems, signal transmitters, and headsets.
Consecutive Interpreters
Interpreter interprets after the speaker has finished speaking. The interpreter must memorize the message or take notes on what the speaker said, and then translate it in intervals. Key skills for this type of interpretation include listening, memorization, note-taking, processing, and translating. Consecutive interpretation allows more time for the interpreter to listen, think, and process, making it suitable for meetings with less dense content, clear agenda, and sufficient time allocation for interpretation.
