Interpreting

Nowadays, companies and organisations are looking to expand by targeting international markets. As a result, multilingual communication has become a key strategic tool. Here, interpretation plays an essential role in overcoming language barriers and ensuring smooth and effective communication. Using a professional translation agency is the best guarantee of success in this multilingual environment.

But what type of interpretation should you choose? Consecutive or simultaneous? In this article, we explore the differences between these two types of interpretation and offer you advice on choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Consecutive interpretation

Definition: Consecutive interpretation is when the interpreter waits for the speaker to finish a sentence or segment of the speech before translating it. In this type of interpretation, when people speak there are constant pauses, during which the interpreter conveys the message to the audience.

Characteristics:

1. Frequent pauses: The speaker regularly stops to allow the interpreter to translate.
2. Direct interaction: This method facilitates a more natural interaction between the speaker and the audience, allowing for exchanges and clarifications.
3. Extended duration: The total communication time usually doubles, as each message is first delivered in the source language and then interpreted into the target language.

Advantages:

1. Greater accuracy: The interpreter has enough time to ensure the accuracy of each translated segment.
2. Easier interaction: The pauses allow for questions and immediate clarifications, promoting better understanding.

Disadvantages:

1. More time required: This method can significantly prolong the length of events and meetings.
2. Interrupted flow: Frequent pauses can disrupt the natural flow of the speech.

Simultaneous interpretation

Definition: Simultaneous interpretation is performed in real-time, as the interpreter translates the speech almost instantaneously, with a delay of only a few seconds. Interpreters usually work in soundproof booths and their interpretation is broadcast to the audience through headsets.

Characteristics:

1. Continuous flow: The speaker talks without interruption while the interpreter translates simultaneously.
2. Specialised equipment: Work is conducted from soundproof interpretation booths, using microphones and headsets for the listeners.
3. Complex coordination: Meticulous planning and precise technical coordination are needed to ensure the interpretation runs smoothly.

Advantages:

1. Time efficiency: Maintains the natural pace of the speech and reduces the overall length of the event.
2. Flow: Allows the speaker to express themselves more naturally throughout the speech, and participants to follow in real time, promoting immediate understanding.

Disadvantages:

1. High cost: Simultaneous interpretation services are more expensive due to the need for technical equipment and specialised knowledge.
2. Logistical complexity: Requires more complex logistical planning and coordination.

How to choose the right type of interpretation to request from a translation agency?

The choice between consecutive and simultaneous interpretation will depend on a number of key factors. Here are some you should consider when deciding which method best suits your needs.

1. Type of event:

• Meetings and small groups: Consecutive interpretation is usually more appropriate for small meetings, interviews, and situations involving direct interaction. A translation agency can provide specialised interpreters who facilitate these types of exchanges by resolving complex points.
• Conferences and large events: Simultaneous interpretation is ideal for conferences, seminars, and other large-scale events. Translation agencies have the expertise and equipment required to manage these settings effectively.

2. Duration and time constraints:

• Long events: If time is a critical factor, simultaneous interpretation can help the event proceed as planned. Translation agencies can provide professional interpreters who work in shifts to maintain quality throughout the event.
• Short or flexible events: For events where time is not a significant constraint, consecutive interpretation may be more suitable and cost-effective.

3. Budget:

• Limited budget: Consecutive interpretation is usually more cost-effective, making it a good option when financial resources are limited. Translation agencies can offer solutions tailored to different budgets, without compromising the quality of interpretation in any way.
• Large budget: If financial resources allow, simultaneous interpretation offers significant advantages in terms of fluency and efficiency. A translation agency can provide a detailed cost estimate to help with your event planning.

4. Communication objectives:

• Interaction and clarification: If the main goal is to foster exchanges and precise understanding, consecutive interpretation is often the best choice. Translation companies have professional interpreters capable of addressing all issues that require this type of interaction.
• Rapid transmission: On the other hand, if you want to convey information to a large audience quickly and without interruption, simultaneous interpretation will be the best option. A translation agency will also have experienced interpreters capable of working effectively under pressure, ensuring an accurate, smooth, and uninterrupted delivery of the message.

Conclusion

The choice between consecutive and simultaneous interpretation will depend on the nature of your event, your communication objectives, your budget, and the type of interaction you desire. Working with a professional translation company guarantees you the best advice and the translation and interpretation services that best suit your needs. By carefully evaluating these criteria, you can select the type of interpretation most suitable for smooth and effective communication with your multilingual audiences, ensuring your success on the international stage.

