When your event goes global, clear communication is everything. Most organisers already understand the importance of interpreting; it’s what allows you to speak your audience’s language so they don’t need to work harder to decode your message in another one — or in many cases, so they can understand you at all. Interpreting, whether traditional or AI-powered, makes it possible for everyone to follow along.
Take some practical examples:
At a company town hall where the official language is English, employees in local offices may only fully engage if the content is interpreted into their native language.
Or at a safety briefing for a manufacturing site, interpreters ensure that workers who don’t speak the language the briefing is delivered in still clearly understand critical instructions.
But how do you ensure the interpreting is the right quality? Of course, it depends on the interpreter or the technology you choose. But here’s the part that often gets overlooked: it also depends on the message itself and how well event speakers (the presenters delivering the content) prepare.
The good news? With a few simple steps, presenters can make life easier for interpreters and AI systems alike, helping your audience hear the message exactly as intended in every language.
Why an event speaker’s preparation matters for interpreting success
Professional interpreters are highly skilled at processing and delivering complex speech in real time. AI interpreting can instantly translate spoken content across thousands of language pairs with only a short delay.
But even the best interpreters - human or AI - need support to deliver maximum clarity. Poor audio quality, missing context, or rapid-fire speech make it harder for the message to come across accurately. Providing advance materials, clear terminology, and a steady speaking style ensures accuracy, consistency, and helps avoid misunderstandings.
Preparation isn’t just a courtesy. It’s essential to making any multilingual event a success. Many interpreting platforms even recommend practices such as avoiding overlapping speech, preloading key vocabulary, and providing glossaries to optimise results.
Practical tips for event speakers at multilingual events
Here are some actionable, presenter-friendly tips you can share ahead of your multilingual event:
Share slides and terminology in advance
Presentations, notes, and key terms should always be provided before the event. For AI interpreting, uploading glossaries of brand names, product terms, and acronyms improves recognition accuracy and reduces mistranslations. For human interpreting, advance access to terminology ensures consistency and allows interpreters to prepare for industry-specific or highly technical content. In the case of both human and AI interpreting solutions, the more context provided, the better the results.Explain technical content or jargon
Dense slides, acronyms, or specialist terminology should not only be shared in advance but also briefly explained during the talk. This helps human interpreters confirm meaning in real time and supports AI systems in producing smoother, more precise output.
Speak at a clear pace
Fast speech poses a challenge for both human interpreters and AI interpreting tools. Slowing down gives human interpreters the time they need to follow your message and ensures AI systems can keep up without distortion.
Always use a microphone
Both human interpreters and AI systems rely on high-quality audio. Moving away from the mic, rustling papers, or speaking into the room instead of directly into the microphone reduces clarity. A consistent audio signal is the foundation for accurate interpreting.
Avoid overlapping speech
AI interpreting struggles when multiple people speak at once, and even human interpreters cannot cover cross-talk effectively. Encourage presenters to wait their turn, and in Q&A sessions, ask participants to use microphones and avoid interruptions.
Follow event platform best practices
If your interpreting setup is integrated into Zoom, Teams, Webex, or another conferencing tool, presenters should always run a quick technical check before going live. For AI interpreting, coordinate with organisers to upload critical terminology into the system ahead of time.
Event preparation: Choosing the right interpreting and technology setup
Successful multilingual events aren’t only about presenter preparation. Organisers also need to think about which interpreting setup best suits their event and how to support it with the right tools.
Know your event, know your interpreting need: AI interpreting can often be accessed directly through a mobile app or web browser, making it simple to scale across large audiences. Human interpreting, on the other hand, may require booths, headsets, or specific AV setups to deliver the best experience. The right choice depends on your event’s format, scale, sensitivity, and your audience’s expectations.
Consider integrations and logistics: Many interpreting solutions connect directly with platforms you already use - from Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Webex to full event management platforms and on-site AV systems. This makes it easy to add multilingual support without overhauling your existing setup.
The bottom line: Preparing speakers for successful multilingual events
Multilingual events succeed when everyone works together: organisers, interpreters, AI platforms, and presenters. A little preparation goes a long way in making sure your audience feels included and your message lands with impact.
At LanguageWire, we support you with both human and AI interpreting solutions - and guidance for your speakers - so your global events run smoothly and connect with every participant.
Ready to make your next multilingual event a success? Get in touch with us today.
