Preparation of specialized meetings by conference interpreters is an important part of their work, and has been discussed in the literature in descriptive and prescriptive terms. However, there is little by way of studies of the effective usefulness of such preparation. A case study of the coverage ratio of terminological needs at a medical conference supports the idea that the benefits of such preparation may not always be evident at surface level. However, it does not rule out the possibility that they may be substantial at a deeper level, involving general understanding of the background, environment and interaction. In terms of empirical research, performance variability and the lack of access to large samples make investigation of the holistic effects of preparation on performance difficult, but specific aspects, in particular the interpreters' response to specialized terms in the source speech, can be studied with some sensitivity.
