Where it’s used
Rooms where people do not all speak the same language.
A conference, a workplace, a council chamber, a lecture hall, a church, a hired hall or a walking tour: different rooms with the same problem. One person is speaking and part of the audience is only getting half of it. Pick the room that is yours and see how it runs there.
Seven kinds of room
Each one has an objection the others do not. Each page answers its own.
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Conferences and AGMs
Delegates join late, leave mid-session and move between rooms.
Useful for
- Annual meetings · Industry conferences
- Trade events · Breakout sessions
- Member forums · Panel discussions
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Workplaces and all-hands
The same team meets each week, and HR needs to know whether everyone understood.
Useful for
- Toolbox talks · Shift briefings
- Staff inductions · Safety training
- All-hands meetings · Team updates
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Councils and public meetings
Public access and an accurate meeting record are responsibilities, not optional extras.
Useful for
- Council sessions · Public hearings
- Planning meetings · Resident forums
- Community consultations
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Lectures and information evenings
A room of students or parents has limited attention to spare.
Useful for
- Lectures · Seminars · Workshops
- Parent evenings · School orientations
- Enrolment sessions · Campus talks
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Services and congregations
A volunteer has to get the room ready at the same time every week.
Useful for
- Church services · Mosque gatherings
- Hindu and Buddhist temple talks
- Synagogue and gurdwara gatherings
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Community and cultural events
The languages arrive with the guests, in a borrowed hall with little to spend on equipment.
Useful for
- Weddings · Funerals · Local festivals
- Welcome nights · Cultural talks
- Neighbourhood and volunteer meetings
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Tours and guided visits
The group is spread over thirty metres and half of it cannot hear you. There is no room, no screen and no sound desk — only the phone already in each visitor’s pocket.
Useful for
- Walking tours · Heritage visits
- Museum talks · Gallery tours
- Visitor briefings · Guided site visits
What every room needs, whichever one it is
The list is short, and most rooms already have it.
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A microphone the speaker is already using
The feed that goes to the room speakers, or a phone near the person talking. A conference takes it off the desk; a tour clips it to a collar.
- Minimum
- A phone, tablet or laptop in a browser
- Better
- The desk app on a Windows computer, fed from the mixer
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The listening link where people can see it
On the screen, in the programme, on a card at the door or a ticket. Every room has somewhere people already look.
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An internet connection
For the computer or phone sending the sound, and for the audience reading on theirs. Venue wifi or a phone signal is enough.
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Your own names and words
People, places and terms, entered once in the venue’s glossary so every room spells them its own way.
In any of them
One speaker. Whatever languages walked in.
The person beside them picks something else. The room did not have to agree on one translation, and the organiser did not have to know in advance.
If you need anything at all during the day, simply ask any one of us.
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Español
Si necesitan cualquier cosa durante el día, simplemente pregúntenos a cualquiera de nosotros.
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中文
如果白天你们需要任何东西,直接问我们任何一个人就行。
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العربية
إذا احتجتم أي شيء خلال النهار، فاسألوا أيًا منا ببساطة.
Why SpanVoice
What rooms like yours are usually offered. And what this is.
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Paying for it
Most translation servicesUsually a monthly or annual plan, charged whether or not an event ran.
SpanVoiceThe hours each event runs, per language. A quiet month costs nothing.
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Hours you did not use
Most translation servicesOften a monthly allowance that resets, or an annual bank that lapses.
SpanVoiceCredit never expires, in any room, in any year.
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Languages
Most translation servicesOften a base set, with a charge for each language added.
SpanVoiceAny of the sixty, charged only while somebody is reading in it.
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Audience size
Most translation servicesOften tiers by audience count, or a cap on listeners.
SpanVoiceTwenty people or two thousand, the same price. Nothing per person.
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More than one room
Most translation servicesOften another licence or another session fee per room.
SpanVoiceAs many venues as you have rooms, in one account.
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Getting started
Most translation servicesOften a sales call, an onboarding period, or a device to buy.
SpanVoiceSign up, start a session, read it on your own phone. Then decide.
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The app
Most translation servicesUsually a browser page, built for one kind of room.
SpanVoiceA Windows desk app and a browser page, built by people who run live sound and use them every week in rooms like yours.
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Where it runs
Most translation servicesRarely stated.
SpanVoiceServers in Australia, Europe and the United States.
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Price
Most translation servicesCompare it yourself: price your event with any service you like.
SpanVoiceIf you find a similar service for less, tell us and we will look into it.
Not sure which room you are
A few good questions.
Describe the event and we will point you at the right page, or tell you it does not need one.
Talk to usDo we need different equipment for different rooms?
Can one account cover more than one room?
Is it the same price in every room?
Try it in your room.
Start it from a phone or the desk, put the link where people look, and watch them read along.
A$10 of free credit when you sign up, no credit card needed. Credit never expires — use it this week or next year.