Oral interpretation has two categories of consecutive interpretation and simultaneous interpretation.

Consecutive interpretation is made after the speaker finishes part or whole of a speech. It is a commonly used way of interpretation and has these different types.

I. Consecutive interpretation in daily life
This type of oral interpretation happens in daily conversation, such as meeting people at airports, dinner, travel and shopping. Interpreters work by memory.

II. Consecutive interpretation of conference and talk
It is a kind of formal interpretation used for business talk or conference. It happens in two situations:

1．The interpreter translates for the audience what is heard directly in the meeting room.

2．The interpreter translates for the audience through microphone what is heard directly in the
      meeting room. This way is adopted when a multiple of languages are used. That is, after the
      speaker finishes a part of speech, a number of interpreters of different languages translate
       for different audiences with microphones simultaneously.

      Simultaneous interpretation is different from consecutive interpretation. In the former case,
      the interpreter cannot predict the words of the speaker. When interpreting to the audience
       what is heard, the time difference between the interpreter and speaker is that of half a
      sentence. So, the interpreter cannot control the whole translated text. But for consecutive
      interpretation, translation is made after the whole text or a complete sense group is spoken.
      In this case, the interpreter can compress or summarize, can add and delete faltering and
      repetitive words. For this reason, generally the quality of consecutive interpretation is better
      than that of simultaneous interpretation.

      Conference organizers decide which method to employ for a given international conference.
      Sometimes, they also ask for the interpreters’ advice. Which method to follow depends on
      these factors:

1．Simultaneous interpretation doesn’t take the conference time. But for consecutive
      interpretation, conference time will be occupied. Therefore, time is a determining factor which
      method to use.

2．For consecutive interpretation, only two languages or no more than three languages can be
      used. Three languages are used only if the interpreter can magnificently compress the source
      language. Normally, electrical equipment is needed for interpretation of more than two
      languages simultaneously. Hence, which method to use depends on the types of working
      languages.

3．For the same conference, both simultaneous and consecutive interpretations can be used.
      For plenary session, when the speakers read scripts, simultaneous interpretation can be
      used. But for conference debate or group discussions, whisper interpretation can be used
      for only a number of audiences.

4．Simultaneous interpretation needs to be facilitated by electrical equipment, while
      consecutiveinterpretation doesn’t need any equipment. So, which method to use depends
      on the situationof the meeting rooms.