As your company gears up to organize year-end conferences and gatherings, ensuring accessibility for all attendees takes the spotlight.
Given that these events require a substantial investment of both time and money, ensuring your message is actually understood by every attendee is crucial – especially for events with global organizations involved.
For those new to hosting multilingual conferences, you may feel overwhelmed by the idea of making messages comprehensive for all participants in multiple languages. This means multiple versions of everything. However, this need not be the case. In fact, it’s an exciting opportunity to broaden your reach and make a lasting impact. As you outline your event plans, begin by addressing the following questions:
- What languages do the attendees speak? (How can you determine this?)
- Which languages are prevalent in the region where the conference will occur?
- What modes of communication will feature in the conference? (Will there be face-to-face discussions, live video feeds, or pre-prepared documents and presentations?)
Answering these questions will determine whether you require additional assistance enhancing message accessibility. INGCO International recommends several indispensable event services, including conference translation and interpretation, live captioning, and technical support.
Conference Translation & Interpretation
Adopting translation and interpreting services becomes necessary when a gap exists between the languages spoken or presented at your event and those preferred by attendees.
Translation services involve generating written materials in appropriate languages. This might include welcome packs, signage, forms, maps, agendas, guides, and more in the context of conferences. Such documents often indicate to attendees that your conference will be accessible and inclusive – qualities that any global organization should proudly flaunt.
Interpretation services primarily address verbal communication. When an interpreter is part of your event, they deliver spoken messages authentically, conveying the original speaker’s tone, style, and words. Interpreters contribute unique value to conferences and events, often integral to an event’s success.
Live Captioning
Live captioning refers to real-time translated content (or subtitles) displayed during verbal presentations or video messages. Videos are increasingly pivotal for conveying messages at conferences, particularly with the rise of virtual and hybrid attendance options. For virtual events, live captioning can be a valuable addition or even an alternative to interpretation services. Much like a live interpreter, an individual translates the speaker’s words into the appropriate language, typing them into on-screen software for attendees to see.
Live captioning is essential for those attendees who are deaf or hard of hearing. In the US alone, around one in eight individuals aged 12 and above experiences some degree of hearing impairment in both ears. This underscores the importance of considering how your message will be accessible to those who prefer or require written communication.
Also, live captioning benefits visual learners. Offering visual support that enhances their comprehension and connection with the discussed topic promotes even more inclusivity and engagement.
Technical Equipment & Support
With the considerable effort invested in ensuring attendees grasp your conference messages, turning your attention toward the technology facilitating this communication becomes a highly encouraged step. Whether it’s audio and visual assistance, on-site project management, interpretation booths, wireless headsets, or receivers, there are many technical considerations before hosting your multilingual year-end conference.
While this may seem daunting, it should encourage your company to take the necessary steps to ensure messages are communicated in attendees’ preferred languages and formats. This is why many organizations collaborate with esteemed language service providers to make this a reality.
Make Your Event an Inclusive Success
Regardless of whether your conference will unfold in two languages or a handful of them, prioritizing diverse language service options should sit atop your planning agenda. After all, if your message fails to reach an attendee successfully, it is more than just a missed opportunity for your company; it can also lead to frustration among participants, who may develop a negative perception of your event and your brand.
At INGCO International, our dedicated team of linguistics and event professionals has been helping make multilingual events a success – in more than 200 languages – for 17 years. Employees, clients, and shareholders all have something to gain when you invest in certified language services. Explore the links below for a deeper understanding of our conference and event services.