The Importance of Professional Translators & Interpreters in Business Meetings

Global companies and businesses with teams across different regions who speak various languages often require professional translation and interpreting services. Just as in-person interpreters facilitate communication, remote interpreters ensure messages are accurately conveyed from one language to another in virtual settings. In today’s hybrid work environment, remote interpreting services aren’t just helpful—they’re essential for effective communication and collaboration.

Fortunately, online meeting platforms like Google and Microsoft Teams have added features that streamline the job of an interpreter. Just as interpreters are present in the conference room, interpreting each sentence, they’re in the virtual meeting room, facilitating communication between two languages.

The Rise of the Virtual Meeting

Although online meetings have been around for a while, it wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic that the business world fully embraced them. And it hasn’t looked back since, mainly because virtual meetings are time and cost-saving.

Consider these statistics:

• Virtual meetings have reduced the overall meeting duration by 30%
• They’ve reduced absenteeism from meetings by a whopping 55%
• 42% of workers prefer virtual meetings over in-person

The increase in adopting hybrid and completely remote work models and companies hiring full-time remote talent has only increased virtual meetings. Remote employees can quickly turn into a meeting online without needing to be on-site. People can meet with foreign partners, clients, and staff and save on travel time and expenses.

But that’s not all, virtual meetings are also good for the planet. According to an article in a notable publication, they can reduce a person’s carbon footprint by 94%.

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Why Are Certified Translators & Interpreters Important in Virtual Meetings?

Depending on your business niche, you may need to partner with organisations in foreign countries. These representatives may not speak your language. Many companies find themselves preferring talent abroad and are forced to hire remote workers as a result. Many of them aren’t fluent in English. However, there can be several reasons why interpreting is necessary in virtual meetings.

Language shouldn’t be a barrier to doing business. Similarly, it shouldn’t stop you from tapping into great talent with the expertise your company needs. Remote interpreting allows you to collaborate with companies and individuals from across the globe. With certified translation and interpreting services, your virtual conference room can be as diverse and inclusive as an in-person meeting.

It also makes your clients and staff feel more confident and welcome. Speaking a second language can be challenging for some, and meaningful ideas and emotions can get lost. With an interpreter logged into the meeting, participants can talk freely in their native language and communicate their message more effectively.

How to Use Interpreters in Virtual Meetings

It’s never been easier to include interpreters in online meetups. Most major video conferencing tools have features that make it easier for interpreters to do their job remotely. Here are step-by-step tutorials on using interpreters on Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams.

Zoom

Zoom only offers settings that include interpreters with a Zoom Pro account. If you have one, here’s how you can designate a participant as an interpreter:

• Before starting the meeting, go to Settings > In Meeting (Advanced) > Enable language interpretation.

• Add the language(s) you need.

• Add the interpreters to the meeting (you can add up to 20 of them using their email addresses). The interpreter role gives them the same features as a panellist.

• Once the meeting has started, go to Settings > Interpretation to allow interpreters in.

With these features, meeting attendees can switch into the interpreting room and listen to interpreters do their work. They can also mute or turn down the volume of the original audio.

You can add multiple interpreters to a meeting; attendees can choose the language they want to hear. They can also turn on captions for the original audio or interpreted one. However, hosts can’t do that for them.

Google Meet

Unlike Zoom, Google Meet doesn’t have a built-in feature to designate users as interpreters. To do that, you’ll need to install the Simultaneous Interpretation extension. It works similarly to Zoom’s interpreter room, where users can join an interpreter room alongside the main meeting room to listen to audio.

Once the host has created the meeting, they can use the extension to create a new channel for the interpreter, which may be accessible to all the attendees. However, the link for the meeting is different, and users will join the meeting using that link. They can control the volume for both channels.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams, another popular online meeting tool, allows interpreters to use it. Here’s how to go about it:

• Open your Microsoft Teams calendar and click ‘Schedule a meeting.’
• Include the interpreters in the ‘Add required attendees’ field.
• Click on ‘More options’ in the meeting invite.
• Select ‘Meeting options.’
• Turn on the ‘Enable language interpretation’ toggle.
• In the Interpreters field, add your interpreters’ email addresses.
• Choose the source and target languages for the meeting.
• Click on the ‘People’ icon during the meeting.
• Hover over the interpreter’s name, right-click or select the three dots next to their name. Make them an interpreter (Choose ‘Make an interpreter’).
• Set their source and target languages: Specify the languages they will be interpreting between.

When users join the meeting, they’ll be prompted to choose their preferred language. If they need to change their language preference during the meeting, they can click the ‘More’ button in the top navigation bar and select ‘Language interpretation.’

Find the Right Interpreter

Make your virtual meetings more inclusive with professional interpreters. Remote interpreting providers like the team here at TS24 can provide these services in various languages.

Final Thoughts

Since meetings are online, interpreters can log in from anywhere. So, even if an interpreter isn’t available locally, you can hire professional interpreting services for your meeting, whether it be a medical appointment, business meeting, conference call or any meeting for that matter. Ensure they are adept at using the video conference tool of your choice and have a stable internet connection to facilitate the meeting.

About TS24 Translation Agency

Translation Services 24 (TS24) is the UK’s leading translation agency in London with professional translators working in over 200 languages. We provide services to clients in all corporate and public industries and specialise in sector-specific linguistic solutions. With over a decade of experience in the industry, 15+ million words converted every year and 100,000+ projects completed, TS24 is a leading provider of expert translations and interpretation services and an officially certified member of the ATC. Contact TS24 here. You can also read all of our recent articles here.

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