Mental training is a process that helps interpreters develop the skills they need to excel in their profession. There are many ways in which interpreters and translators can train their brains: reading, writing, speaking, listening and memorising. They can also use mental training apps or software to practice when they are not at work.

We will look at how mental training can help interpreters learn new languages faster and retain more of what has been learned. We will also see how you can use certain tools to be more mentally agile, regardless of whether you interpret into English, German or Spanish.

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How mental training empowers interpreters with benefits

The brain is a muscle and, like any other muscle, it needs exercise to get stronger. Brain training is a way of doing just that: by strengthening the brain's cognitive capacities, brain training can improve interpreting and translation skills.

• Immersing yourself in the culture of the country whose language you are interpreting. Language is not just a succession of words; they are all impregnated by a culture that you must be connected to, so that interpreting and translation work can be carried our much more reliably. Regardless of whether the language in question is Italian or Portuguese, it is very important to carry out this exercise. 
• Practice constantly. Of course, every opportunity should be taken to put the language into practice, even in an immersive way to get the best results and keep it alive.
• Have a good understanding of idioms and colloquialisms. They are very important when it comes to providing services and translations. For this purpose, contacting local people or moving to the country of origin of the language for a short while may be a good idea. Such idioms are always an excellent resource and a translation agency appreciates professionals who know how to use them.
• Maintain your physical health by eating well and exercising regularly. It has been proven that a healthy diet, in addition to practising sports, helps our whole brain capacity, making us much more active and eager to do things.

Language is an important part of human life, it is a basic skill. It helps us to communicate with each other and express our thoughts. But language is a complex system that cannot be mastered simply by reading a few books or taking a few classes. We must improve our language skills using the power of our mind. We can do this by understanding the relationship between our mind and languages, using different techniques to activate the brain and improving our vocabulary on a daily basis.

Tips for a successful career as a language professional using your mental skills

• You have to be a good listener.
• Practice your writing skills at all times; this is as important as speaking.
• Keep in touch with the latest trends, i.e. what is happening in the country where the language is spoken. Working at a translation company is a very important objective.
• Be persistent and determined. This is a maxim to apply in all areas of your life and is always a value to be taken into account.
• Mastering a language is a constant succession of trial and error, so putting it into practice whenever possible will give the best possible results. Don't be afraid of embarrassment or failure, because it is thanks to them that you can continue to make progress.

We live in an increasingly globalised world where the constant use of different languages is a reality. A career as an interpreter has a great chance of success, but it can also be further improved with all these simple techniques. Achieving it is always possible if you persist. If you want to work towards the same goal, seeking greater fluency and offering interpreting services that are fully adapted to the specific needs, all you have to do is persevere.

If you want to communicate during multilingual meetings and conferences, you should try Microsoft Teams' new language interpretation function. 

But first of all, here are some basic concepts about interpretation:

Language interpretation services provide interpreters the ability to translate spoken words from one language to another without stopping the speaker's flow. Simultaneous interpretation fosters more inclusive gatherings, enabling participants who speak diverse languages to engage and collaborate comprehensively with one another.

Meeting organisers can now use Teams to enable language interpretation. They can add interpreters before the meeting and appoint interpreters during it. This is known as online simultaneous translation.

We will talk in this blog about how to do remote interpreting in Microsoft Teams in addition to the following:

• Organize a meeting with language interpretation in Microsoft Teams
• Designate interpreters
• Change language channel
• Interpreter experience

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1. Organize a meeting with language interpretation

In Microsoft Teams, language interpretation can be added to any meeting. Once you have arranged a Microsoft Teams meeting, you can incorporate interpretation services into it and welcome interpreters from your organisation to participate.

Let's go through the steps to create a meeting with language interpretation:

1.    Create and save a meeting in Teams.
2.    In Teams, select Calendar and open the meeting you want to add language interpretation to.
3.    Select Meeting Options.
4.    Turn on the Enable language interpretation toggle.

5.    Search for an interpreter or select one from the Interpreters drop-down menu and designate their source and target languages.
6.    Select Add more interpreters if your meeting needs more interpreters.

Notice: Teams language interpretation only supports unidirectional interpretation. If the meeting requires the translation of multiple languages, the organiser should add additional interpreters.

7.    Select Save to apply the interpretation settings.

2. Designate an interpreter during the meeting

1. In your meeting, select Participants.
2. Hover your mouse over the person you want to make an interpreter and select More options...> Make an interpreter.

Notice: This option is only available in meetings scheduled with language interpretation enabled.

3. Change language channel

When attendees join a meeting with language interpretation, they will choose the language they want to listen to. They can also switch between listening to that language pair and the original speaker during the meeting.
Note: Currently, attendees can only select a language channel via the Teams desktop application.

