How to run accurate multilingual conferences in the financial sector

Global cooperation plays a crucial role in stimulating economic development. Within the finance and insurance sectors, multilingual meetings and events play a vital role. These events serve as a crucial platform for negotiations, boosting productivity, and nurturing partnerships among industry stakeholders.

As global events unfold, language accuracy is vital for accommodating a diverse range of stakeholders, including co-workers, customers, investors, and institutions. At the same time, failure to understand technical and financial terms creates a meeting experience that is as frustrating for the speaker as it is for the participants. Even worse, translation issues can lead to miscommunication, potentially stalling agreements or even breaking them. Within such a delicate industry, this can have severe implications. Especially as multilingual communication is essential for ensuring team collaboration as well as facilitating effective communication between investors and customers across different countries.

In this article, we briefly unpack the challenges and benefits of hosting multilingual events before exploring steps that finance and insurance companies can take to source the right language interpretation solution. One that leads to successful, stress-free, and accurate multilingual events. 

What are the challenges and benefits of organising accurate multilingual events?

Organising multilingual events may seem overwhelming, but the payoff is well worth it. The advantages of hosting accurate and inclusive events far surpass the initial effort, and partnering with the right team can make the process much smoother. With this in mind, let's delve into the obstacles and benefits to keep in mind when planning these types of events.

Challenges of organising multilingual events

• Language complexity — the finance and insurance industries use complex, specialised terminology. Having a background on the topics at hand or expert knowledge and preparation is required for accurate interpretation and translation.
• Interpreter availability — finding professional interpreters with subject matter expertise and proficiency in the required languages can be challenging, especially for certain topics and language combinations.
• Technical considerations — setting up interpretation equipment, such as booths, headsets, and audio systems, requires careful planning and coordination to ensure smooth operation. To avoid technical issues, interpreters also need to be adequately onboarded on using your specific setup.

Benefits of running multilingual events

• Improved meeting communication — accurate multilingual meetings facilitate clear and effective communication among participants, eliminating misunderstandings and nurturing collaboration.
• Enhanced engagement — by providing language access, multilingual events engage a broader audience, increasing participation and knowledge sharing.
• Cultural awareness — Promoting cultural awareness and embracing the diversity of languages and cultures showcases deep respect and inclusivity, fostering stronger connections with stakeholders from various regions.
• Competitive advantage — successfully organising accurate multilingual events helps you gain a competitive edge over similar events that lack multilingual support. Additionally, these events are an opportunity to engage global stakeholders, expand your network, and keep pace with international developments.

Related article: 6 reasons (with data) why your business needs live translation

8 tips to guarantee seamless multilingual meetings and events for finance and insurance industries

1. Use a Language Service Provider (LSP) with qualified interpreters

To ensure accurate and high-quality interpretation for your events, your Language Service Provider (LSP) should have access to a pool of qualified and trained interpreters. These professionals should not only possess in-depth knowledge of the industry but also be skilled at handling complex financial and insurance-specific terminology. By carefully screening interpreters and selecting candidates with expertise in relevant fields, your LSP will play a crucial role in delivering accurate and top-notch interpretation services for your meetings and events.

2. Improve understanding by adding technology like automated captions

Including captions can greatly improve comprehension during multilingual events. Captions offer an additional level of assistance by displaying spoken words in written form in real time, enabling participants to follow along more effectively. Moreover, captions enhance accessibility for attendees who may have hearing impairments.

3. Partner with a strong provider who provides end-to-end support

Managing language interpretation for meetings and events is a complex and challenging task that involves securing experienced interpreters and implementing the necessary technology. To ensure a successful multilingual event, it is crucial to partner with a provider that offers a comprehensive solution, including interpreter sourcing, technology provision, project management, and on-the-day support. Moreover, it is essential to choose a partner with expertise in catering to the unique needs of finance and insurance companies.

4. Choose a company with top-quality interpretation and captioning technology

When selecting a language solution, your partner should use the best captioning and interpretation technology available. If interpretation is provided remotely, for instance, then the platform used must guarantee smooth language transmission with captioning technology that prioritises accuracy. Modern Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) offered by leading language solutions providers, for instance, can produce captions that achieve a consistent accuracy of up to 98% for several languages.

Every meeting and event is unique and presents its own set of requirements. While some events may necessitate language interpretation, others may only need captioning services. In some cases, it may be beneficial to combine various language solutions. Your language service provider must offer adaptability along with top-notch technology, ensuring that they can cater to the specific needs of your event. Remember, when it comes to organising successful multilingual events, adaptability is just as crucial as technology.

5. If an AI solution is used, ensure the AI uses a glossary

AI-powered solutions can provide a promising alternative to traditional interpretation methods in certain scenarios. To maximise the accuracy of AI interpretation and translation, enhancing your AI solution's capability to recognise the most important terms is crucial. An ideal AI solution provider would thoroughly assess all available AI engines to offer the best one for your specific language combination and further enhance it with a glossary function. This glossary would comprise a customisable compilation of names, terms, expressions, and acronyms specific to the finance and insurance industries. By relying on the glossary, AI ensures consistent and precise translations throughout your multilingual event.

6. Brief interpreters and set them up for success

To ensure interpreters are well-prepared for multilingual events, it is essential to brief them adequately and provide relevant information and materials in advance. As this adds to your time and administrative burden, ideally your interpretation partner will ensure interpreters are fully briefed.

7. Provide speakers with guidelines for effective multilingual presentations

We’re not all natural-born orators. Giving speakers guidelines on preparing for presentations will help improve the live translation accuracy. Best practices include:

• Tailoring content to the target language. This ensures the content flows naturally and avoids awkward phrasing or incorrect translations.
• Simplifying language and sentence structure and avoiding complex vocabulary and lengthy sentences. This will make it easier for interpreters and audience members to understand key points.
• Organising visual aids to enhance understanding, regardless of language barriers. Visuals should complement what is said and be easy to interpret.
• Urge speakers to practice presentations multiple times to ensure smooth and confident delivery. Through rehearsal, speakers are able to identify and address issues before they arise.
• If necessary, provide speakers with reference materials like terminology guides to help them accurately convey specific concepts. These guides can be shared with interpreters to minimise ambiguity. 
• Ask speakers to consider getting input from language specialists, who can provide insights on fine-tuning content to guarantee that messaging is accurate and culturally appropriate.

8. Encourage presenters to speak clearly and at a moderate pace

Encouraging speakers to maintain a steady rhythm and employ clear language during their presentations has a profound impact on the comprehension of participants. This practice not only aids language interpreters in keeping up with the speaker but also enables them to provide more accurate interpretations.

Useful resource: Tips for speakers of meetings with simultaneous interpretation video

Securing the ideal language interpretation provider

Accurate language interpretation and translation are crucial for the success of finance and insurance meetings and events. By following these top tips, you can ensure the quality and accuracy of interpretation, fostering seamless communication and collaboration. Of course, the success of multilingual meetings and events depends on the strength and reliability of your language solutions partner. 

At Interprefy, we provide several  high-quality and accurate language solutions including remote simultaneous interpretation, AI-translated speech and captioning. With a strong history of working with finance and insurance companies, we can source trusted interpreters who specialise in your industry.