Technology is advancing faster than ever before. Every day we get to see how technology opens the doors to a new world. Just think about the recent hype of artificial intelligence or AI. No surprise companies want to get their piece of the pie.
Years ago, we wouldn’t have imagined organising 100% online meetings, let alone streaming offline meetings in real time with live interpretation! Yet today, there’s no escaping: online and hybrid meetings are here to stay and have given us a taste of all these new possibilities.
Before diving into the advantages of online and hybrid meetings and explaining how you can organise those meetings and conferences with interpreters, I’d like to tell you a bit more about the difference between on-site, online and hybrid events.
On-site events are face-to-face meetings and conferences where everyone (speakers, attendees, audience, interpreters, etc.) is present at the venue of the event. Attendees can interact with other attendees and speakers, and get to know each other IRL. Examples of on-site events are face-to-face meetings, workshops, festivals and conferences.
Online events are those meetings and conferences that take place in an online environment, without in-person attendees. Conference speakers may choose to address the participants from a studio or even their (home) office. Participants can attend the event or conference using their mobile phone, tablet or computer, and they can interact with the speakers by asking their questions in the chatbox. Examples of online events are webinars, virtual workshops and online conferences or meetings.
Hybrid events are a mix of on-site and online events. These events take place from the meeting venue and are simultaneously broadcast. That way, participants can decide whether they are willing to travel to the venue or attend the event online. Hybrid events also offer the opportunity to organise the event from different locations. Examples of hybrid events are international product launches and international conferences.
It’s no surprise that online and hybrid events open up a whole new world of possibilities. Let’s take a closer look.
One of the great things about online events, and to some extent hybrid events, is that they can reach so much more people. Contrary to on-site events, where you may be constrained due to capacity limitations, there’s no limit to the number of participants in online meetings. In fact, you could open up your event to 100, 500, 1000 or even +10.000 participants.
Also, online and hybrid events are more accessible. Participants can attend the event or conference from, basically, all over the world, without having to travel to the venue. They can attend the event from the comfort of their homes, so to speak.
Sometimes, it’s just not possible to invite international or exclusive speakers to on-site events or conferences due to their busy schedules or the limited budget. After all, international speakers can cost you a small fortune (just think of the travel and hotel costs). This is not the case with online or hybrid events, because speakers can simply participate from home.
This is particulary true for online events, where you don’t have to incur costs for renting the venue (though you may choose to rent a studio), catering for participants, travel or hotel costs for international speakers and interpreters.
Of course, there are other costs linked to online and hybrid events, e.g. the licence for the virtual platform or the fees of the audio-visual company, but in general, online events are more cost effective than on-site or hybrid events.
Events that are organised in a completely online or hybrid setting, are – in general – more sustainable than on-site events. Indeed, you’ll reduce your carbon emissions because less or no participants have to travel to your event and you’ll generate less waste.
In the past (read: before the pandemic), it was quite unusual to organise online or hybrid events, and even more unusual to use interpreters at those events. Yet, technology has evolved so quickly that nowadays remote interpreting has become a possibility.
At online events, interpreters work online, from their home office using their own computer or from an interpreting studio with a sound-proof interpreting booth and a technician. Participants can listen to the translation using their phone or computer.
At hybrid events, there are two possibilities. Just like purely online events, interpreters can work online, from their home office or an interpreting studio. Or they can work on-site, in an interpreting booth that is installed at the venue of the event. In both cases, you’d need technicians and technical equipment on-site (e.g. cameras, receivers, headsets to listen to the interpretation, etc.).
One of the main advantages of online and hybrid events is that you can invite an international audience as well as international speakers. Lovely, right? Yet, such a multilingual, international setting has some extra challenges.
Fortunately, as interpreters, we are well equipped to make your event a success. Speakers get the opportunity to express themselves in their own language and participants can follow the event in their own language (if interpreters are provided for that language, of course).
This is how you can organise an online or hybrid event with interpreters:
Very often, interpreters have busy schedules, especially those interpreters with somewhat more exotic language combinations (e.g. interpreters Dutch-Spanish). That’s why it’s imperative you contact them in time so they can save the date for your event.
And since interpreters have a lot of experience with the different types of events, they can give you the perfect advice on the appropriate interpreting services.
An audio-visual company takes care of the audio and visual aspects of your event. They also make sure the interpreters receive an impeccable image and sound input during an online or hybrid event. That’s crucial in order for them to translate the interventions, because interpreters can’t translate what they don’t hear.
In theory, a general sound check is done before the event to make sure everything works as it should be.
As I said, interpreters can only translate what they actually hear. Bad sound quality, technical failures or image and sound glitches can cause real problems. To minimise risks, online speakers need to comply with the following requirements:
– Use of a headset with external (not built-in) microphone and USB connection
– Use of a stable internet connection via Ethernet cable (no Wi-Fi)
– Use of a camera/webcam
Talk to the interpreters and audio-visual company to pick a date for the sound check and/or the set-up of the interpreting booth and technical equipment at the meeting venue.
Interpreters always prepare each interpreting assignment thoroughly. They look for information on the client, the event, the speakers and the topic at hand. That’s why we always ask to send any preparatory documents and materials for the event to the interpreters. Think about the agenda, presentations, a biography of the speakers, etc. This is how we guarantee the success of your event!
Studio SpeakEasy has extensive experience with (remote) interpreting at online or hybrid events. I’ll take care of everything: from the planning of the interpreters to the arrangements with the technical team. You can rest assured everything will be planned down to the finest detail.
Entrust your event to a professional and give the participants of your event an unforgettable experience, also online and in their native language!
Contact me to start planning for your next online or hybrid event with live interpretation.
