When you’re working with a translator, your satisfaction comes down to several factors, including open communication and clearly understood expectations. But not all translation services will take steps to guarantee a positive experience for their clients. What can you do to make sure your content is translated the way you want? The following four tips are a great start. Next, contact us to learn how our translation services put the customer first.
1. Establish the context
When you first meet with your translator, describe the specific context of your content. The translator should clearly understand the type of content to be translated, your target audience, the tone of your message (whether it’s casual or formal), and the media platform for your translated message. If you’re seeking business translation services, the translator should also understand your role in the company.
2. Prepare a style guide and glossary
The key to consistency in translation is using a style guide, whether it’s your company’s in-house style or a commonly used guide, such as The Chicago Manual of Style or The Associated Press Stylebook. A style guide allows your translator to learn your particular preferences and make informed decisions about capitalization, punctuation, word usage, reading level, and other issues.
Consider also providing a glossary for your translator. This glossary will list the preferred spelling and capitalization of any project-specific names, terms, abbreviations, and jargon used in your content. A glossary helps with consistency and ensures your translator is familiar with terms and phrases unique to your organization. For example, if you do not capitalize position titles, your translator should know that.
In short, if you specify a style guide and provide a glossary, the translator’s work will be more efficient and accurate.
3. Make sure your source text is clear and concise
If you’ve used digital translation on your source text, review it for quality and clarity. It should be free of misplaced words, punctuation errors, and poor sentence structure before your translator receives it.
4. Stay in regular contact with your translator
High-quality translations depend on good communication between the client and the translator. Make yourself available to reply to questions quickly. That timely interaction will go a long way toward ensuring a great outcome.
Ready to find a high-quality translation service?
We offer these guidelines because we follow them with every client and every project, from consultation to completion. Our professional team is experienced and dedicated to making sure your translation project gets the results you desire.
Contact TranslationServices.com for a free quote today. From there, we’ll walk you through the key steps above and accompany you in your global campaigns.