8 tips for a greater impact of your speakers when providing simultaneous translation
To a large extent, the success of your speakers determines the success of your event. It goes without saying that you want to have good speakers at your event.
Everything that turns a speaker into a good speaker is doubly true when it comes to simultaneous interpreting.
That is why it is important to inform them that simultaneous interpreting will be provided during their presentation and ask them to take this into account. In this way, the translated version of their presentation will also have the biggest possible impact on your audience.
Give your speakers the following tips:
- Speak slowly and enunciate properly.
In this way, interpreters can follow you properly and produce high-quality interpreting - Speak loudly and clearly; act like there is no microphone.
Interpreters can then focus 100% on providing an accurate interpretation and do not have to make an effort to understand you - Do not make any puns or play on words.
This is often difficult for interpreters, or the point is lost - Speak in your mother tongue if this is one of the languages being interpreted.
You can explain your ideas best in your first language - Do not suddenly switch to another language.
Suddenly switching languages can cause difficulties for the interpreters and can lead to a temporary interruption in the interpreting. - Speak in short sentences and leave a pause between each sentence.
Very long sentences are a challenge for interpreters, and also for your audience - Avoid using dialect or colloquial language.
An interpreter may not be familiar with dialect, which means it is not always possible for it to be interpreted. - Be careful with metaphors and imagery.
This makes your speech more powerful, but you must ask yourself whether it will be understood by a diverse audience.
Remember: your speakers also like an attentive and interested audience.
These tips will help them get there!
This article is about one of the topics covered in our e-book “Simultaneous interpreting at your event – 18 tips for organisers”
Do you want to know more?
Download the full e-book for free here
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!