1.     When participating in a meeting that provides interpretation services, a pop-up window will show up giving you the option to select the language you wish to have the discussion interpreted into.

2.    If you miss the dialogue, just select More actions... from the meeting controls and then choose Language Interpretation.

3.    In the drop-down menu, choose the language you want to listen to.

4.    Select Confirm.

4. Interpreter experience

Are you curious what it's like to work as an interpreter or oral translator? Know that interpreters will be able to listen to all speakers and start interpreting as soon as they join a meeting. Everything works in the same way as with other platforms.

The only disadvantage is that, once they join the meeting, they will not be able to switch rooms themselves. It should be up to the meeting administrator to allow them to switch rooms.

5. Conclusion

A new tool always means a new way of working. That's why at AbroadLink we are eager to start working with this new tool for events with remote simultaneous interpreting.

As a translation company offering interpreting services, we are already constantly working with different interpreting (or oral translation) platforms, so if you think Microsoft Teams could be exactly the platform you are looking for for your event, don't hesitate to ask us. We take care of the technical side and provide you with interpreters, so you don't have to worry about anything.

Spain is an attractive country both for those who visit the country for tourism and for those who decide to have a second home here. Moreover, immigration is a relevant factor, Spain is a host country and this leads to many people who do not know the Spanish language, but who have to deal with health services. Imagine being in a country where you don't know the language and having to explain that you have a sharp pain in your abdomen? For medical professionals, it is a huge challenge, as they are faced with the difficulty of being able to give a diagnosis or propose a treatment with the information they have.

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1. Why is medical interpretation so important?

Firstly, because we must not be oblivious to reality. Migratory movements are constant and increasing. Therefore, it is very common for people who do not know a native language to use the health services. Having a solvent translation company makes it possible to eliminate this handicap, as it is the only way to make understanding between health professionals and patients possible. In some cases, it is even a matter of life and death, because a bad intervention can have very serious consequences. Think of a patient who only speaks English and encounters professionals who only speak Spanish.

2. Professionals only

It is also worth remembering that i.e. Spain has direct borders with completely different languages, Portugal, France and also Morocco. This means that any medical emergency may have to be carried out with a patient who speaks Portuguese, Arabic or French. If we are talking about tourist areas, just think of the Germans who love Spain, and frequently visit Malaga or the Canary Islands, the fact that there are health interpreters in German is a plus for everyone.

It is obvious that the complexity of medical jargon requires properly trained professionals, and this can only be solved by a translation agency. The terminology is very dense, specific in many cases, and good patient assessment depends on it. We are talking about the fact that a good diagnosis depends on the accuracy with which the translation is carried out. Even in languages such as Italian, with certain similarities to Spanish due to their Latin origin, it requires an aseptic and professional translation.

3. Taking no risks

Anything less than a professional trained in medical language does not offer sufficiently guarantee accurate care, especially when treating serious illnesses or those requiring very specific treatment. The appropriate interpretation established between healthcare professional and patient is, moreover, an added guarantee.

It is clear that increasing migratory movements and the ease with which people now travel means that the health interpretation sector is growing well. We must continue to work in this direction so that care in a foreign country is never a problem due to linguistic barriers. In fact, many public health care facilities are staffed by interpreters if they are located in areas of foreign linguistic influence, such as those in border regions.

4. Conclusion

There is no doubt that we are facing a reality that must be duly addressed. Not only does it guarantee correct health care, but it also helps to make the diagnosis of any illness much easier and the treatment applied is a success and never a lottery. The healthcare interpreting sector is on the rise and is faced with the challenge of providing the right service for the right care. While this used to be rare, it has now become normal reality.

A good translation company has several multidisciplinary profiles that carry out very different tasks. At AbroadLinkwe don’t only have simultaneous interpreters, but also consecutive interpreters. The consecutive type tend to be less well known, so today we will take a closer look at them and find out exactly what their professional work consists of.

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1. Translating the speech for the whole audience to understand it

Put yourself in the situation: a medical eminence goes to a foreign country to give a lecture. However, he speaks a language that the attending audience does not speak. In this situation, the role of the consecutive interpreter becomes very necessary.

Basically, their job consists in listening to the speaker's speech. During the speech the consecutive interpreter takes notes, which are then being used to translate the most important things that have been said. This way, one hundred percent of the audience is able to internalise the relevant concepts covered by the speaker.

2. The first step is to listen and analyse

The first thing the consecutive interpreter does is to listen very carefully to what the speaker says. In order for the subsequent translation task to be carried out with better results, the interpreter has to analyse the contents simultaneously. This first step can be summarised as active listening.

