Simultaneous interpretation is the most difficult kind of interpretation, and also one of the most in demand kinds. Simultaneous interpretation can have a huge effect on the world that we live in today, and it is a critical part of the meetings that occur between nations and companies and people that speak different languages. Simultaneous interpretation is all about breaking down the language barriers that can divide our worlds communications.



With simultaneous interpretation, a person who serves as the interpreter listens to one person who is speaking via a headset. The interpreter at once in his head figures out what the speaker has said, and instantly speaks it, translated into another language, into a microphone that is transferred to the audience of the speaker. It is in this way with simultaneous interpretation that any important leaders from anywhere around the world can communicate without having to worry about not understanding one another and without having to worry about not being understood themselves.

What makes simultaneous interpretation different from direct translation is time. When someone serves as a translator, the person listens to one speaker, and the speaker stops ever sentence or two to allow the translator time to translate and speak to the other listeners in the other language. However in simultaneous translation, there is no waiting, no time delay. The person doing the simultaneous interpretation speaks, translates, and listens, all at the same time, and if that is not difficult enough, there is no room for error. Consecutive translation is similar, in that there is a time factor involved that is not cost effective or time efficient for the people involved.

Clearly, simultaneous interpretation would be an incredibly difficult, stressful, and demanding job. It is because of this fact that oftentimes the people who perform simultaneous interpretation will only do it for short periods at a time, and then will take a well deserved break while someone else takes over for a while, almost like tag teaming it. For meetings that are short, there may only be a need for a couple of people to do the simultaneous interpretation. For huge conferences and international meetings, however, many people are needed to effectively do simultaneous interpretation, because the mental demands are so great, interpreters can only maintain the mental focus and ability to interpret for a maximum of about 15 minutes before their abilities start to become compromised. The world owes much to the men and women who perform simultaneous interpretation, and there are so few interpreters who can actually do it that it is one of the worlds most prestigious positions.