We’re way past those times when language barriers posed a challenge for business communication – subtitling solutions have made sure of that. You can now create content that’s accessible to everyone, increasing the chances of them interacting with your business.
It’s not only common sense that your audience should understand your content. It’s more of a fact, as 73% of consumers worldwide prefer to read a product review in their native language.
So, how innovative have these solutions become?
Let’s dive deeper into the subject.
Innovative subtitling solutions explained
Subtitling solutions can transform spoken words into text captions so that viewers can follow along with the content, even if they can’t hear it. Yes, this has been a thing for quite some time, although it used to be far more time-consuming, considering it required manual effort.
Now, businesses can really step up their subtitling game. With the help of a subtitling platform for media production, they can generate captions while editing their presentation. And the best thing? These captions are not only more accurate than ever, but they’re also loads of fun, allowing you to play with fonts and styles. Yes, you can customize captions to your liking.
These are some of the technologies that make this possible:
- Automated Speech Recognition (ASR): Helps transcribe spoken words into text.
- Natural Language Processing (NLP): Helps interpret and understand the context.
- Machine Translation: Helps provide subtitles in different languages.
But converting speech into text isn’t all these solutions are good at, and definitely not why they’re said to be transforming business communication. Here’s what makes them worthwhile:
Accurate subtitles in real time
Subtitling solutions translate/transcribe each word as one speaks. This can help you a great deal If you’re, for example, hosting an online meeting with participants coming from different parts of the world. Everyone will hear and understand what you’re saying, and vice versa.
Real-time subtitles are great and all but let’s put the accent on accuracy.
We can all agree that when conveying business information, it’s extremely important that you do so precisely. Thanks to natural language processing, advanced subtitling solutions can accurately interpret the context of words rather than just meaninglessly transcribing them.
So, what does this mean for business communication?
More accessible content
Real-time subtitles ensure that everyone can actively participate in business meetings and discussions, regardless of their hearing ability. This is much more important than you might think, as around 2.5 billion people are expected to have hearing disabilities by 2025.
Have you ever asked yourself why you use subtitles when watching Netflix even though you can understand everything? Believe it or not, there’s more to this than just a habit. According to a Netflix study, over 80% of their members tend to use subtitles or closed captions even when they have no trouble hearing. This makes it obvious that subtitles help you keep focused.
Cultural sensitivity
Machine learning alongside speech recognition make sure that you don’t only provide word-by-word subtitles but also subtitles that carry the true meaning of the words spoken.
Cultural differences are no joke; you can easily insult someone by mistake. Advanced subtitling solutions leave no room for such mistakes. They provide subtitles that are culturally appropriate, taking culture-specific words into account so that your message remains respectful at all times.
A simple word such as a name can be of significant cultural weight. For example, in Japan, you must use a suffix such as ‘san’ to formally address someone. This is rarely the case in other cultures, and exactly why you shouldn’t underestimate cultural nuances when translating.
Tone recognition
Imagine you’re all suited up, trying to deliver a formal presentation, when suddenly, the tone gets lost in translation. So that your efforts aren’t in vain, you should consider finding a subtitling solution that fits your business needs. It will make sure that the tone of your subtitles is always on point, regardless of whether you’re trying to keep it formal or conversational.
Improved learning process
Sure, employees, or anyone for that matter, can sometimes be too lazy to sit down and learn something new. But other times, the culprit can be a boring presentation or training session.
However, there’s a way to put all this behind you – a way to engage your employees in the learning process. You can customize subtitles to fit different styles. Experiment a bit to make them more fun and visually appealing. You’ll quickly notice the difference.
But even if these points didn’t exist, you’d still need subtitles for effective communication with business partners, employees, and customers. Most importantly – to make your content more engaging. For example, a stakeholder could join your meeting from a nosy place, or they could be having speaker problems. With real-time subtitles, they’ll have no trouble following along.
The road to effective business communication
There’s no reason as to why you should think twice before using subtitles to improve your business communication. Subtitles can only have a negative impact if not correctly interpreted, but the chances of this happening with innovative subtitling solutions are quite slim.
All in all, these solutions are proving to be true to their word and are smartly using advanced technologies to provide accurate subtitles. They help make your content more accessible, taking into account cultural nuances, tone and style, and hearing impairments. Just make sure to choose software that fits your business needs, and you’re good to go.
Makedonka Micajkova is a freelance content writer and translator, always bringing creativity and originality to the table. Being multilingual with professional proficiency in English, German, and Spanish, it’s needless to say that languages are her biggest passion in life. She is also a skilled communicator, as a result of having three years of experience as a sales representative.
