In a negotiation the interpreter is the only person in the room who hears both sides in their own words, and the only one whose mistake can cost either side real money. That is why we do not send junior people to negotiations. The interpreters we assign to this work have sat through hundreds of hours of contract talks, joint-venture discussions, supplier audits and shareholder meetings, and they know the difference between what a party said, what it meant and what it would like the other side to believe.
We interpret consecutively at the table, which is what most negotiations call for, or simultaneously through a portable system when the agenda is long and the parties want to keep the pace of a normal meeting. A single interpreter can carry a half-day session; for full days and multi-day talks we assign two, because a tired interpreter is an inaccurate one. Everything we hear is confidential, and we sign your non-disclosure agreement before the first meeting as a matter of course.
Preparation is where negotiations are won, and we prepare. Send us the draft agreement, the term sheet, the previous correspondence and the names of the people across the table, and your interpreter will arrive knowing the numbers, the terminology and the history. If your side would like a private briefing on how Russian-speaking counterparts tend to approach a deal, what is said for effect and what is said for the record, our senior interpreters have spent decades in those rooms and are glad to share what they have seen.
Tell us where and when the talks take place and how many sessions you expect, and we will propose the interpreter and a firm price.