3. Structured notes are essential to do a good job

As the consecutive interpreter listens to and analyses the speech, he or she also organises it in the form of notes. In the past, the typical notepad or notebook and pen were very common for this purpose. However, technological advancements and environmental awareness have led to a proliferation in the use of electronic devices like tablets.

Regardless of whether physical or digital format is used, the notes are always need to be taken very quickly. To structure the speech is the key, as it will allow an orderly recall of everything that has been mentioned throughout the discourse. In this way, the consecutive interpreter will be able to translate it without forgetting any important concepts.

It is worth noting that some very experienced and talented consecutive interpreters are able to do their work without the need to take notes. However, in most cases note taking is used to obtain more accurate results.

In any case, when a translator in a translation agency starts to gain experience in the field of consecutive interpreting, he or she starts his or her activity without taking notes. This helps to stimulate their capacity for memorisation to the maximum, introducing later on the annotations, for which they also need great organizational skills.

4. Fluency in both languages is essential to reproduce speech correctly

Finally, the last step that takes place in a consecutive interpretation is to reproduce the discourse. Some speakers are already used to dealing with professional interpreters and make their work easier by e. g. making breaks from time to time. No matter how many notes someone takes, it is not easy to translate and reproduce an one-hour speech.

In any case, it’s indispensable for a consecutive interpreter to have a good command of both languages. At AbroadLink our translators and interpreters are natives of their work languages, for which you can trust in our services. Thanks to their extensive knowledge, experience and the use of idiomatic language, they are always able to deliver high-quality results.

The useful notes taken (as described in the previous step) are ideal for reproducing the speech. Language skills enable them to perform their task fluently, without unnecessary pauses, while respecting the original content one hundred percent. All important content is rephrased in another language with accuracy and precision.

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1. Introduction

If you are planning events for which you need interpreting services (oral translation) and you do not yet know what an Infoportis, it is time to discover all the interpretation possibilities. Don't get left behind, at AbroadLink we explain you everything you need to know.

If interpreting events are a common kind of event in your company, you have probably already worked with interpreting booths, consoles or, these days, even with remote interpreting. Well, the Infoport system is also a very useful interpretation tool, even for outdoor events.

Can you imagine where this is going? No? Let's look into it.

2. Infoport system
 

When we talk about Infoport systems, we are talking about a wireless audio system that works with radio frequency, like the one used in guided tours.  In fact, this system was originally designed precisely for tour guides and museum audio guides.

It basically consists of a microphone and several receivers or headphones. That way, the guide can speak into the microphone and visitors can listen to what he or she is saying through the receivers or headphones. It is therefore a lightweight and very easy to use system.

But what does the Infoport system have to do with interpreting (oral translation)? This solution is also suitable for interpreting events for small groups, both indoors and outdoors (factory and production site visits, trade fairs, business meetings, etc.).

The idea is to have an activated channel so that participants can listen to the interpretation. Once the channel is enabled, there is nothing else to do. The interpreter will be listening to the original speaker and will translate everything the speaker says into another language at the same time.

In short, we are talking about the ideal solution for your outdoor events.

3. Inforport system: advantages

Now that you know what an Infoport system is, let's take a look at the advantages this solution offers:

• Efficient and cost-effective solution
• Lightweight and easy to transport system
• High sound quality
• Possibility to synchronize with other system cases

This is an effective and cost-effective solution, as you don’t need to purchase interpreting booth and everything that goes with it. In addition, this portable system is light and easy to transport as all the equipment fits into a small case.

The sound quality of Infoport systems even makes outdoor interpretations possible, as it suppresses most background noise.

Although the Infoport system is intended for a maximum of 20 participants, as the case includes only one microphone and 20 receivers, it is possible to synchronise several cases to increase the number of participants, which turns this drawback into an advantage.

4. Infoport system: disadvantages

• Possible interference problems
• Possibility to work with only one language per system
• Scope limitation
• Limited battery life

Since it is a wireless system, there may be some interference problemsat some point, but the same happens with any other technical equipment.

Also, the Infoport system is only synchronised with one microphone, so you will not be able to interpret into more than one language.

Other drawbacks to using this system are the scope limitations (about 100 m outdoors and about 50 m indoors) and the battery life which, unfortunately, is not infinite.

5. Conclusion

After having compiled all this information, we can conclude that the Infoport system is an ideal solution for events that require a certain degree of mobility (visits to factories, production sites, etc.). However, for larger events it is still better to use the traditional interpreting booth.

