How to Run a Multilingual Workshop or Meeting

The Multilingual Challenge: Why Most International Meetings Fall Flat

Picture this: twelve participants from five countries sit in a conference room. The facilitator speaks English, but half the room is mentally translating every sentence. Questions go unasked because formulating them in a second language feels too slow. Key decisions get lost in translation — literally.

This scenario plays out in universities, multinational corporations, NGOs, and research labs every day. The cost is real: misaligned projects, disengaged participants, and repeated meetings to clarify what should have been settled the first time.

The good news? With the right preparation, tools, and workflow, you can run multilingual meetings that are productive, inclusive, and well-documented. This guide covers everything from the planning phase through post-meeting follow-up.

Planning Phase: Laying the Groundwork

Identify Languages and Proficiency Levels

Before choosing any tool or format, survey your participants:

• Primary languages spoken — not just "official" languages, but what people actually think in
• Proficiency levels — conversational fluency differs from the ability to follow a fast-paced technical discussion
• Preferred output language — some participants may speak English but prefer meeting notes in their native language

This information shapes every other decision.

Choose Your Language Strategy

There are three common approaches:

1. Single lingua franca with live translation support — One primary meeting language (often English) with real-time transcription and translation for those who need it. Best for teams with moderate language diversity.
2. Bilingual facilitation — The facilitator switches between two primary languages, with AI handling additional translations. Works well for settings like Chinese-English academic seminars.
3. Full multilingual with technology — Every participant speaks their preferred language, with AI transcription and translation bridging the gaps. Best for workshops with high language diversity.

Prepare Materials in Advance

Multilingual meetings demand more upfront preparation than monolingual ones:

• Share the agenda 48 hours ahead in all relevant languages
• Distribute key documents early so participants can read at their own pace
• Upload terminology documents to your transcription tool before the meeting — this is critical for accuracy. In LecSync, you can upload PDFs, slide decks, and glossaries to a folder, and the system automatically extracts terminology to improve transcription accuracy for specialized vocabulary
• Define key terms — if your meeting involves technical jargon, acronyms, or project-specific language, create a shared glossary

Set Up Your Technology Stack

At minimum, you need:

• Real-time transcription to provide a text stream of what's being said
• Translation layer to render that text in each participant's preferred language
• Shared display or individual devices so participants can follow along

LecSync combines transcription and translation in a single interface, supporting 60+ languages. For in-person meetings, you can project the live transcript on a screen. For remote meetings, each participant follows along on their own device.

During the Meeting: Execution Best Practices

Setting Up Real-Time Transcription

1. Start a new session in the appropriate folder (with your pre-uploaded terminology)
2. Select the primary spoken language — the language the main speaker will use
3. Enable translation to the languages your participants need
4. Test audio before the meeting starts — microphone placement matters for transcription accuracy

Pro tip: For in-person meetings with multiple speakers, use a conference microphone placed centrally. For hybrid meetings, ensure remote participants' audio routes clearly to the transcription tool.

Facilitation Techniques for Multilingual Groups

• Speak at 80% of your normal speed. This isn't just courtesy — it directly improves transcription accuracy and gives non-native speakers time to process.
• Pause after key points. Give the translation a moment to catch up and allow participants to read the transcript.
• Use the transcript as a visual anchor. Point to the projected transcript when referencing earlier discussion points.
• Invite contributions in any language. If participants know their words will be transcribed and translated, they're more likely to contribute in the language they're most comfortable with.
• Check understanding explicitly. Don't ask "Does everyone understand?" Instead, ask someone to summarize the key takeaway in their own words.

Managing Note-Taking and Action Items

Designate one person to flag action items as they arise. With real-time transcription running, you don't need a traditional note-taker — the full transcript serves as the record. Instead, the designated person marks timestamps or highlights where decisions and action items occur.

After the meeting, LecSync can automatically generate meeting minutes from the full transcript, extracting key decisions, action items, and discussion summaries.

After the Meeting: Follow-Up That Actually Works

Distribute Minutes Promptly

Within 24 hours of the meeting:

1. Review the auto-generated minutes for accuracy
2. Share the full transcript with participants who want it
3. Send the meeting summary in each participant's preferred language
4. Highlight action items with owners and deadlines clearly listed

Share Recordings and Transcripts

LecSync's sharing system lets you share specific sessions or entire folders with team members. Shared users get access to the transcript, translations, and minutes — useful for participants who missed the meeting or want to review specific sections.

Build Your Terminology Over Time

Every meeting improves your next one. After each session:

• Add new terms that came up during discussion to your folder's terminology list
• Correct any transcription errors using the click-to-correct feature, which can optionally add corrections to your term list
• Upload any new reference documents shared during the meeting

This creates a compounding accuracy effect: each meeting's terminology feeds into the next session's transcription quality.

Tools and Technology Comparison

Best Practices Checklist

One Week Before:

• Survey participants for language preferences
• Create a dedicated folder in LecSync for the meeting series
• Upload background documents and glossaries for terminology extraction
• Share the agenda in all relevant languages

One Day Before:

• Test your microphone and audio setup
• Verify transcription language settings
• Run a 2-minute test transcription with your terminology
• Share the LecSync session link with remote participants

During the Meeting:

• Speak clearly and at moderate pace
• Pause after major points
• Encourage contributions in any language
• Designate an action-item tracker

After the Meeting:

• Review and share auto-generated minutes
• Distribute the transcript in relevant languages
• Update terminology with new terms
• Gather feedback on the multilingual experience

Frequently Asked Questions

How many languages can LecSync handle simultaneously in a meeting?

LecSync supports transcription in 60+ languages and can translate the live transcript into multiple target languages simultaneously. There's no practical limit to the number of translation outputs — each participant can view the transcript in their preferred language on their own device.

Do I still need a human interpreter for multilingual meetings?

It depends on the stakes and complexity. For most team meetings, workshops, and academic seminars, AI transcription and translation provide sufficient support. For high-stakes diplomatic or legal proceedings, a human interpreter combined with AI transcription as a backup and record-keeping tool is the safest approach.

How do I handle participants who speak languages with different scripts (e.g., Chinese, Arabic, English)?

LecSync handles multi-script transcription natively. Each participant sees the transcript in their chosen language and script. The key is selecting the correct source language for the primary speaker — the translation engine handles script conversion automatically.

What if the transcription gets specialized terminology wrong?

This is exactly why preparation matters. Before your meeting, upload relevant documents (papers, slide decks, glossaries) to your LecSync folder. The system extracts terminology automatically, significantly improving accuracy for domain-specific vocabulary. During the meeting, you can also correct terms on the fly using the click-to-correct feature.

Can I use LecSync for hybrid meetings with both in-person and remote participants?

Yes. For in-person participants, project the live transcript on a shared screen. Remote participants access the same session through their browser. Everyone sees the same real-time transcription and can choose their preferred translation language independently.

Start Running Better Multilingual Meetings

The gap between a frustrating multilingual meeting and a productive one isn't about the participants — it's about preparation and tools. With terminology pre-loaded, real-time transcription running, and AI-generated minutes distributed promptly, every participant can focus on contributing rather than struggling with language barriers.

Try LecSync for your next multilingual meeting and see the difference that proper preparation and real-time language support can make. Whether you're running a cross-border team standup or an international research seminar, the right setup turns language diversity from a barrier into a strength.