Zoom – The most popular video conference system allows for robust multilingual interpretation
Zoom continues to lead the pack by improving its products and launching new useful features such as the simultaneous interpretation module.
The company recently announced new features for Zoom meetings including real-time transcription, meeting notes summary and simultaneous interpretation. The last one aims to provide support for interpreters via multiple audio channels in a Zoom meeting, where its participants would have the chance to choose their language of choice among many, and to receive real-time interpretation of presenter or other participants comments.
Most of our clients are already familiar with Zoom, but few are familiar with the opportunities offered by their multilingual interpretation feature. Workshops, webinars and training courses can now be provided in a number of languages using Zoom, which can create enormous cost savings compared to live event interpreting, which require not only interpreters to show at a particular location, but also require expensive booth and technology equipment that can be extremely expensive.
The current pandemic context has proved challenging for the events industry, but has also brought enormous savings and opportunities for organizations ready and open to adapt to a more flexible event strategy.
Live events are certainly not going away but will likely be complemented with a series of virtual events for which not all companies are ready to reap the benefits. Companies that can use technology to train and capture the attention of prospects at a global level, using virtual events and communicating with targets in their native language, are already seeing a hike in productivity and global sales during COVID -19 times.
Zoom in particular makes it simple to launch a multilingual webinar, workshop or training course. All you need is a smart device or laptop, and for the interpreter a couple of monitors, a quality headset, a microphone and a robust high-speed internet connection. Oh, and let’s not forget a comfy chair.
When a meeting or webinar starts on Zoom, the host starts the interpretation feature giving access to interpreters to go to their own audio channels. It is possible to enable 9 languages, plus the original language of the webinar presenters.
The attendees can select the channel, and decide to hear audio only in their language or hear also the original language at a 20% volume and translated language at 80% volume.
Each interpreter is working from their own station from the comfort of their homes and the experience in terms of audio for attendees is no different than watching a dubbed Netflix documentary; depending on the quality of your interpreters, it could be arguably better.
We have been working with many organizations requiring to continue providing webinars, trainings and workshops during the pandemic, and to continue to bring people together. If you want to know more about it, check out this article on how we’ve helped organizations like The Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
Would you like to know about other RSI platforms? Leave us a comment or contact us at info@ideatranslations.com