Regardless of the nature of your event, at AbroadLink we always recommend carrying out a preliminary study to analyse the possibilities of carrying out an event with this type of system. So don't hesitate to contact us in order to discuss which interpretation system is best suited for your event. We are waiting for you!

If you have come to this blog, it’s because you have made the right decision and want to get a quote for interpreting services. It’s a pleasure to make your multilingual events a success, by using our conference interpreting or our remote interpreting services.

As you probably know, every event is different. That’s why at our translation agency we would like to give you an overview of important things to prepare before requesting your quote.

What you need to know:

• Interpretation type
• Language combinations from and into which you’ll need to interpret
• Event date(s) and duration (including breaks)
• Topic
• Number of participants

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1. Interpretation type

Once you have planned and organised your event, it is time to start thinking about the suitable interpretation service (oral translation). You should know what kind of interpreting service you’d like to use for your event.

These are the ones you can choose from:

• Consecutive interpreting service
• Simultaneous interpreting service
• Whisper interpreting service
• Bilateral interpreting service (liaison)

The first thing you need to know, is that depending on your planned event, you will be able to use one interpreting service or another. However, there are also different types of interpreting services that you can combine depending on the event.

Consecutive interpreting is an oral translation where the interpreter (oral translator) listens and takes notes of what the speaker is saying in one language (up to a maximum of 5 minutes) and then reproduces it in another language. This type of interpreting is mainly used for presentations with only a few participants or for business meetings.

With the speaker speaking first and the interpreter speaking afterwards, we recommend using consecutive interpreting services only for short meetings or events. Otherwise the event may take forever.

Simultaneous interpreting is the ideal alternative to consecutive interpreting, as in simultaneous interpreting the interpreter speaks at the same time as the speaker. This means that the your planned time schedule will not be altered.

Both consecutive and simultaneous interpreting can be carried out both in person and remotely. All you need to bear in mind is that in order to hold a face-to-face event with simultaneous interpreting, you will need interpreting booths and a technical team which will be in charge of the installation and set-up. For remote events, you will need to have a video conferencing platform which allows you to integrate interpretation channels, such as Zoom.

Liaison or bilateral interpreting is nothing more than consecutive interpreting which, instead of being unidirectional, i.e. interpreting from language x into language y, is bilateral. In this case the interpreter will not only orally translate into one language, but into two. This interpreting service is mainly used in small business meetings of 2 to 4 persons or, for example, in front of a notary.

Finally, the only thing left is whisper interpreting , which, as its name suggests, consists of one of your assistants standing behind the interpreter, who whispers into his/her ear everything the speaker says. This interpretation type is widely used for business dinners or lunches, but is not suitable for remote events.

Once you have decided which type of interpreting is most suitable for your event, it's time to look at the languages you need.

2. Languages into which you need interpretation

This might seem extremely obvious, but due to the complexity of interpretation it’s not the case. Let us know into which languages you need your event to be interpreted, but also think about the fact, if participants will ask questions that need to be interpreted for the speaker. In this case you will need not only need direct interpreting services, but also reverse interpretation.

Although it’s true that the vast majority of interpreters interpret both from and into their second language, the interpreter needs to be notified. Why? Because in the case of e.g. remote meetings, he or she can react quickly and change channels without being caught by surprise.

And please don't forget to let us know to tell us which language the speaker(s) will be using!

3. Event date/s and duration

One of the most important things we need to know in order to prepare your quote is the date your event will take place and how long it is expected to last. Don't worry if you are not yet 100% sure about the exact week, but you should be clear on how many hours your event will last. In doing so, also take into account the possible breaks you might to include.

There are three interpreting services:

• Interpreting per hour or mini-conference (1 to 2 hours)
• Part-time (up to 4 hours)
• Full time (up to 7 hours)

As you can probably imagine, each of these services have different costs and will require one or more interpreters depending on the interpretation type you have chosen in the previous section. Breaks count too!

4. Event topic

As in translation, some conference or meeting topics are more complex than others and require a high level of specialisation on the part of the interpreter(s). One example would be interpreting services for medical or technical conferences.

The price for interpreting services may be higher if it’s a highly specialised conference, so don't forget to let us know the topic of your event.

5. Number of participants

The number of participants is also a key factor in setting a budget depending on the type of conference interpretation you have chosen. Especially now, when many companies are conducting their events and meetings through online platforms, as remote conferences usually allow only a limited number of participants, you will need to choose an account plan that suits your needs.

The bigger the plan, the more participants will be able to attend your event. If you don't have a platform account which integrates interpreting channels, we at AbroadLink can take care of eveything. We only need to know how many of you are going to attend in order to manage both the event and the event invitations.

