How do you work with interpreters and translators for non-English speaking audiences?

First of all, it is very important to share your speech/slides/videos/pdfs or ppts with the interpreter so that they can study the terminology and prepare for the assignment. Secondly, a briefing with your interpreter before the event starts is always a good idea: if your speech is going to be translated simultaneously, you should know that interpreters work in a soundproof booth (or in a soundproof room if they work from remote) and you shouldn't speak too fast. Make sure you pause and articulate your words clearly. If the interpreter is on stage with you and does consecutive interpreting, you should pause after a couple of sentences and leave them the time to translate your ideas into the target language. Cooperation is key in any case.

Depends on occasion. Make sure we use the simplest word to communicate to audiences, avoid long technical and boring words in a sentence. Translation is about “信”（faithfulness）指意义不悖原文，即是译文要准确，不偏离，不遗漏，也不要随意增减意思； “达”（expressiveness）指不拘泥于原文形式，译文通顺明白； “雅”（elegance）则指译文时选用的词语要得体，追求文章本身的古雅，简明优雅。 Different translations for different categories, each category has it's own translation principle. Such as marketing campaign that requires to have cross-cultural communication skill in order to deliver the message to people's heart. The legal translation in another hand, requires the translator to have local legal academic background.

Sharing content with interpreters before an event is super important, yet so many organizers and speakers refuse to share their presentations, claiming that it is “confidential” or that they don’t have a “prepared text”. Then they go an read a 15 minute speech and show slides and the persons listening to the interpreter are left at a disadvantage because the interpreter didn’t get to look at the content beforehand in order to prepare him/herself adequately.

One way I like to help people understand this concept is that - some people are excellent extemporaneous public speakers, some people are excellent writers, and few are both. Excelling in one area doesn't mean you're equally talented/experienced/skilled in the other. The same goes for translation and interpretation. Whenever planning language access for an event, your best consultants are the interpreters or translators themselves. Ask them what is needed, and be respectful of their requests. They know their business needs much more than we non-linguists do.

As an interpreter who works both simultaneous and consecutive interpretation I can say that it depends mostly on the audience and the people you are interpreting for, sometimes it is very easy to get the job done and the message across but some other times if the client is not familiar with interpreting protocols it can be challenging, the best way to work with interpreters is preparing beforehand and letting the interpreter know what the subject will be or provide a summary of what will be discussed in the session, this will help tremendously and ensure quality and accuracy each time.

What makes a good interpreter is someone who does it ethically. - The 2 Language Rule: Everything said in one language must be said in the other. No matter the context or who it was directed to. No one should say or understand less because of the language they speak. - How you interpret the words: your interpretations must be accurate with out omitting, adding, or summarizing. - Everything interpreted must be done tone for tone, meaning for meaning, and register for register. Using fluctuations, pauses, and tones must be translated as they are heard. - Understand colloquialisms, and cultural sayings - Set yourself up to succeed with a pre session dialogue establishing expectations.

I disagree that you got to have a legal degree to translate or interpret legal subjects. Natural curiosity and hard work will get you there. According to the law on criminal procedure, you cannot be a lawyer and interpreter at the same time to the same client. Besides that, a lot of brilliant lawyers are also very poor quality translators. It is an ego problem. Bilingual lawyers in criminal cases are very often poor quality lawyers with some communication skills. They are getting clients, just because they can communicate with them. So, this is the example of abusing a legal degree on the expense of the client. Good native lawyer and good interpreter/translator are a perfect match for optimum results. Attitude and experience also counts.

Spanish is my first language and I learned English at a young age. I am fully fluent in both, but slang is the only thing that throws me off. I am a motivational speaker, so usually people know me at events because I do a speaking part for them and interpretation, so the established rapport with the audience helps me and builds my credibility. However, at one event I had a Colombian man say something with slang and I politely asked him to rephrase his statement. It was not a big deal and from then on, he spoke "generic" Spanish, which also supports native speakers in the audience who are not from Colombia. It's a way to be inclusive and make the speech flow.

It's vital to understand that interpretation doesn't only take place at conferences or UN summits. There's another, extremely widespread type of interpretation governed by its own laws and rules - Public Service Interpretation.

Yea this is very important. You may be trying to be funny and be insulting your audience. In some languages one word may have more than one meaning. The interpreter may or may not know that. Choose simple language.

Some folks think they need to have the exact slide deck ready before they can share notes with the interpreters. As an interpreter any notes in advance are really helpful. I can't digest 40-50 slides the morning of a presentation. Getting a one page outline is very helpful, as well as links to videos previous presentations to get used to your speech and prosody.

