The Global Guide to Booking Language Interpreters for Meetings and Events

For anyone organizing a multilingual meeting, whether it’s a global town hall, investor briefing, training session, or hybrid event, booking professional interpreters is essential to ensuring clarity, accuracy, and participant engagement.

At KUDO, language accessibility is our bread and butter, and we have extensive experience working with a network of 12,000 professional interpreters whose services our clients use every day to make their internal or external communication accessible in multiple languages in real time. So, if you’re knew to simultaneous interpretation or are planning your first multilingual meeting or event, this Q&A guide covers everything you need to know: how interpreters work, why teams of two are standard, and how to book the right interpreting setup.

1. Why do professional interpreters work in pairs for sessions longer than 60 minutes?

Professional conference interpreters typically work in pairs (or sometimes teams of three) because simultaneous interpretation is one of the most cognitively demanding tasks in the world. To put things into perspective, interpreters have to:

• Listen to the speaker in one language

• Process meaning instantly

• Translate that meaning accurately

• Speak it clearly in another language

• Maintain tone, nuance, and intent

• Monitor technical terms

• Follow the pace of the speaker

This happens in real time, with no pause button.

Research from cognitive science and interpreter training programs shows that mental accuracy begins to decline after 20–30 minutes of nonstop interpreting. To maintain high quality and prevent fatigue, interpreters switch every 20–30 minutes, ensuring continued accuracy, clarity, and safety (especially for legal or medical meetings).

This is why any professional interpreting agency, UN body, or language services provider will always staff two interpreters for events longer than an hour.

2. What happens when interpreters take turns?

While one interpreter is “on mic,” the partner interpreter is:

• Preparing terminology

• Monitoring the speaker’s pace

• Catching numbers, names, or acronyms

• Supporting with quick notes

• Flagging issues related to sound or delivery

• Getting ready to take over seamlessly

Interpretation is a team sport. Quality depends on the smooth coordination between interpreters, especially for fast, technical, or high-stakes content.

3. What’s the risk of having only one interpreter for a long session?

If you use only one interpreter for a long session, you risk:

• Interpreter fatigue, which leads to errors

• Loss of nuance, especially with technical vocabulary

• Delayed interpretation as processing speed slows

• Speaker frustration

• Participant misunderstanding

• Potential compliance issues (in legal, medical, and financial settings)

Simultaneous interpretation requires sustained cognitive effort similar to air-traffic control or emergency-response decision-making.
One person simply cannot maintain flawless performance for hours.

4. What types of meetings require interpreters to work in pairs?

Any meeting requiring continuous simultaneous interpretation over 60 minutes should have at least two interpreters. This includes:

• Global town halls

• Earnings calls or investor meetings

• Training sessions and workshops

• Medical or legal briefings

• High-volume conferences

• Live-streamed virtual events

• Cross-border negotiations

• Government or public-sector sessions

• Hybrid events with in-person and remote participants

For multilingual events, you would need a pair of interpreters per language.

5. How does this work with remote or hybrid meetings?

Modern multilingual platforms like KUDO allow interpreters to work remotely in real time, switching every 20–30 minutes just as they would in a traditional booth.

Remote simultaneous interpretation (RSI) brings several advantages:

• Global access to top-tier interpreters

• Lower travel and logistics costs

• Flexible scheduling

• Better scalability for last-minute meetings

• Instant support for 30+ languages

The interpreter team works behind the scenes while meeting participants select their preferred language channel directly in platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or KUDO’s native interface.

6. What skills do professional interpreters bring to a meeting?

Professional conference interpreters are highly trained experts. Many have:

• Advanced degrees in conference interpreting

• Experience with UN agencies, EU institutions, and Fortune 500 events

• Specialized terminology knowledge (legal, financial, medical, engineering, etc.)

• Cultural and linguistic nuance to ensure accuracy

• A strict code of confidentiality and ethics

Good interpreters don’t just translate words—they preserve meaning, intent, tone, and emotional impact.

7. How far in advance should you book interpreters?

For high-demand languages or sectors, it’s recommended to book 2–6 weeks in advance. For uncommon language pairs or highly technical content, earlier is better.

However, with platforms like KUDO, organizations can also request interpreters on demand with a 12-hour lead time, depending on availability.

8. What information do interpreters need before the meeting?

Providing prep materials dramatically increases interpreting quality. Send:

• Meeting agenda and speaker list

• Slide decks or scripts

• Key terminology or acronyms

• Company background or sector context

• Any videos that will be shown

Interpreters cannot guess your internal jargon—they prepare extensively to make the interpretation flawless.

9. How many interpreters do I need for my meeting or event?

Here’s a quick guide:

• Under 60 minutes: One interpreter may be sufficient (depending on complexity).

• 60–90 minutes: Two interpreters required.

• 6+ hours: Two interpreters minimum; three for high-intensity sessions.

• Multiple languages: A pair of interpreters per language.

If you’re unsure, KUDO’s team can help you scope the right setup.

10. How does KUDO make working with interpreters easier?

KUDO provides:

• A global marketplace of 12,000+ certified interpreters

• Coverage for 200+ spoken and sign languages

• Seamless integration with Zoom, Teams, and web conferencing tools

• AI-powered support tools

• End-to-end event management and tech support

Whether you need human interpreters, AI interpretation, or a hybrid model, KUDO helps you match the right solution to the meeting’s goals and budget.

Final Thoughts: Interpretation Quality Depends on the Team Behind It

Professional interpreters work in pairs not by preference, but by industry standard, a standard designed to protect quality, accuracy, and your multilingual audiences’ experience.

If your meeting truly matters, your interpretation choices should too.

Want to learn more or book professional interpreters for your next event? KUDO can help you staff the right team in minutes. Get in touch for a demo.