Conclusion

Once you have all necessary information, please contact us to discuss your event and we will send you a customised quote tailored to your interpreting needs. We at AbroadLink take care of the rest.

If you want to take a closer look at how we manage our interpreting projects, have a look at our blogs “2 tricks for your multilingual Zoom events” and “Help! Zoom interpretation channels do not work!” Who knows, you might discover something you didn't know about conference interpreting.

With so much technology available, we might be a little lost when it comes to creating multilingual online events. It is obvious that after fining the right programme for you, there will always be a problem with functions which are not enabled by default or that you do not know.

In this blog I want to give you two very useful tips for creating multilingual Zoom events. I chose Zoom because it ends up being the online conference programme I work with the most. And who knows, maybe you will learn to use a new function you didn't know, or discover the programme if you have never dealt with it before.

If you are one of those who have not yet ventured to use Zoom, I leave you here the link to one of our blogs "Interpreting with Zoom", where you can find a detailed description of the programme and all its basic and more advanced functions.

You should know that Zoom is a very complete programme which allows to create all kinds of meetings and webinars, like work meetings, conferences, family reunions, etc. Zoom also allows you to create multilingual events.

By integrating simultaneous interpreting channels in meetings through which participants can follow the event in their native language. In this blog we are going to see which Zoom tricks you can use for your multilingual events.

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1. Remove irritating background noises

I'm sure everybody is familiar with this: you put on your headphones and suddenly heard an unexpected, horrendous sound that prompted you to take them off immediately. Well, in the world of video conferencing, this phenomenon occurs on a daily basis. Either because one participant’s little bird won't stop chirping or because of the construction work going on across the street from the speaker and you can literary hear the drills.

Such unexpected situations can always occur, even on the day you have to attend a virtual conference to give a lecture. How to deal with those situations? Not at all, because Zoom does it for you.

As I have already mentioned, Zoom offers the possibility of suppressing the background noises so that the participants of your event can hear nothing but your voice.

To enable the background noise suppression feature, follow the steps below:

1. Go to the task bar and click on the Zoom icon (if you don't see it, start the programme via the desktop app or via the programme list).

2. Then click on "Settings..." and you will get to the screen you can see below. Then go to the "Audio" section. If you look closely, in this section you will see the option "Suppress background noise", this is where you will have to choose how much noise you want Zoom to suppress.

Note that this option will only be available for the desktop versions of both Windows and macOS, and will therefore not work on the mobile app.

2. Record the simultaneous interpretation channels

If you have followed the instructions correctly on how to schedule a multilingual event in Zoom, you are all set to start your event. Or do you need to record the interpretation and don't know how to do it?

Don't worry, that's why I'm here to explain how to record one or more interpreting channels (of course with prior consent of the interpreter).

The first thing to know is that if you are going to use several interpreting channels (and several teams of interpreters), it will not be possible to record them allat the same time. At least one person won’t be able to, as interpreting channels cannot be recorded in the cloud, but must be recorded locally.

Local recordings can record everything that the person recording is listening to. Therefore, if you want to record an interpreting channel locally, you will have to turn off the sound of the original audio that usually appears in the background and use as many "recorders" as there are language combinations in your event.

However, in order for one of the organisers or participants to record an interpreting channel, they will need your permission to do so. To do so, you must go to "Account management" and then to "Account settings".

At the top you will see four options: meeting, recording, audio conferencing and zoom apps. Go to "Recording" and check whether "Local recording" option is enabled.

Once the function is enabled, you must go to the same menu as before, but this time click on "User administration" and then on "Group administration".

Create a group and click on it to get to the "Settings" tab and enable that option as well. Everything’s ready!

Now you just need to know how to start a local recording:

1. Start your Zoom meeting.
2. On the bottom bar click on the "Record" button (if you do not see a small icon indicating that the meeting is being recorded, it is not being recorded)
3. If you open the participants menu, you can grant permission to the people you want to record (right click and "allow recording" if you have not created a group) and also see who is currently recording the event.

At the end of the event, the recording will be automatically converted and saved in a folder, which will then be opened automatically. And voilà!

3. Conclusion

Good magicians never reveal their tricks, or at least not all at once. It's always good to have an ace up your sleeve, so I hope you find these two tricksuseful. And believe me they can make your life much easier when organising multilingual online events. I say this based on my experience at translation and interpreting company AbroadLink Translations (specialised in interpreting and simultaneous translation services).

The fact that speakers, interpreters, as well as participants and attendees can follow a conference, without interference or background noise is truly marvellous! In addition, you can record the different channels and set an example to your competitors.

What are you waiting for? Don’t you want to try out the new tricks you've learned?

