Our long time clients, colleagues and followers already know that we have started offering online simultaneous interpretation services and tech support right at the onset of the pandemic. Later, as the world started opening up, we have added hybrid meetings to our list of expertise. Technology has improved massively over these last few years, and we are continuously striving to follow the developments and remain the top experts in this field. Even though we have used Microsoft Team and Webex, Zoom continues to be the most used software program for online and hybrid meetings with simultaneous interpretation.

Online platforms give the platform, but they do not provide interpreters; Dragoman does. Platforms do not customize your settings, either, we do. Dragoman has online meeting experts who can support your meetings in Turkish, English, French, Russian, Chinese, Korean, Serbian and more.

Zoom Webinar format has become a top choice for CEO talks and townhall meetings. Webinars have a practise session option which allows speakers to run camera and microphone checks and test presentation sharing before the broad audience joins the meeting. But sometimes it is not enough. Because the meeting is long and there are multiple speakers who do not join all at the same time.

Now, there is a better solution: Zoom Webinars Plus. Building upon the regular Zoom Webinar we’ve been using for years, Zoom added many features that we will benefit a lot of companies, and make life easier for speakers all over the world.

As usual, your webinar will have as practice session so thet the host can run required tests with the panelists. But we now have a continous waiting room, which Zoom calls the private backstage. It is a space where non-active panelists can rest, new comers may test their camera and microphone. Zoom backstage also allows he moderator and speakers to discuss and optimize the day for the audience.

Without the backstage, it was a problem to properly welcome panelists who join after the webinar had started. It was even a greater issue to provide technical support when a panelist experienced connectivity issues. The backstage will help us to engineer a more professional webinar experience.

Users with Pro, Business, Education and Enterprise accounts can also make use of the feature called Production Studio. Customizing layouts, video ratios, and branding features has never been easier. You can access readily available scene templates or create your own by customizing things to fit your branding better. This will make the Zoom screen in webinars be a subtle marketing device for companies. It won’t be too on the nose, but still quite efficient.

Zoom also offers an AI generator you can use to design images and use them for specific events. We used to help our clients set up new backgrounds for the waiting room, as that was a nice way to present their company/organization logo, but nowadays sneaking in your logo and brand colors will be easier than ever.

A completely new feature is the Simulive webinar. These webinars start at the scheduled time even without the presence of the host. When scheduling, a pre-recorded video is added and later streamed in the webinar. It is also possible for the host and panelists to join the session, and message in the chat and Q&A. They can also set it up so that the Simulive webinar immediately moves to the live session as soon as the pre-recorded video has finished playing. When hosts are in a time crunch, this can be very useful. The presentation can be pre-recorded, but they can still take some time to answer questions live. While the Simulive is still running panelists can join Backstage and prepare.

There is also some good news for company analysts.  Even though the regular Zoom Webinar offered some analytics of your events, Webinar Plus is much more detailed. You can make the most use of it if attendees are registered.

As a professional interpreting service provider to many local and international organizations, we are happy to take on this new feature. Our team of experienced interpreters is excited to continue learning and growing together with technology.

Zoom webinar plus is a little more expensive then the regular Zoom webinar, but it is worth the investment especially when you host multilingual talks for a broad audience with live language interpretation.

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact our office or send us an email, we will be happy to help.