In most organisations the information sent with a translation request is a single line: the file and the date. Yet a good translation brief is not long, it simply answers the right questions.
A brief is not a form
Filling in a long template is of no use to anyone and is abandoned after a few jobs. The brief carries the information that affects the decision; the rest is unnecessary.
First question: who will read this text
A regulatory body, a business partner and a wide audience call for different styles. When the reader is not written down, the text is translated in its most general form and fits none of them properly.
Second question: where will it be used
Whether the text will sit in an annex to a contract, in a presentation or in an application file directly determines the decisions on format and certification.
Third question: which sections are critical
In every document some sections matter more than others. When the critical section is marked, the review effort concentrates there; when it is not marked, the effort is spread evenly and is enough for nowhere.
Fourth question: what should not be changed
The established expressions of the organisation, product names and the set phrases it wants preserved are written on this line. This single line solves at the outset the problem that generates the most feedback.
A brief has to be short in order to be written
A brief that cannot be written in five minutes does not get written. Long templates stay on paper; a short and mandatory field really does get filled in.
Counter-view: a good translator manages without a brief
An experienced translator makes most decisions correctly; this is true. Yet the reasoning behind those correct decisions is not known, and on the next job they may be made differently. The brief secures not quality but consistency.
A brief is written once and used many times
When the same type of document comes in again, the brief is copied and only the line that has changed is updated. The effort of the first writing pays back on later jobs.
A missing brief turns into questions
Every piece of information not written down comes back as a question during the job. The time spent answering the question is always longer than the time needed to write the brief.
Who should write the brief
The person who prepared the document or who will use it. The coordinating unit in between can forward the file but does not know the context; a brief written by that unit rests on guesswork.
The brief is also updated afterwards
When the decisions that emerge during the job are added to the brief, the document is enriched for the next job. A static brief goes out of date over time.
A verbal brief gets lost
Context explained over the telephone stays with one person and vanishes when the team changes. A written brief moves the knowledge from the person to the file.
Takeaway
The brief is not an item of bureaucracy but the cheapest tool for reducing assumptions. Four questions, five minutes and a written record: when these three are in place, a large part of the questions that would be asked during the job have been answered at the outset.