The authors suggest the application of linguistic analysis to the training of interpreters, since a great number of speeches come from written texts which the interpreter may (and should) have access to. In workshops with final-year translation students, it was found that a linguistic analysis focused on the macrostructure of specialised texts allowed the students to identify the speech acts and the thread of arguments, to determine the degree of specialisation and to infer the communicative context and the type of conference. This method facilitates the identification of different ways of conceptual and terminological documentation, as it helps the interpreter to classify the conference, identify more deeply its communicative function and, hence, improve his preparation and documentation. The method suggested also helps interpreting trainers to select texts in a logic and systematised way.