Translating certificates – distinguishing marks

 

No translation of a novel is the same. The style, language and sensitivity of the translator render each translation unique to itself. That situation applies to legal translation, albeit to a lesser degree. The same cannot be said of official document translation. As the quantity and variability of words is so limited, it is quite probable that different translators will produce essentially identical documents, as it should be. Yet, in this niche, it is possible to “stand out” from the field and be more successful mainly through the “soft skills” required to attain and retain customers. These skills include ensuring findability, professional communication, careful listening, deadline setting and accountability. Together, they create a personal brand in a rather generic niche.

The a priori of developing a client base is making it easy for translation buyers to find you. As private customers represent a significant percentage of one’s clientele, it is the translator’s task to create high visibility and convenient contact. Specifically, the customer searching for a translator of an official document from one language to another phrases the search in a certain manner and directs the search to certain tracks, including AI, LinkedIn, Facebook and professional association search engines. The greater the exposure, the higher the chance of being noticed. However, too many translators forget to make their email address and phone number clearly visible or even include them. The average translator buyer simply chooses another name when faced with a challenge. Thus, official document translators must have a presence where customers search in a manner that allows for effortless follow-up.

Once contact is made, whether by email, telephone or WhatsApp, the potential buyer, generally lacking any ability to discern the potential quality of the translation, places great importance on the tone of the communication. A customer is neither a friend nor an enemy. The market creates business relations, which value ease and comfort. True, a few words of friendly conversation may be beneficial, depending on the individual culture. However, the messages must be clear and complete and create a minimum of follow-up. In other words, the translator must provide the required information in the most accessible and efficient manner possible. This approach creates the impression, sometimes accurate in practice, that the translator is a professional, regardless of how many years of experience that person may or may not have. On the other hand, inappropriate, inefficient or simply excessive words annoy, which may lead to the buyer choosing someone else. The translator sets the tone of the communication.

In order to provide that information and reinforce the “professional” impression, it is first necessary to listen and ask questions. First, many buyers enjoy talking. It is important to have some kind of human communication here. More importantly, it is vital to ask questions regarding information that is necessary for fully defining the service, such as the receiving agency and need for notarization. These queries both save time for everybody and create the impression that the translator is an expert. Listening and clarifying solidify the business relationship and ensure smooth processing.

One of the key elements of that information is setting a mutually acceptable deadline. For the client, the amount of flexibility varies in regard to the actual required date of delivery. It is important to ascertain the actual deadline. For the translator, each document requires a certain period of time, including sufficient time for proper quality control. It is one of the reasons I do not provide same-day service. Ultimately, it is counterproductive to produce inferior or flawed work or, in the worst case, miss the deadline. Allowing extra time and delivering earlier is a far more successful strategy, like a merchant adding product to a hand-weighed service, such as selling loose candies, as compared to taking some away to attain the desired amount. If customers receive their translation early, it is a bonus for them. It is vital to find the deadline that meets both needs.

To turn a one-time order into a long-term relationship and receive referrals, it is necessary to take responsibility for one’s errors when they occur. Many documents are quite complicated in terms of names, numbers and formatting. No craftsperson (including translators) is perfect; mistakes happen. Fortunately, most buyers understand this to a certain extent. To retain customers, especially when it is necessary to make a correction, requires humility and strength. Prompt and effective handling of any issues smooths over most ill feelings. Whatever anger and frustration a translator feels inwardly and outwardly is not relevant to the matter in hand. In fact, it is best to accept, regret and fix the error with as little emotion as possible. Beating oneself up or the customer is not a good recipe for long-term success.

Thus, while official document translators produce rather “vanilla” documents, they can act to become more or less effective. The most successful translators, including those of official documents, actively market, communicate professionally, listen, set proper deadlines and stand behind their work. All of these soft skills are a matter of approach and habit. They are an essential part of running a translation or, for that matter, any business. They lead to customers coming back and giving you good marks.

To and around the point – the impact of social directness.

 

[circles in a tree trunk*]

At a recent translator conference in France, I observed the reaction of the audience of several hundred people, to a 45-minute boring lecture by a government official telling us how great he was. Not a single person got up and left nor did I hear a single complaint about that waste of time during the break. This passive accepance would probably not have occurred anywhere in the Mediterranean basin, especially in Israel, where complaining is an art form. The point is not that either form of expression or non-expression is better but instead that the rules of the social game differ from area to area, if not from country to country and ethnic group to ethnic group. Furthermore, this difference affects how visitors, immigrants and business people react to exposure to another world.

People express their feelings non-verbally and verbally. Walking out, becoming animated or making faces all reflect an internal feeling. For example, it is possible to understand whether or not a person agrees with the speaker by observing the facial expression, at least in some cultures. The verbal aspect ranges from silence, i.e., the thought never leaves the mind, to understated, as in “he went a bit too far”, to no-doubt: “the speaker is full of shit”. All roads lead to Rome but the road signs vary in language and scale.

While individual and family tendences clearly impact the manner of expression, the accepted manner of society tends to control the bounds of honesty. Admittedly, all societies impose a layer of veneer of politeness, especially in specific settings, particularly business environments and official occasions, but the thickness of this layers varies from country to country.  Thus, northern Europe, which includes the dominant cultures of most of the United States and Canada, tends to be rather stoic, hiding its dirty laundry and making every effort to maintain a serene atmosphere. In other cultures, notably most of the Mediterranean, people can keep a polite face for a while but it doesn’t take long before someone gets excited in a positive or negative way. Few natives take these incidents to heart as drama is an essential and integral part of life. In practice, normal behavior is what a person expects and can interpret.

When visiting a country with a “foreign” point of view (an Italian in Holland, not an Italian in Spain), difference makes the heart grow fonder. It is strange but somehow charming how polite or impolite the waiters and taxi drivers are or how simple or complicated dealing with bureaucracy becomes. The tone of conversations at a café sounds so exotic because they are unlike the familiar music of our familiar conversations. The body language, whether relatively restrained or unrestrained, display a completely different if not necessarily understood drama, adding to its charm. The foreignness of the communication, whether verbal or not, can be part of the charm, making it exotic.

However, living in such a place is another story. To reside in the country requires functioning in it and understanding both the text and subtext. It may be amusing to see a driver have an angry dispute with police officer but people used to law and order may find that “unbecoming”, bordering on anarchistic, and clearly not beneficial to society, especially when they experience that style of discussion with an inconsiderate neighbor. On the opposite hand, an Israeli expecting open discussions of annoying matters could find it frustrating that nobody speaks their mind, creating even more tension. Asymmetric communication patterns over time either lead to a person going native or leaving the country.

As business has become international, understanding these differences has become vital. “One size fits all” does not apply to business communication. A subtle reference to a Japanese or Norwegian customer may elegantly solve a controversial matter but that same message is lost or viewed as a sign of weakness in the Middle East. To complicate matters, every country, apart from Japan and a few others, is multicultural today, rendering it impossible to be certain of the appropriate tone. Still, when expressing dissatisfaction, it is important to consider the larger target culture in deciding on how direct to be. For example, “there appears to be issue with last month’s payment” is appropriate in some places while in others, “I have yet to receive payment” would be far more effective. When communicating with parties abroad, make an effort to take into account how direct the message should be.

Variety is the spice of life. It would be quite boring if all the world were the same. The fact that people express their thoughts in different styles makes it interesting to travel to foreign countries, comfortable to live in our native country and complicated to communicate with businesses abroad. Thus, both to-the-point and around-the-point are relevant forms of expression.

* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.

Picture from Pixibay