Choosing A Professional Interpreter: What Do You Need To Know?

Choosing a professional interpreter may seem like a daunting task. Whether you want to get the right translation for a marketing campaign, business meeting or legal proceeding, it’s important to choose the right translator for your needs.

At Global Language Services, we are passionate about making this experience as simple as possible, finding you the right service to suit your goal. That’s why we’ve put together our top tips on how to choose the best interpreter.

The Subject Matter

If you’re at the start of your professional interpreter search, you’ll firstly need to consider the general subject matter your interpreter will be dealing with.

Nobody wants to choose a highly qualified, accredited linguist for their engineering project, only to discover that they don’t know their cantilever from their suspension bridge.

There can be negative ramifications if you have an interpreter that doesn’t fully grasp the vocabulary and terminology of the matter in both languages, particularly when dealing with legal documents or contracts .

Whether your interpreting needs fall under construction, immigration, or education, if your interpreter is likely to be translating more specialised language, you should always opt for an industry expert.

With Global Language Services, our linguists are fully qualified with varying specific industry expertise. If you’re looking for translation in a particular sector, check out the industries we excel in.

The Setting

Many people imagine interpreters only work on a face to face basis, in small scale situations like meetings or interviews. However, many interpreters now work in a variety of settings.t’s common to find them working at larger events like conferences and conventions, or even providing services via telephone or video.

Though most skilled linguists are fairly adaptable, choosing an interpreter that is familiar with the setting you require will undoubtedly result in the best quality service.

When interpreters are accustomed to a particular setting, they develop additional skills suited to their environment, and this can significantly improve the standard of your interpretation.

Conference Interpreting

When working with large scale events like conferences, conventions or workshops, there’s more to consider than just the skill of the interpreter’s translation.

If you’re an upcoming brand hosting a convention for an exciting new product, you want an interpreter that not only translates accurately, but delivers with the energy and excitement in keeping with your original speaker and overall brand.

In these scenarios, a professional who is skilled at anticipating the direction of the speech is advantageous. Simultaneous translation requires a great deal of concentration and experience, and to match the tone and delivery whilst interpreting is a skill in its own right!

If you’re interested in finding out more on how we tailor our services for both small and large scale events, get in touch with us about our conference interpreting services.

Telephone Interpreting

Honing in on a different set of skills, telephone interpreters are more likely to translate consecutively. Waiting for the speaker to stop or pause, they quickly translate to your required language.

This to-and-fro method allows any nuances to be quickly detected and is ideal for long distance cross-cultural meetings.

Generally more quickly available, and with less notice, if you’re looking for last-minute language support, telephone interpreting may be exactly what you need.

If it’s a late night medical situation, or just something you need interpreted ASAP, our 24/7 telephone interpreting service allows quick and easy access to the support you need.

A low cost alternative, telephone translation is also a great option for companies looking to transition smoothly into global operation, without the hefty travel expenses attached. If you suddenly find yourself with an overseas client, but can’t justify an all expense vacation for one meeting, telephone interpretation may be your ideal solution.

Expanding your business overseas can be overwhelming, so read through our tips on the services you might need when taking your business international.

Face to Face Interpreting

When dealing with more complex or private matters, face to face interpreting is our go to option. With sensitive or potentially complex conversations at hand, our language specialists take a personal approach, dealing with all matters in a professional manner.

Face to face interpreting operates similarly to telephone interpreting. The interpreter begins once the speaker has stopped or paused.

Best for pre-planned appointments, meetings or consultations, face to face translation allows both sides of the conversation to be quickly translated, and any issues to be quickly ironed out.

Security

A final thing to consider when choosing the best interpreter, is the integrity and reputation of the service you’re considering.

Though it’s always important to choose a reliable interpreter, if your project is of a confidential nature, or likely to disclose sensitive matters, you’ll want to choose a credible language service provider.

At Global Language Services, we want you to feel confident in using our services knowing that you don’t have to worry about security. Our staff and linguists sign NDA’s, and any documentation is transmitted securely through encrypted software.

Get in touch!

Whether you’re still considering whether interpreting is right for you, or know exactly what you want, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to find out more. Our host of enthusiastic language providers can help find the service that suits you best, regardless of whether you require ongoing or one-time support.

We work with an extensive selection of languages, and our network of linguists allow us to offer support with even the rarest dialects.

You can browse through Global Language Services’ range of interpreting services and a full list of working languages. If you’re still not sure which is for you, look at our in depth guide to different types of interpreting.