“Keep what works” is our mantra at KUDO. We repeat it several times a day. It increases our focus and helps us see the core from the fringe. It guides our every decision, small and big, from product to marketing to strategy to partnerships.

“Keep what works” helps us stay relevant by changing only what matters. It is also a reminder that the privilege to disrupt rests on the back of time-tested solutions and practices established through years of trial and error. It honors the effort and dedication of those who came before us.

As a technological and forward-looking platform, KUDO loves to innovate. The temptation to disrupt is always there. But so is the risk to over-innovate. Not to change leads to obsolescence. Disrupting to prove a point leads to alienation.

In the last two years since KUDO was born, the keep-what-works philosophy has granted us the clarity to maintain a few important tenets of multilingual communication in general and conference interpreting in particular. These are tenets we at KUDO work hard not to disrupt. Interpretation booths are one of them.

The first experiments in simultaneous interpretation had interpreters out in the open –or within the so-called aquariums, i.e., glass partitions providing less-than-perfect sound insulation and privacy. In time, the concept of a soundproof cubicle started to take shape and eventually led to the booths as we know them today. The modern-day interpretation booth is the result of years of experimentation. It is, in and of itself, a disruption and a technological advance.

Although technically possible in KUDO, allowing an interpreter to work from home –or from a hotel room, for that matter– makes it hard to enforce the quality we promise our clients. We lose control over network conditions. Sound insulation becomes debatable, hardware specs are unknown, and the availability of hyperactive dogs or neighbors cannot be discarded. It leads to poor service.

The interpretation booth provides the quiet, the introspection, the convenience required for the strenuous cognitive effort imposed by simultaneous interpretation. It also makes teamwork possible, by co-locating a team of interpreters who can exchange notes, keep eye contact and communicate with more than just words.

KUDO understands that need and has brought to the market the concept of a KUDO Studio, a set of ISO-compliant booths equipped with state-of-the-art technology that interpreters can walk into as a team.

Through dedicated partners in the US and worldwide, a growing network of studios ensures that interpreters have the peace of mind to do what they do best.

Interpretation booths work. They matter. As such, they should be kept and used, whenever feasible. On-site as well as remotely.

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Here’s a video to make you familiar with an ISO-compliant interpretation booth?
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