We at Cultures Connection know from experience that remote interpretation is a perfect solution in many circumstances. For example, our translation agency has noticed that remote interpretation is the right solution for conducting interviews. A recent series of interviews with Japanese hair designers provides an opportunity to explain the benefits. Hair designers are true artists, much talked about for their incomparable talent. The interviews, organized by one of our clients, were carried out in English from Paris with hair designers located in Japan. This project illustrates the benefits of remote interpretation.
Our client, BEAUTYSTREAMS –a trend agency specialized in the beauty sector, is an online tool. The BEAUTYSTREAMS team scrutinizes, analyzes, and anticipates all trends to assist beauty and fashion professionals worldwide. Contents that may interest the entire community of beauty professionals, trend books, photos, influencer references, news on new product launches are some of the major advantages of this beauty expert agency.
In this article, Cultures Connection presents remote interpretation around a trends project in 3 points:
- Advantages of remote interpretation for interviews
- Interpreter preparation
- Interpreting and translating beauty
Advantages of Remote Interpretation for Interviews
The advantages of remote interpretation services via a platform are numerous. In general, this format is suitable for both clients and interpreters. Indeed, remote interpretation offers undeniable comfort and presents several appreciable benefits, including:
– No travel. Avoiding travel can provide a huge relief in terms of organization and cost. Both clients and interpreters are not dependent on travel hassles and can avoid transportation and accommodation expenses;
– No equipment rental. Not having to deal with technical equipment –sometimes heavy or bulky– is a real plus. Simultaneous interpretation involves using interpretation booths, possibly an interpretation suitcase in the case of a small group event, as well as audio equipment. A press conference or interview may require, at the very least, microphones and an audio system to ensure good transmission;
– Minimal equipment. In the context of remote interpretation services, only minimal equipment is required on both sides. It simply consists of a computer, audio equipment –a headset with a good microphone–, and an internet connection;
– Availability. Whether or not it’s an urgent mission, the panel of available interpreters is wider for remote missions. Interpreters can work from any country, depending of course on time zones. For an urgent project, there is no better solution since the travel of professional interpreters is avoided, as well as the complex logistical organization of an on-site event;
– Agile video conferencing platforms. There are now many platforms for remote interpretation, including Zoom, Skype, Teams, Slack, Cisco Webex, or Kudo. Some platforms, such as Interprefy, VoiceBoxer, and Interactio, were designed at first as platforms entirely dedicated to remote interpretation services.
Interpreter Preparation
To ensure remote interpretation services in English-Japanese, our team called upon a professional interpreter who has more than twenty years of experience. Not only is this interpreter a graduate of a prestigious translation school in Paris, but she is also familiar with the beauty and fashion sector. She has carried out Japanese interpretation missions for the biggest names in beauty, cosmetics, and luxury in both France and Japan.
As a rule, a few days before an event where interpretation is needed, it is recommended to provide interpreters with as much information as possible. In fact, the success of an interpreting job depends heavily on the preparation of the professional interpreters who orally translate speeches, conferences, or exchanges. Reference materials, which may include websites, brochures, PowerPoint presentations, biographies, or other materials used during the event, are very valuable preparatory resources.
Moreover, several prerequisites are usually needed in order to conduct an interview and ensure interpretation in another language. It is essential to prepare well before the project. Thus, you need to understand and master the topic of the interview, research the subject being interviewed, think about questions, and anticipate possible answers. Open-ended questions allow your interviewee to provide answers whose content is not always easy to anticipate during the prep. Depending on the interviewee’s responses, follow-up questions that were not necessarily initially written can be asked. This means that the interpreter must have the ability to understand and adapt, as an interview can sometimes take an unforeseen direction with related topics.
In the context of this series of beauty interviews, a prior meeting between our client and the interpreter allowed for a constructive exchange on the content of the interviews. There is nothing better to prepare the participants and reassure everyone before the interviews!
Interpreting and Translating Beauty
First, at Cultures Connection we are used to providing translations and responding to requests for interpreters from communication agencies, brands, and major players in the cosmetics, makeup, perfume, leather goods, haute couture, and ready-to-wear sectors. For each new collection, each advertising campaign, and for social media posts, Cultures Connection supports the marketing strategy of major brands while preserving the highest confidentiality.
Besides, the interpreter tasked with orally translating the questions asked in English by the interviewers into Japanese had to then translate the responses given in Japanese back into English. For these tasks, it was crucial for the interpreter to have a perfect mastery of the appropriate terminology, specifically the vocabulary of hairstyling. She needed to have up-to-date knowledge on trends, particularly in the area of hair design, which involves very short haircuts that bring out patterns or graphics created with clippers. Hair design is also known as hair sculpture. This type of artistic hairstyle has been increasingly noticeable in fashion magazines for some time now.
For our client, the interviews were conducted and interpreted via the famous Zoom platform. Each interview lasted between one and one hour and a half. Nothing leaked out of these exchanges in English and Japanese. However, what did filter through to our team was BEAUTYSTREAMS’ repeated satisfaction and confidence. For the Cultures Connection team, it is always an honor to see well-done work recognized and appreciated!
Find out about our remote interpretation services in the “Interpreting” rubric of our website, or check out our project stories on interpreting services!
