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Mark H., Full Stack Developer |
March 03, 2025
Starting a new business can be daunting, especially if you want to incorporate a national diversity of qualified individuals into your team or you want your business to cater to international audiences. Language barriers can hinder communication; while adopting English as your primary means of communication is easy, what if there’s a way to effectively communicate in multiple languages? Here are 5 ways to make it happen.
1. Legal and Contract Translation
Legal and contract translation is critical for startups and small businesses because it helps them work with people from different places without problems. When a business wants to grow and work with clients in other countries, it must ensure everyone understands the rules and agreements, like contracts or NDAs. If these papers aren’t translated correctly, it can cause big misunderstandings or even legal trouble, which no one wants. By having these documents translated by professionals, startups can ensure everyone knows what they’re agreeing to, making clients feel safe and happy and helping small businesses look trustworthy and professional, which is important when trying to grow and succeed.
2. Interpretation Services
I recently watched the interview of Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, on the Lex Fridman podcast. They used a mix of English, Russian, and Ukrainian languages during the conversation. Lex Fridman insisted on interviewing Russian, as both speak it fluently, but Volodymyr Zelensky refused to respond in Russian for the entire interview as a political and symbolic stance.
I was amazed by how the real-time interpreter fed the translated words to the interviewer, allowing the conversation to flow smoothly. This is the power of interpretation services. There are various ways for startups to benefit from this and enhance their client experience. For example, they can offer interpretation services for video or in-person client meetings, use interpreters for live events or webinars, and interpret customer support calls.
If you need interpretation services for your next event, check out our services here: https://ph.lexcode.com/interpretation.
3. Multilingual Content Creation
Multilingual content creation is a great way for startups to connect with people from all over the world. One way to do this is by publishing blogs and articles in multiple languages, which helps attract and reach clients from different backgrounds. Another way is through social media management, where you create posts and campaigns specific to certain regions and in the local language. This makes clients feel more connected and engaged. You can check https://ph.lexcode.com/transcreation/, where you can translate a document and choose up to 10 different content styles.
Lastly, you can use video subtitling and dubbing to make your videos understandable for a global audience. This is what the Lex Fridman podcast did with the help of AI-driven technology from the company ElevenLabs. The interview with Zelensky was dubbed and subbed in three languages. By adding subtitles or dubbing in different languages, more people can enjoy and learn from your content.
4. Transcription Services
Transcription services can be useful for saving time, staying organized, and reaching more people. For example, if a startup does interviews, meetings, or podcasts, a transcriber can turn those spoken words into written text. This makes it easier to review important information, create content like blogs or social media posts, or even share meeting notes with the team. It’ll make sure everyone is on the same page.
At Lexcode, we develop a web-based application that can transcribe a video or audio to a written text, even offering translation based on your selected language. It’s in the early stages and we’re eager to add more features in the future.
5. Gamified Language Learning for User Onboarding
Gamified language learning for user onboarding is an excellent tool for startups because it makes the onboarding process fun, engaging, and effective. By turning learning into a game with points, levels, rewards, and challenges, startups can help new users understand their product or service in an interactive and enjoyable way. We took a similar approach when we developed our English language tutor called Lexy, an AI-powered learning application where you have a personal tutor to guide you, and it’s totally free. Check it out here https://lexyapp.ai.
Gamification also motivates users to complete the onboarding process, leading to higher retention rates and better user satisfaction. Plus, if the startup operates in multiple regions, gamified language learning can include multilingual options to onboard users from different backgrounds seamlessly.
Final Thoughts
Startups can thrive in a global market by embracing language services, especially if you have a complex business and your vision is to scale globally. It aims to break down language barriers, foster clear communication, and build trust with diverse teams and international clients. Leveraging these strategies, businesses can streamline operations, enhance client experiences, and position themselves for long-term success.
