How Businesses Should Choose a Translation and Interpretation Company

How Businesses Should Choose a Translation and Interpretation Company

In Blog by Rafael MorelLeave a Comment

In today’s rapidly changing world of growing relations, it’s important that your business is able to communicate properly with all potential customers and associates. This is why we now see more and more businesses seeking professional translation and interpretation services. You will need this type of assistance from time to time to help you grow as a business. There are routine transactions that will sometimes need translations. The company you choose to help you with these services is very important because they are representing your company as well.

The multi-lingual environment is an important one and there are certain facts that can help you when it comes to choosing a service provider to help you with this. The company you pick for your translations might be the first impression that someone has of your company. When you trust someone else with a task so important, you need to know a little something about them first.

Understand the Process

The first step to choosing a company to do this type of work is understanding the process. A lot of people are under the impression that translating is a word for word process but the truth is it’s really not. There are so many different nuances of language to keep in mind. People who are professionally trained will know how to properly and accurately convey your message to the target audience. A well translated document or speech will not add, change or omit any content in any way. It’s essential it is read or translated exactly how it was originally. This is much more than just a word for word translation.

What Are Your Needs?

So now that you have  a better understanding for the process, let’s look at what is needed. It’s important to know the area of specialization for the piece of text that is being translated. Is this a legal document? A medical document? Something else?

Then it is also essential that the interpretation company knows the intended audience and the purpose of the project. They need to become (even temporarily) a part of your business team. This info is essential to getting the translation done correctly.

They will also need to know the timeline for what you need and any other specifications on the project so that they can plan for your needs and this project. Any translation company that does not take the time to get accurate information from you is probably one you do not want to work with.

How Can You Prepare?

Now you also need to remember that how you prepare the information for translation is important, too. When choosing a qualified translation company, you also want to be sure you are giving them quality text to begin working with. You want the message of your original text to be crisp and clear. You also want to avoid cultural terms as much as possible such as metaphors, pop culture references or jokes and idioms.

You should be sure to allow for realistic guidelines for the company to do their job and be sure to communicate well with the team members at all times. Ask questions if and when you have them. Understand that you may need to answer some questions along the way just to ensure things are done correctly.

With careful and proper planning and prep, along with a qualify translation company, you can get your job done right the first time.

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