How I Can Help You…

1.       You don’t speak the other person’s language. 

This is fairly obvious, but at the same time, not at all. 

You might expect them to speak yours.  You might think that everyone in the room speaks the same language, but you could still not understand each other.  Has it ever happened that someone who spoke your language still didn’t understand you?

2.       They don’t speak your language. 

This may go along naturally with #1, but remember, we aren’t only talking Russian, English, etc.  We are also talking areas of expertise.  Maybe the person on one side of the table is an expert in the transport of hazardous materials, but you are a policy person and wouldn’t know an overpack from a tamper-indicating device.

3.       While you may speak each other’s language, you are both products of different ways of thinking. 

When the other language imports a word from your language, and gives it the meaning he thinks it has, you can quickly become lost as that meaning then extends to things you never would have expected. 

Or think of the “negative” result you got from your doctor on a certain test - in the US, that would mean no sign of the disease; in Russia it means you have it.

4.       You will be able to speak naturally – no simplifying or dumbing down. 

No matter how well the other person speaks your language, unless they’ve lived in your country and know your culture very well, they won’t understand all the idioms you use without even realizing it.

5.       You will have more time to think about what you want to say. 

If you speak first, and then the interpreter works, it effectively doubles your time to react, think, and come up with just the right response for when it is your turn to speak again.

6.       You will have the protection of a social buffer. 

Unless you know your counterpart really well, there may be awkward silences.  Or the other person might say something surprising, and you need someone else to react first.  You will never worry about not having that protection. 

You also won’t have to worry about using the wrong fork or drinking at the wrong time.

7.       There is someone to double check your memory of the meeting. 

If you have a doubt, if your notes are less than complete, you may always ask your interpreter to help you remember what had been said, or to describe the atmosphere of the meeting. 

8.       You can concentrate on what you do best. 

Why worry about understanding someone from another country, when you can have someone on your team who can make sure that you do - that way you can focus on negotiating, or building that relationship.

9.       You show that you are taking the relationship seriously. 

You will have shown them that you care about your work with them enough not to trust it to chance or misunderstandings.

10.    You will not tire as quickly. 

Fatigue sets in much faster when you don’t understand everything around you – hiring an interpreter will make sure that you stay at the top of your game for longer.

If you liked this article, please connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliapoger/ - and we can continue the conversation!