There is one secret to successfully providing interpreting services: hire the right person for the right job.
It’s simple. But it’s not easy.
To do this, you have to know your interpreters. You need to know all about their professional skills – strongest languages, areas of specialisation, simultaneous or whispered, and so on.
You also need to know about them as people. How long they can work without a break. Whether they dress up or down. If they have stage presence, or if they can mirror body language. What makes them laugh; and if they can make others laugh.
Only then can you send the right person to the right job.
Conferences and presentations. While the source-language speaker is speaking, simultaneous interpreters interpret what is said for the target-language audience, via a microphone and headphones. You’ll need to make sure you’ve arranged to hire the equipment for this.
Small meetings and discussions, where only one or two meeting participants require interpretation. No equipment is necessary because of the small size of the target-language audience.
The interpreter keeps notes while the source-speaker is speaking, then interprets what has been said to the target-language audience. The source-speaker should pause every few sentences to allow the interpreter to convey the information to the target audience.