A client shared with me the following story of translation gone wrong:
A speaker presented in Japan to 80 people at an association meeting. The association found a local high school student who was fluent in English and used him as a translator.
However, he didn’t know the technical jargon and the speaker spoke too quickly for the translator to keep up. As a result, the audience was frustrated because they didn’t get the full presentation and the benefit of the speaker’s expertise. Here are 9 tips to prevent a live translation disaster from happening to you whether you’re presenting in-person or virtually
1. Decide which is best for the situation: simultaneous translation (where the translator listens to your sentence and translates it immediately while he or she is also listening to your next sentence) or consecutive translation (where you pause every few minutes to allow the translator to speak). Both have their challenges and not every translator can do both well.
2. Find a translator with translation experience, ideally in the area of technical expertise that you’re speaking about.
3. Always send your material to the translator ahead of time so they have time to prepare.
4. Spend time with the translator before your presentation to go through your entire talk, paying special attention to idioms and industry jargon.
5. Check with the translator about any humor you have planned, including avoiding sensitive or taboo topics.
6. Understand the cultural nuances of whether people will laugh or ask questions and how you can check for understanding.
7. Decide whether/how you will handle questions.
8. When delivering, speak slowly and enunciate.
9. Check in occasionally during your presentation to make sure the audience understands what you’re saying.
© Gilda Bonanno LLC - Gilda Bonanno serves as a trusted advisor to executives and entrepreneurs to transform their communication, presentation and leadership skills. She has worked with companies on 4 continents, from Chicago to Shanghai and Rio to Rome. The instructional videos on her YouTube channel have received over 2 million views and her e-newsletter has reached subscribers in over 45 countries since 2008. For other articles or to receive Gilda's e-newsletter, visit www.gildabonanno.com