Recent estimates suggest that over 300 million people log on for at least one virtual meeting on Zoom every day. Zoom is a popular communication platform for personal and professional communication because it’s easy to use and offers convenient features and functions. Advances in virtual communication technology allow professionals around the world to close distance and collaborate more effectively with teammates and clients. Now, translations on Zoom are facilitating even more effective communication.
Offering multi-lingual communications like meetings and conference calls can help modern business leaders support the ever-evolving needs of the global workforce. Let’s discuss the ins and outs of Zoom’s live translation capabilities and establish some best practices for offering impactful multi-lingual communications.

Understanding Zoom’s Interpretation Features
In its current iteration, Zoom offers a built-in workflow for language interpretation that makes it possible for users to enable real-time translation of their calls. Essentially, users can invite an interpreter to join a meeting and provide real-time translation of the call’s audio. Zoom’s interpretation function allows multiple interpreters to join a meeting simultaneously, and attendees can easily select the audio stream that corresponds to their desired language.
To use this feature, a Zoom host must have at least one interpreter available to join their call. Ideally, an organizer will want to enlist a professional, experienced interpreter to offer all attendees quality messaging and communication. Without a live interpreter, closed captions may provide multi-lingual support. Essentially, when a user selects their desired caption language, Zoom’s auto-captioning technology translates the text into that language and displays the translation on-screen.
It’s important to note that Zoom’s automatic captions rely on artificial intelligence software or automatic speech recognition technology. Because computers generate automatic captions, they may include errors that can impede a viewer’s understanding. In some situations, meeting organizers may need to seek out alternative methods of captioning and translating Zoom calls for global participants.

Alternatives for Accurate Translations
To safeguard against the kinds of translation and transcription errors that are common with AI-based solutions, Zoom users can instead partner with a professional captioning, transcription and translation service like Verbit. Verbit specializes in creating accurate captions for platforms like Zoom. Verbit’s software integrates seamlessly to streamline workflows while providing more engaging and inclusive communications.
Providing accurate multi-language captions can help your organization expand its reach and find a global audience. Verbit’s captions are also accurate enough to support critical accessibility requirements like the Americans with Disabilities Act. With quality captions, viewers can enjoy equitable messaging during meetings, calls and other events.
Verbit allows users to request real-time captioning and translation of their Zoom communications, as well as translation services for previously recorded content. Users can have Verbit provide translations on Zoom in multiple languages and upload the corresponding caption files to third-party media hosting sites like YouTube to expand their audience further.

Enhancing Virtual Meetings with Zoom Transcription Services
In addition to tools like captioning and translation, Verbit offers comprehensive transcription solutions to further elevate the quality of your virtual communications. It’s possible to generate transcripts in real-time during a meeting or after a recorded call. Providing accurate transcripts of virtual business communications is a great way to support meeting participants with disabilities and specific learning needs.
Transcribing Zoom communications can also support the needs of remote and hybrid employees. Virtual communication platforms offer modern workers an unprecedented amount of flexibility since it’s now possible for team members to join a work meeting from just about anywhere. However, sometimes, employees will be tuning in from a noisy or distracting environment, making it difficult for them to fully engage during the call. Similarly, some employees may encounter internet or audio problems during a call, leading them to miss out on important information. Providing written transcripts of these communications can help safeguard against environmental distractions and technology snafus and provide more streamlined messaging across the board.

Best Practices for Effective Communication
Meeting organizers and other professionals can use various strategies and resources to ensure equitable and engaging messaging to all. Here are a few key points that can help you lay the foundations for an effective and inclusive virtual meeting:
- Before a meeting, conduct necessary research to determine the preferred languages of attendees. If several employees speak one particular language, consider offering translations or interpretations to better accommodate them.
- Provide all interpreters with as much information as possible about a meeting’s agenda, topics and specialized terminology. Taking steps ahead of time will prepare the technology, and translators will lead to better, more accurate results.
- Conduct pre-event checks to ensure all technical equipment works correctly and interpreters are comfortable using it. Troubleshooting equipment issues can take time, so you don’t want to be trying to fix anything at the start of a meeting.
- Work with a professional captioning and transcription provider to ensure all final call transcripts are sufficiently accurate before distribution. While an error or two during a live call may occur, transcripts that live on a website or YouTube long after the event may face more scrutiny.
- Seek feedback from participants and interpreters about what works for them during a multi-lingual call and what would make the experience more engaging or user-friendly. Once you have that feedback, take the appropriate steps to improve the process.

Working with Professionals for Quality Translations on Zoom
Providing information in multiple languages and formats can help support modern professionals’ diverse needs. Whether you use a professional interpreter for real-time audio translation or work with a captioning provider like Verbit for on-screen translation solutions, offering support for multiple languages during business communications can help foster greater inclusivity and boost workplace productivity overall.
If you’re interested in learning more about Verbit’s advanced captioning, transcription and translation solutions, reach out today to speak to a member of our team. We would love to share how our seamless software integrations, enhanced transcription formats and generative AI toolkits are helping modern business leaders communicate more effectively.