If you are reading this blog you are probably under great stress. I say that because I know first-hand how frustrating it is to organise an event and that something goes wrong.

The first thing I'll tell you is not to get upset, being stressed out doesn't fix things. So take a deep breath and pay attention to what I am going to explain in this blog.

When creating and setting up multilingual online events there is always something that can go wrong. So today I will explain why sometimes interpreters cannot connect to their corresponding interpretation channels even though you have set everything up according to the instructions.

The big secret is that there are two ways to connect to a channel. This applies not only to the interpretation channels, but to all channels of the event.

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1. Channels of an event in Zoom

To understand how Zoom works, it is necessary to understand its structure. On Zoom there are all kinds of channels, both public and private.

In general, and provided you have not created any additional custom channels, the channels of a multilingual event will consist of at least three channels:

• General channel
• Language channel 1
• Language channel 2

As you can imagine, each channel is aimed at a different type of users. In this case, all attendees may speak at the meeting via the general channel. If you want your event to be interpreted into a single language, you will only have two interpretation channels (language channel 1 and language channel 2). In this way the interpreter(s) will be able to interpret into both language 1 and language 2.

It is important to note that only the interpreters you have assigned during the event setup will be able to enter the interpretation channels. Other participants may listen to the interpretation channel, but may not join or intervene in it.

2. Zoom accounts and users

Following the thread of channels, there are also different account roles in Zoom. These are:

• Owner
• Administrator
•  Member

Zoom also allows you to attend events without having an account linked to the platform. This means that someone who has not registered with Zoom will be able to access an event to which they have been invited without any inconvenience.
To start with, it doesn't seem to be relevant whether an attendee has a Zoom account or not, but let me tell you that the root of your problem is exactly that: the Zoom account.

3. Interpretation problems at a Zoom meeting

In my day-to-day work I have encountered two types of situations that, frankly, cannot be solved in 15 minutes if you don't know what is wrong.

The first of these occurs if you have created a meeting via your Zoom account, assigned interpreters to their respective channels and they are unable to connect to the meeting via the link provided to them.

In this case, the interpreters click on the link that Zoom has sent to their email. When they do so, a small screen appears indicating that the meeting will start shortly. But unfortunately this is not the case, as the meeting has already started and there is no way for them to access their channel.

If you think someone should be able to give them permission to enter, you are wrong. The problem in this case is due to the interpreter.

Many interpreters, working both with their own clients and with interpreting companies, have a Zoom account. This account can be either paid or free, it doesn't matter. But the point is that they have a Zoom account and if they work from home, from their computer or laptop, they are probably connected to that account.

The fact that they have logged in with an account interferes with the invitation to join the interpretation channel. Zoom needs to identify the interpreter via their account, so they need to log in with the email provided and connect via the link to the meeting.

4. Interpretation problems at a Zoom webinar

When creating multilingual webinars instead of meetings, the following problem can easily arise: the interpreter can connect to your event, but appears as an attendee or panellist.

If you have created a multilingual webinar by following all the steps of naming the event, setting the time, etc., at the end, just before the "save" option appears, you will have had to enable language interpretation. In addition, apart from enabling this option, you will probably have entered the names and e-mail addresses of the interpreters and their language combination before saving.

You have probably already noticed that, when you start the event, no matter how many interpreters connect, the Zoom panel (by clicking on "Interpretation") will show you: ******* (did not enter). If you now go to the "Participants" tab and within this section to the "Spectators" tab, you will see your interpreters assigned as assistants. What to do now?

Pay attention because we will now explain how to solve the problem and assign your interpreters to their interpretation channel.

You need the interpreter to log in to Zoom before connecting to the event or, if not registered, to register. In this way..

If your interpreter is registered with Zoom and enters the seminar after logging in, this message will appear: "He is joining (name of meeting) as a panellist (...)" Don't panic. If you now click on the "interpretation" tab, you will see that your interpreter is already logged in, but as a panellist. As soon as you click on "Start" (interpretation), you will be automatically assigned the role of interpreter and placed in the corresponding interpretation channel.

So remember, whether you have a problem connecting your interpreters to a meeting or to a webinar, the answer is always to register or to log in (and with the email you have registered the interpreter in the Zoom settings)

5. Conclusion

At AbroadLink Translations we like to provide our clients with the tools to make remote multilingual events through Zoom go as smoothly as possible.

After all, it is precisely these kinds of events that help you business to grow. How else would you sell your products to a Chinese or German company, for example?

Multilingual communication in the 21st century is more important than ever. For this reason, you should take advantage of all the tools available to you and make the most of them.

