Statistics show that 87% of all U.S. based companies currently have some type of business relationship in other countries.  I have the privilege of working with hundreds of organizations needing document translation for their international marketing, investor relations and human resources departments and always ask whether or not they have considered the use of multilingual web conferencing when conducting live events. With few exceptions I generally get a similar response; the majority of our international personnel speak English so we really don’t have a need. This, in fact, is true. The majority of our international business partners have learned English starting at an early age. The question really has less to do with whether or not they speak English but how well they do so.

Earlier this year we surveyed some international participants who had just completed English only web conferences.  We asked their feedback on several issues including comprehension and inclusiveness.  When asked a general question regarding their understanding they scored relatively high but when asked more specific questions such as the meaning of terms like “Driven by pride”, “The buck stops here” and “Hit a brick wall”, things got a little more complicated. They recognized that these are colloquial terms but had no real way to explain the meaning or how they applied to the presentation. I might also add that all the terms we discussed were used in the closing remarks or “call to action” segment of the presentation. American corporate lingo is riddled with such terminology and most of us clearly understand but someone in Asia might be a little confused or stunned to hear that one of their co-workers in Los Angeles “hit a brick wall”.  Why? How?  Is he OK?

In addition, the majority of LEP (Limited English Proficiency) participants also said they were less likely to either ask a question or state an opinion during the presentation for fear that they may either be misunderstood or perceived as inadequate or uncooperative. Not the best scenario when you’re trying to build a global consensus.

When I share this information with clients I generally get a little more information as to the root cause or concern. The majority of those concerns boil down to the 3 P’s: Preparation, Provider and Price.  Since the concept of multilingual conferencing is still relatively new all these concerns are legitimate to some extent. The fact is that the majority of these concerns stem from lack of understanding about the process. Once this is explained you can see the light bulbs brighten. Here’s a brief explanation on each:

Preparation
Let’s start with the most difficult first.  Unlike traditional English Only events where you can “wing it” if you run out of preparation time, there’s no such luxury in a multilingual event.  We’ve all sat through ill prepared presentations that clearly demonstrate poor planning and no real objective. They’re painful but achievable. However, when you are working with a team of professional linguists whose sole objective is to effectively communicate your thoughts, emotions and intent, a lack of preparation means a poor message (in English) is even worse in another language.

When you are preparing for any presentation you want to consider factors such as audience, education level and objective.  When preparing for a multilingual presentation you also have to consider more intimate details such as gender, time differences, position titles, accents, phone equipment and presentation materials (which, in some cultures, may even include the color of your slides!).

Many of our clients are overwhelmed when they receive a 4 page pre-conference worksheet that asks such detailed questions. The purpose is really less about capturing all the information and more about encouraging them to think about what comprises a global audience. While I can’t share all the questions here, I would be more than happy to send you a copy of the document if you believe it may help in your global conferences.

Provider / Platform
Another common misconception is that people don’t believe their current conferencing provider has the capabilities to do such an event. This couldn’t be further from the truth. We have worked with various providers and, although the process may differ, each of them has a workable solution. A multilingual conference only requires the use of additional phone lines and the utilization of sub-conference rooms. For each additional language added to an event a sub-conference is needed to host that presentation. There’s very little in the way of technology that prevents any vendor from hosting a multilingual event.

A bigger challenge may arise if you want to simultaneously present slides in each of the target languages. We have used vendors in the past that are able to do this using a WebEx platform and I’m sure others would also work as well. If that option is not available, the next best thing is to prepare your slides in advance, have them translated into each target language and electronically distribute them prior to the start of the conference. Your English participants can follow along using their internet connection and your international participants can either print or read using their computer.

Price
This is probably the most confusing part of the process. Conventional wisdom is that a multilingual web conference is similar, in cost, to an “on-site” event that can easily cost thousands of dollars per hour.  The cost of on-site events is one of the primary catalysts for companies turning to web conferencing solutions. The elimination of sound booths, transmitters, receivers and shipping costs make this a very attractive option.

When pricing a multilingual event you first want to make sure that the interpreters you are using are qualified in simultaneous interpretation, not just consecutive. An easy way to differentiate the two is that simultaneous interpretation is conducted in real time meaning that the message is being delivered to the target audience at the same time it is being spoken by the presenter. This is often referred to as U.N. style interpretation since people are most familiar with seeing foreign diplomats on television speaking in one language while a voice over is delivering the message in another. Consecutive interpretation allows for the presenter to speak in segments then pause while the thought is conveyed in the target language. For large presentations such as web conferences this is not a viable option since it doubles the length of time to deliver the same message.

While you may pay considerably more if you are using a vendor to broker your linguists, the average rate for most languages should run you about $3.30 a minute. For some of the more esoteric languages or highly technical presentations you may expect to pay an additional forty to eighty cents per minute. Considering the benefits of greater clarity, more involvement and an enhanced feeling of inclusiveness, the costs are nominal and the returns are phenomenal.

The potential to apply our trade on a truly global scale is here. I believe it just requires a continuing education. After all, can you really call yourself a global company if you can only say it in English?

By Daniel_watson
Managing Partner, IAL Services, Inc.
dwatson@ialservices.com
1.877.638.6818
on The WebinarWire
http://www.webinarwire.com/