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How to find simultaneous translation services with CIAP

This infographic explains what we do. Use CIAP as your consultant interpreters and we will assess, estimate and organise every aspect of the simultaneous translation services needed for your meeting.

Contact us and you will deal immediately with an actual interpreter, who has all the skills of a project manager AND actually knows what it means to interpret. This makes us ideally placed to understand what your event requires, recommend the best configuration for the simultaneous translation services you need, and handle the project from end to end.

CIAP is a one-stop shop, but unlike translation agencies, we offer transparent quotations and we do not charge commission on interpreters’ fees. You pay only for the simultaneous translation services you receive, plus a small organising fee for our time.

You receive hassle-free, high-quality simultaneous translation services organised and delivered entirely by interpreting professionals.

Contact us here for more information.

As consultant interpreters, our objective is to put together the best team of interpreters while minimizing the cost for our clients. Take a look at our Infographic here to see exactly how we do that. Commercial translation agencies will also emphasize quality and cost. But the two operate on completely different rules.

Case in point. A potential client contacted me a few months ago and asked for a quotation. The program consisted of 9 to 10 working hours for 4 consecutive days, and I submitted a quote for 3 interpreters. The client asked me to reduce the number of interpreters to 2, saying that the “other agencies” were quoting for 2 interpreters. Clearly, they perceived CIAP to be just another translation agency. My response was as follows.

CIAP will work with clients to find the most cost-effective solution, but we do not do so by compromising on the quality of interpreters or professional standards. Unlike commercial agencies who recruit interpreters at the lowest cost and add their own margin of profit, consultant interpreters disclose the interpreters’ fee and the management fee for the consultant interpreter. Please refer to my quotation.

I’m happy to say that the client decided in our favor and was extremely pleased with the end result.

Transparency is also important on the other end. Most translation agencies hire interpreters that they have never even met. They build a database of interpreters by collecting resumes via email. Furthermore, technology has enabled this “blind” recruiting process to become global in scale. These days, AIIC interpreters receive requests from numerous unknown agencies from around the world.

As important as resumes are, they do not necessarily guarantee quality. By comparison, consultant interpreters have first-hand knowledge of interpreters. We recruit colleagues that we personally know and have worked with – sometimes for many years or even decades. Instead of recruiting by guess work, we know who our team members are and what they will be delivering.

This, of course does not mean all commercial translation agencies should be dismissed. Some agencies can be very efficient and provide good solutions depending on the need. But, it’s important for clients to know the difference between consultant interpreters and translation agencies, define their own objectives and needs, and make an informed decision based on the scale and complexity of the meeting.

by Jean Young Lee

CIAP consultant interpreter in Seoul

Russian President Vladimir Putin is also a pretty smooth interpreter we learned this week. At a forum in St. Petersburg, he was filmed stepping into the role of a German to Russian consecutive interpreter as he spontaneously translated the words of former State Secretary of the German Defence Ministry, Willy Wimmer.

Known for his fluent German, President Putin graciously rendered Mr Wimmer’s comments in Russian for the benefit of the audience.  The Russian Head of State gave an excellent demonstration  of how a consecutive interpreter should work, knowing when and how to interrupt the speaker, using the first person and not the third, focussing intently on the speaker when listening etc. Watch him in action here.

While we do not recommend hiring non-interpreters, the Russian President’s many years of listening to the world’s top interpreters convey his own message have no doubt taught him a thing or two about how interpreters work. Asking a non-interpreter to translate at a public event or conference simply because that person is bilingual is not advisable. But sometimes, exceptions can be made when that bilingual person is a Head of State!

Clients seeking Russian interpreters in Asia are nevertheless encouraged to contact CIAP and not the Kremlin! We work with highly experienced Russian interpreters who are based in West Asia, South East Asia, East Asia and Australia. They interpret regularly at high level summits and international conferences, and accompany Russian-speaking delegations on their visits to the rest of Asia Pacific.

And they may be facing some extra competition if President Putin ever decides to retire from his current day job!