If you have not yet organised your event and after reading this blog you do not feel like doing it, don't hesitate to contact the translation company Abroadlink. We manage your entire event so that you can have peace of mind.

As I've mentioned in many of my blogs, Zoom is one of the most advanced video conferencing applications on the market today. Does this mean the application is perfect? No, it simply means that if you're looking for good value for money, Zoom is definitely the option you should choose.

If you're wondering why, I'll explain briefly.

Zoom not only offers the possibility of holding online meetings and webinars but also creating multilingual events.

Let's now talk about the language options Zoom offers, whether it's the possible languages for its interface, translation, simultaneous interpreting, etc.

[TOC]

1. Languages available for the Zoom interface

Let's start with the basics: the languages available for the Zoom interface. What do I mean? The languages we can choose on Zoom and the languages we can apply to the programme once installed. Let's first look at the website.

Changing the language of the website is very, very easy.

All you need to do is go to the bottom of the website and expand the menu that appears just below “Language.”

To change the language of the application, you have two options:

1. The first option is to double-click on the Zoom icon that appears on your desktop. As soon as the Zoom icon appears in the bottom bar of your screen, right-click on it. As you can see in the image below, a small menu will appear where you can find the option to change the language.

2. If the first option seems too complicated, you can also change the language directly on the website. You just need to click on your company icon located in the top right corner and you'll access the settings menu.

2. Languages available for subtitles on Zoom

As incredible as it may seem, technology today allows us to do things that were unthinkable just a few years ago. This is also the case with automatic subtitling.

As its name suggests, it is the live transcription of the speaker’s words. Imagine you're speaking and your computer writes everything you say almost at the same time you say it. Incredible, isn't it? Well, on Zoom we can do exactly this.

If you want to try this amazing tool, just follow these steps:

1. Go to the Zoom website, log in with your account and go to the “Account Settings” section. Within this section, go to “In Meeting (Advanced)”.

2. Go to the section that says “Full transcript” and activate the option. This will enable you to “Allow viewing of full transcript in the in-meeting side panel.” All you need to do is click the button and that’s it.

If you wish, you can also allow participants to save the captions or transcripts of your event.

Remember that your settings will be saved for future meetings. If you want to include subtitles only in one meeting or webinar, remember to deactivate the option once the event is over.

Likewise, you should know that you can create subtitles automatically through AI, or you can assign a person to transcribe them as the speaker is talking.

However, the automatic subtitling provided by Zoom only detects English. If we are speaking in another language and not very clearly, the transcription will detect it but will insert English words into the subtitles, which is not ideal at all.

3. Languages available for simultaneous interpreting on Zoom

Among the other language settings we can find on Zoom (apart from automatic transcription and the website/programme interface), we can also choose several languages for simultaneous interpreting (simultaneous oral translation) via Zoom.

If you're not sure what I mean by simultaneous interpreting, I'll explain briefly: simultaneous language interpreting is the real-time oral translation of a speaker's words into another language. This type of work is carried out by professional interpreters and is considered one of the most difficult activities the human brain can perform.

That said, you should know that Zoom offers the option to create simultaneous interpreting channels in its meetings so you can turn your monolingual events into multilingual ones and reach a larger audience. However, be aware that Zoom does not offer unlimited channels!

Zoom comes with a pre-set language configuration. In other words, among the languages you can choose in your event settings, there are 9 that appear by default: English, Chinese, Japanese, German, French, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish and Korean. If your event requires simultaneous interpreting into Arabic, you can add the language a bit further down in the same event settings, but you can only do this with 5 more languages. This means that if your event requires interpreters for the 9 predefined languages + 7 more languages, it will not be possible to create interpreting channels for the last two.

In these cases, I always recommend first calling Zoom and asking if they can create a customised event or turning to a translation and interpreting company like AbroadLink.

4. Updates and conclusions

Zoom and many other programmes dedicated to remote communication are constantly updating to meet market demands and requirements. From my experience with Zoom, I must admit that there is still much to be done regarding simultaneous interpreting,.

Firstly, I think it's appropriate to expand the catalogue of channels that can be interpreted simultaneously in a Zoom meeting.

On the other hand, it would be ideal to enable interpreting channels not only in the main Zoom rooms but also in breakout rooms.

Moreover, it would be excellent to be able to choose the language we want the programme to detect when we enable the subtitling or automatic transcription option. This way, English words will not slip into our speech, and attendees will be more attentive to what we are explaining.

There is still a lot to be done, and with the rapid pace of digitalisation, demands are also becoming increasingly sophisticated. As a result, it’s likely that we will never achieve a perfect update that meets each user’s expectations.