fulTo plan a multilingual training day, choose the type of interpretation, prepare a room that fits it, translate your materials early, and give the interpreters your slides two days before. This guide is a checklist for trainers and programme managers running training in Morocco with mixed-language groups.
By Michael Delrieu, founder of fulbridge and English–French interpreter.
Six weeks before: choose the format
- Type of interpretation: simultaneous for most training days with 5 to 50 trainees; consecutive for small groups and practical sessions. See which type you need.
- Languages: list every language your trainees need. For a full day, plan two interpreters per language.
- Group work: if trainees split into groups, tell us. Portable systems let an interpreter move with a group.
- Ask for a quote with the dates, city, languages and number of trainees.
Three weeks before: translate the materials
Send slides, handouts and assessments for translation early. A translator translates about 2,000 words a day, so a 10,000-word manual takes about five working days. Trainees can then follow along in their own language from the first morning.
One week before: the room
- Leave space at the back or side of the room for the interpreter booth, if you have one.
- Plan one headset per trainee, plus about 10% spare.
- Give each speaker and trainer a microphone. Interpreters can only interpret what they can hear clearly.
- Check that the room can be dark enough for slides and light enough for the interpreters to read.
Two days before: brief the interpreters
- Send the agenda, the slides and the names of the trainers.
- Send a list of acronyms and key terms, with their meaning.
- Tell the interpreters about videos, role plays or quizzes, so they can prepare.
The day before: set up the equipment
- If you have a booth, our technicians set it up the day before. They install the interpreter consoles, the central control unit and the radiators that send the interpretation to the headsets.
- They connect the interpretation system to the room’s sound system, so the interpreters hear every microphone. If the venue’s system causes interference, we bring our own speakers and microphones.
- They run a sound check and fix any interference.
On the day: run the training
- Interpreters arrive 30 minutes before the start. Our technician runs a final sound check with them.
- Ask trainers to speak at a normal pace and to read slides aloud rather than skip them.
- Plan normal breaks. Interpreters take turns, but trainees need breaks too.
Tips for an inclusive workshop
Even if most participants speak the trainer’s language, these steps help everyone follow and take part.
- A headset for everyone. Ask every participant to take one, even those who speak the trainer’s language. They will need it to understand questions asked in another language.
- Explain the headsets at the start. Show how to switch them on and which channel carries which language.
- Questions into the microphone. Remind participants regularly to use a microphone when they ask a question, so the interpreters can hear it.
- Repeat questions without a microphone. If someone asks a question from the floor, the trainer repeats it into the microphone, so the interpreters hear it and can interpret it.
- A sign-in list for headsets. Hand out headsets against a printed list of participants, so nobody has to leave an ID card, and collect them at the end.
- Spare headsets. Plan about 10% more headsets than participants.
Budget example
A one-day training in Marrakech, English to French, 30 trainees: 2 interpreters × MAD 6,000 + 1 equipment package × MAD 1,800 + 10 extra headsets × MAD 42 = about MAD 14,220 including VAT, before any discount. See all our prices.
Related services
- Interpretation for training & workshops: interpreters and equipment for your course.
- Translation: slides, handouts and assessments.
Planning a training day?
Send us your dates, city, languages and number of trainees. We’ll send you one quote for interpreters, equipment and translation. Or call +212 6 75 64 14 30.