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What is the basis of Conference Language Services success?

You have found the only language service provider run by an interpreter and providing a turn-key service: interpreters and equipment in one seamless package. Of course there are talent providers who are interpreters, but they don’t provide equipment. The client, with his limited time and resources, is not in a position to search out and get a good equipment value in this very competitive field. There are also equipment providers who provide interpreters to complement their equipment. Not being language professionals themselves, these operators don’t know who they are hiring, so the quality level is uneven.

How does being an interpreter himself help Michael Wasserman create a better interpreter-equipment package?

Michael Wasserman is one of the top Russian interpreters in the world. For other languages he hires the best of colleagues with whom he has worked for years all over the world. In other words, he knows his interpreters. Then he selects the equipment to suit your event perfectly and your budget as much as possible. Many factors enter into the decision of what equipment to use for your conference. Quality: to provide crisp sound one has to use specific kinds of equipment and the configuration best suited to your event plan. Price: Sometimes it is cheaper to bring equipment from Los Angeles for a conference in Chicago. The world is full of paradoxes. Specific needs determined by your meeting agenda: Sometimes you need to use a particular equipment subcontractor because he has figured out something others don’t know yet, e.g., how to have 20 channels of radio frequency work in the same auditorium without interfering with each other. Sometimes we choose particular equipment because it comes with technicians who are experienced in exactly the kind of situation you have.

What is different about the role CLS plays in organizing the conference?

To use a Hollywood analogy, other providers act as talent agents. Conference Language Services principal Michael Wasserman acts as a casting director working for your event. Others sell you what goods they happen to have. Conference Language Services finds the interpreters and equipment best suited to your particular conference. Other agencies may start with what they have; we start with you and what you need.

What kinds of interpreting do you provide?

Simultaneous interpretation: for meetings, seminars and conferences where simultaneous interpretation is required. The interpreters are in booths and the conference participants wear headsets. Two or three interpreters per language. With simultaneous interpretation we can provide any number of languages. Booths may be placed at the back of the ballroom, backstage behind the screen, or in a separate room. Very high quality.

Whisper interpreting:  simultaneous interpretation for meetings without booths. The interpreters use portable transmitters and microphones. Listeners wear headsets. Two or three interpreters per language.

Consecutive: for meetings, speeches, etc., without booths or headsets. The interpreter translates consecutively to the speaker and from the speaker to others. Two or three interpreters per language. This style of interpretation is usually limited to two languages (e.g., English and one foreign language).

Equipment rental and technical support (booths, headsets, technicians).