You need to organise an event (a conference, workshop, or meeting) or have a document translated: so how do you request a customised quote? How can you avoid a thousand e-mail exchanges when you can solve everything more quickly? What information is absolutely essential to get a precise idea of how much you are going to spend?

Let’s start with a fundamental question: which is the service you generally start with when requesting an estimate?

Perhaps from the catering service, the venue, or maybe from prestigious speakers to impress your guests. On the other hand, language services often slip to the bottom of the list, at the risk of being irrevocably forgotten. I am referring, more specifically, to interpreters and translators who can facilitate communication with foreign guests. They are not a mere whim or something to spare, but a valuable resource and a tool to ensure the satisfaction of the entire audience. And, of course, not make anyone feel left out!

However, it is not uncommon to receive last minute, or rather last second, requests for quotations trying to save the day! But by then it may be too late to get the right language expert for a certain sector or event. Perhaps you have already approached a professional in the past and would like them for other meetings: this is the classic case where it is important that you plan and anticipate requests.

My advice is to get ahead of the game

by contacting a trusted professional you can rely on.

When requesting a quote, however, we tend to forget some basic data.

For an interpreting service, it is necessary to communicate the:

• exact date > some periods are in greater demand than others, and the agenda tends to fill up quickly (generally in spring and autumn, but also in conjunction with the presentation of new fashion collections or trade events)
• hours > the rate varies depending on whether you work half a day (up to 4 hours) or a full day (over 7 hours of work an extra is charged). There are no hourly rates, as also confirmed by AITI (Italian Association of Translators and Interpreters) regulating the working conditions of our category
• language combination > English is sometimes taken for granted as one of the two working languages, but this is not always the case. As part of the same event, translation may be required from/into two or more different languages, e.g., English, and Spanish or French. This specific request must be clarified during the quotation phase! It has already happened to me several times this year: luckily, one of the two colleagues had managed to handle the unexpected and cover the language ‘gap’ of the other colleague. I am speaking from experience, because sometimes a lack of communication can lead to unpleasant misunderstandings!
• number of people using the interpreting service > in case a bidule system needs to be hired for the simultaneous interpretation. It is necessary to know in good time whether 5 or 50 receivers will be needed (a 0 can make all the difference!). Read more on tourist guide-type systems here. For smaller groups, on the other hand, you could opt  for liaison, consecutive or whispered (in the latter case, for one or two people at most)
• topic > it is one thing to serve during a high finance meeting, quite another during a fashion presentation or a highly technical training course. The topic is key to choosing the perfect professional and receiving a customised quote! Interpreters are not all-rounders and each one specialises in specific areas. Based on the principles of ethics, a professional should refuse to work in certain areas without proper preparation, but could at least suggest a colleague as an alternative
• venue > will the event be face-to-face or online? Is a trip abroad or out of the region planned? Will one or more overnight stays be necessary? All these are aspects to be considered when drafting a customised all-inclusive quote without any surprises.

For a translation service, it is necessary to communicate the:

• number of words to translate > in the past, the page was used as the unit of measurement (generally 1500 characters including spaces), although it was decidedly more confusing. The word count, on the other hand, is much easier and more intuitive to calculate (in Word, for example, via the Word Count setting or with the Anycount software)!
• the text to be viewed, to better assess any terminology difficulties or content to be translated. In case, for reasons of confidentiality or size, it is not possible to send the entire document, one or more excerpts may also help comprehend the tenor of the text to be translated
• language combination > if translation of a text into Japanese is required, I will not be able to do it myself, but I will need to rely on a native speaker colleague! Therefore, it is necessary to specify FROM WHICH-TO-WHICH language to translate in order to best evaluate the rates and whether any external professionals should be involved
• delivery date > as you can imagine, there is a surcharge in case of urgency. There is a reasonable number of words that can be translated per day but, in case of emergencies, it is also possible to ‘jump through hoops’. The best option would be to split the work between several translators, but in this case stylistic and/or terminological consistency may be lacking. Haste is never on our side, but trying to meet any emergencies is possible.

So, as you may have understood, there are so many aspects to consider when drafting a quotation: run through a checklist the next time you need to request one. And, if you still have doubts, please do not hesitate to contact me, I will be more than happy to help you tailor your project.

Don’t forget your foreign guests, click here to receive a customised quote!