Customer Satisfaction in Conference Interpreting
Customer satisfaction in Conference interpreting
Marketing experts state that customer satisfaction with a purchase depends upon the performance of that product/service and their expectations. If the product/service does not meet the expectations of the buyer, then s/he is dissatisfied. Otherwise, there is no problem at all. And if it exceeds expectations, the customer is extremely happy.
Why not use the same marketing principle in conference interpreting?
First, conference interpreting 101. To put it in a simple way, interpreting is all about communication. On one hand, you have a speaker (let’s say, a native French), and on the other, an audience (for the sake of the example, let’s assume they’re English natives, and that they don’t understand French). So, an interpreter steps in in order to facilitate the communication between the two parties. S/he goes in a booth, listens to the original speech in a headset and then translates from French to English for the audience. The audience has earphones in which they only hear the interpreter’s voice. This is simultaneous interpreting because the interpreter translates while the speaker delivers his speech. Consecutive interpreting occurs when the interpreter speaks after the original speech has been delivered (usually the interpreter uses a notepad to take notes).
In today’s world, when benchmarking, best practice sharing, process optimization, performance management and Total Quality Management reign all over industries, interpreters – as service providers – must keep up the pace, enhance their performance and choose the right key performance indicators in order not to just meet the expectations of the audience, but to exceed them.
To know what to put an emphasis on, interpreters must identify the requirements of the target customers in regards to the quality of the service.
AIIC (the International Association of Conference Interpreters), just like any other professional association, considers service quality
Marketing experts state that customer satisfaction with a purchase depends upon the performance of that product/service and their expectations. If the product/service does not meet the expectations of the buyer, then s/he is dissatisfied. Otherwise, there is no problem at all. And if it exceeds expectations, the customer is extremely happy.
Why not use the same marketing principle in conference interpreting?
First, conference interpreting 101. To put it in a simple way, interpreting is all about communication. On one hand, you have a speaker (let’s say, a native French), and on the other, an audience (for the sake of the example, let’s assume they’re English natives, and that they don’t understand French). So, an interpreter steps in in order to facilitate the communication between the two parties. S/he goes in a booth, listens to the original speech in a headset and then translates from French to English for the audience. The audience has earphones in which they only hear the interpreter’s voice. This is simultaneous interpreting because the interpreter translates while the speaker delivers his speech. Consecutive interpreting occurs when the interpreter speaks after the original speech has been delivered (usually the interpreter uses a notepad to take notes).
In today’s world, when benchmarking, best practice sharing, process optimization, performance management and Total Quality Management reign all over industries, interpreters – as service providers – must keep up the pace, enhance their performance and choose the right key performance indicators in order not to just meet the expectations of the audience, but to exceed them.
To know what to put an emphasis on, interpreters must identify the requirements of the target customers in regards to the quality of the service.
AIIC (the International Association of Conference Interpreters), just like any other professional association, considers service quality