By the end of March 2020, most of us had packed up our laptops and office essentials and didn’t know when we’d return to a normal working environment. Stuffed in our little nooks and couch ends, those privileged enough to work remotely from home soon realized that a Zoom link had become our default business, medical, legal, and social connection to places like doctor’s offices, courtrooms, and classrooms–to name just a few.
In those endless e-meetings, marketing departments everywhere were reimagining how to keep their corporate messaging alive and well. Reality was now virtual! From massive public events to intimate gatherings, connections were now digital, and we were constantly having to adjust as we checked into them one meeting link at a time. In those early months, we simply had to close our eyes and jump into this Brave New World of webinars, virtual town halls, summits, conferences, and yes, even the summer’s political conventions.
Exponential Growth
With each opportunity, our clients and LUNA’s staff shortened the learning curve for the next virtual event. We learned the limitations of the platforms, and more importantly, the workarounds that we shared in numerous evening meetings with clients.
From East to West coasts, North and South, in Europe and beyond, we’ve been in responsive mode, providing foreign language interpreter teams. Our teams have honed their technical skills to “relay” with their fellow interpreting team members as early as 6:00 a.m., with three devices on alert.
The pandemic accelerated digital connections faster than anyone would have imagined. Companies and organizations quickly realized the power of virtual platforms, and their unique capability to not only help find global talent but also reach a global audience, in many time zones, all at one time.
Best Practices for a Successful Virtual Event
A few simple tools are needed: a reliable internet connection, a computer with a camera, speakers, and microphone (lighting and headphones optional), and video conferencing software like Zoom, Teams, Webex, or Google Meet.
On the client end, the length of each session should be considered carefully. Many clients have chosen to deliver their innovative and interactive content in briefer periods of time. With an audience sitting in front of a screen and not on–site; shorter sessions can help keep attendees engaged.
Identifying and finding a tech person on your team is invaluable. On our end, LUNA has coordinated ASL and foreign language interpreters in the clients’ Zoom rooms, along with the Captioning Writers. To be successful, we all also needed a measure of luck, patience, and faith in ourselves!
Virtual is Here to Stay
Even as in-person meetings return in 2021, a hybrid model incorporating virtual conferences will likely remain; the high cost of face-to-face meetings is now divided by the number of people an on-site conference used to reach. After ten months of working alongside virtual event planners, it has become known that a company’s business and messaging can be conducted and shared very effectively by a quick click on a link that connects everyone globally. Expense accounts become non-existent in the virtual environments.
Working Together
In joint partnerships, LUNA and our clients are figuring out together what we need, and how we can find a solution to meet our client’s vision for their event.
LUNA recognizes the pandemic has created isolation, loneliness, and mounting loss. It all is honored and remembered. But some of us have been fortunate to have our world open up in many expanding and novel ways even if we are sitting at our dining room table.
To learn more about our language services, visit our webpages on Interpreting Services and Translation Services.
Ready to work with LUNA?
Please visit our Get a Quote page to get started. Our team will provide you with information and a free estimate for the services requested.