Among the recurring occasions for which I recruit teams of interpreters, Annual General Meetings of Shareholders feature prominently in my events calendar. At first sight, AGMs may appear to be formulaic routine gatherings of shareholders with little room for improvisation or unexpected incidents, but in actual fact they can turn out to be rather complex and demanding for conference interpreters. With the growing demand for transparency and shareholder participation, AGMs have become forums of exchange between shareholders and management. In recent years, environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics have come to the fore at AGMs and are now discussed intensively, sometimes for hours.

What does this mean for me as a consultant interpreter? When putting together interpreter teams for AGMs I have to ensure that the interpreters chosen are not only versed in the standard procedural topics of a shareholder meeting but also familiar with the history of the company, its business model, its strategy and of course … current events. Statements made by shareholders and responses by corporate management are usually not scripted and not available to the interpreters for preparation in advance. So, while the statutory business of an AGM may allow for thorough preparation, the Q&A rounds call for improvisation skills on the part of the interpreters – a requirement I have to factor in when putting together my teams of interpreters.