Consecutive interpreting at a town hall meeting

Managers at international companies often don’t speak German. So it’s all the more important that communication works well at least at staff meetings in Germany.

Our customer, a medical technology company close to Frankfurt, had come through some turbulent years. Since the firm was taken over by a US manufacturer in 2015 four CEOs had come and gone, and so the employees had already heard plenty of speeches announcing new strategies.

At the same time, corporate performance was not meeting expectations. The merger had taken place on paper, but several years later it was still not really implemented in practice. Processes, structures and IT systems had still not been integrated. The potential synergies between the two companies were not being leveraged in full.

Then in mid-2023, CEO number five arrived on the scene: an amiable, rather reserved Irishman who wanted to speak to the German staff in person. He, too, had a vision to present to the workforce, and wanted to explain the changes that this would entail. His aim was to complete the integration of the different parts of the firm – and to do that, of course, he needed the motivation of the employees.

A town hall meeting demonstrated his interest and willingness to communicate

During the preparations, the new CEO explained that he was not very good at public speaking. In addition, the company’s communications department which engaged us was obviously nervous – after all, the local workforce was not particularly optimistic about the future.

The town hall meeting took place outdoors (under a roof) on a fine early summer’s day. It was scheduled between two shifts so that as many members of staff as possible could attend. They had the opportunity to submit questions for the new CEO in advance, or to ask them live at the meeting.

Previous CEOs had either only sent recorded video messages or joined the meetings via Zoom. This on-site appearance was intended to signal interest and willingness to communicate, and to answer as many questions from the employees as possible in the tense situation. They were especially interested in the security of their site and their jobs. With an interpreter, the management was able to express its appreciation of the staff. And it worked.

Nervousness gave way to a cheerful mood

Our interpreter Sandra Haldimann was familiar with developments at the company and the communication challenges from previous assignments. She was therefore able to take a sensitive approach. Shortly before the meeting, she and the CEO worked out how to proceed: during the staff meeting she would stand next to him on the stage. He would say a few sentences in English, and she would then translate them into German for the employees.

The two of them worked in perfect harmony. His friendliness towards Sandra and his empathy with the employees showed through in her interpreting and became clear to the workforce. As a result, the new CEO scored with the employees not only with the information he conveyed, but also with his personality. So he achieved his most important objective that day.

The tension in the workforce eased off. This effect was boosted by one sentence in particular, which the CEO had formulated in a rather complicated way but which Sandra reproduced in a much shorter version. The employees who had understood the English original applauded with amusement. Sandra also made an excellent job of various other linguistic challenges, and earned positive reactions from the assembled workers.

First choice: consecutive interpreting

Town hall meetings are frequently interpreted simultaneously. Nonetheless, at this meeting consecutive interpretation was the better choice because it simply would not have been economical to use simultaneous equipment. There wasn’t a good place for a soundproof booth, and it would have been necessary to hand out headphones to around 200 participants – all for a speech lasting only about 20 minutes.

Consecutive interpreting is especially challenging for the interpreters. They have to understand the details of what is being said and distil the key messages, while standing on the stage equipped only with a notepad. However good their preparation, they must still find the right word at that the right time, as there’s no way of looking up vocabulary on the spur of the moment.

Medical technology

Face-to-face event

Town hall meeting

Approx. 200

Interpreting

Consecutive

German, English

Bensheim (Hesse)

Have a look at more of our past projects and compare your requirements with the events where we have realised complete solutions with interpreter services and equipment.