Providing the materials beforehand will help the interpreter maintain the flow of the speech/conversation, mainly when the speaker or presenter uses technical terminology specific to the field. It will prevent distracting the audience by stopping to find the right words, especially when using simultaneous interpretation as the communication model.

Technical considerations are as important as the content of the message. I have faced problems with poor sound quality/equipment/booths that weren't sound proof which has affected the quality of my work. And there is nothing worse than failing to ensure that the equipment is of good quality when you have done everything else for the success of your event. If you are going to hire simultaneous interpreters and brief them and provide them the materials in advance, you will also need sound-proof booths.

This is so critical in the legal interpreting setting. Interpreters are typically assigned to court hearings with no background on the names, the subject matter, the legal arguments, the unique language needs/abilities of the individuals, etc. Providing any type of background information in advance will help them provide higher quality services.

This is so important! No text/presentation exists in a vacuum. The more context the translator/interpreter receives, the better. A good idea is to share a glossary (word bank) for terms that the client uses or prefers to use. This helps to maintain consistency and convey the message.

As a translator, you need to practice with the interpreters. Each interpreter has a different length of phrase they can handle interpreting at one time. They also need to coach you on the speed you’re talking so the English-speaking audience members can process what you’re saying.

In the legal setting - consider practicing direct examination of your limited English proficient witnesses or clients with interpreters. Testifying is stressful enough, and speaking through an interpreter in consecutive mode isn't natural. It may not be the same interpreter as for your court hearing, but practice will help your witness, your client, you, and the trier of fact.

From previous experience, in the educational setting, I ask for a recording of the speech or the notes the presenter will go by. If this is not possible, I do suggest to get any previous material on the topic. Thankfully, when teachers offer workshops to their peers, there is always a video somewhere. This allows me to get familiar with the terminology. Listening to the presenter prior to offering translation services has helped with my own delivery.

Always practice beforehand. I am a Spanish Interpreter and Translator. Some of the most important things to keep in mind are, - Interpretation is about conveying the message in a clear, concise way, including the cultural information. Make sure to pause often, so the interpreter can retain all the info given. - Body language is an important part of the language, and the culture. Did you know that the non-verbal part of the message accounts for about 55-60% of the information that is given and received? - Our Energy matters, so make sure it reflects what you want to accomplish. Set the Intention first, and let the desire to be of service guide you. Thanks. Be well. Adriana.

Capacité d’interprétariat simultané et consécutive, excellente compétence en communication et compréhension des nuances culturelles.

As an interpreter and translator, I really appreciate this post and especially this last paragraph. The two most helpful things speakers can do is give me a written copy in advance and speak slower.

I like to control what I can control and have been in situations where am blamed for poor audio, being able to hear the main speaker in the background, or distracting the audience who does not have headphones on. If you are an interpreter or are running an event, make sure this is taken care of so that your interpreter only focuses on showing up and delivering. Have water, snacks, and break time scheduled and this is one of the most draining roles of an event.

Treat everyone that way that you want to be treated. This includes the people you are interpreting or translating for and the person receiving the message.

Always be aware of cultural nuances and differences in communication styles.Encourage the audience to ask questions or seek clarification if something is unclear, which will give our audience a feel or respect and acceptance leading to constructive feedback as well.

This last one point can't be stressed enough. As interpreter I have had to work with “B” language speakers that often are condescending to their “A” language interviewee and on occasion even to me. Lack of knowledge of a particular language, or having an accent, does not make anyone less valuable as a person. However, lack of kindness says a lot about someone.

Based on my personal experience as both a motivational speaker and an interpreter, it's very important to make sure that your interpreters are not only fluent in the relevant languages, but also in the relevant cultures. They must also be trustworthy. Once, I had an interpreter who misinterpreted what I was saying. Perhaps they were nervous. I don't know. However, I spoke both languages and was able to prevent them from continuing to interpret incorrectly. I ended up speaking in both languages on my own! If you don't have the benefit of speaking the other language, you must be able to vet your interpreters so that nothing like this will happen to you.

Consider in advance how to pace and segment your communication. Where will you pause? Where will you break up the sections of your speech? What is your most important point of emphasis and what atmosphere do you wish to create?

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Sometimes what you say with a few words in one language may take several words in another. That is why the speaker should pace themselves and choose simple words.

I would suggest to use presentation slides on screen so that the idea or content that the original speaker conveys and what the interpreter or translator passes on are received and perceived by the target audience at the same frequency, without much distortion. The impact of seeing the visual content on the topic presented adds more value and credence to the interpretation or translation of the original content.