The Advantages of Remote Interpreting: Telephone/Video

 (Remote interpreting has only been around for barely a century. You can trace its popularity back to the advancements in technology after World War II. These advancements, especially in communication technologies, made remote interpreting jobs possible. Now, both individuals with interpreting jobs and companies offering robust interpreting services can efficiently enjoy remote interpreting services with the well-advanced mobile communication technology of the 21st century.

Suppose you have been caught up in discussions on technology advancement before. In that case, it is not uncommon to see people ask whether the technology platforms are replacing (as in the case of interpreting services) face-to-face interpreting jobs or are just providing new horizons for efficient interpreting services. In this article, you will find the true evaluation of why remote interpreting is advantageous in helping different parties communicate effectively.

What is Remote (Simultaneous/Consecutive) Interpreting?

Before you learn about the advantages of remote interpreting, you should know some of the things that remote interpreting services entail. Chiefly, remote interpreting uses the network services of telephone and web cameras/video to provide spoken language interpretation. The term “remote” implies that the interpreter uses an app or other equipment that allows them to be offsite. This equipment or gadgets is alongside the headphones used to listen to a speaker giving a speech.

If you are an interpreter, you are expected to carry out the voice translation verbally at the same time the speaker is talking. Hence, interpreters repeat the speaker’s words in the target language. Not only the target language, but you must also provide the representation of the speaker’s words in the same seconds they unfold. Remote interpreting services have been modified into different categories. Many interpreting companies have embraced categories of remote interpreting services such as Over the Phone (OPI), Video Remote Interpreting (VRI), Remote Simultaneous Interpreting, Remote Consecutive Interpreting, and many others.

There are notable differences between simultaneous and consecutive remote interpreting. Consecutive interpreting is unique because it involves taking notes. Here, the speaker is allowed to put together a sentence or two. These sentences are jotted down by the interpreter. After which, the interpreter reproduces what has been jotted down to the listening party. It looks a lot like translating, where the spoken word is associated with written language. Only that consecutive interpreting is an oral translation that occurs in real-time with when the speaker is making a statement.

Consecutive interpreting is estimated to be the most popular of all remote interpreting services. And in the early days of consecutive interpreting, interpreters could reproduce up to thirty minutes of a speaker’s word without jotting it down. They make use of only their “powers to recall.” But in contrast to consecutive remote interpreting, the compression phase or the use of “powers to recall” in simultaneous interpreting is not separate from when the speaker is making a statement. Remote interpreters interpret the speaker’s speech as it unfolds.

Pros of Using Remote Interpreting Services

Up to 38% of British workers are engaged in one form of remote service or the other. Consequently, there will be an equal rise in spoken-language assignments. The reason is that many companies are beginning to come to terms with the advantages of remote services. The first and most prominent advantage of remote interpreting services is that it makes communication effective and efficient.

Companies with refugees as employees and delegates have found remote interpreting services as a clearer and easier means of communication. Most of the platforms being used have functionalities that enable these companies to establish better relationships across language barriers with their refugee employees and delegates than in-person interpreting.

For instance, many video chat rooms such as Zoom and Google Meet have closed captioning. This captioning function allows refugees who cannot follow what the interpreter is saying, probably because of hearing impairment, to read what the remote interpreter is saying. Not only can closed captions provide written forms of the interpreter’s oral communication, but some platforms can also translate the caption into many other languages. This is just one of the many functions that remote interpreting services offer.

Other notable beneficial functionalities of remote interpreting services are their flexibility, handiness, and mobility. Let’s single out the handiness of remote interpreting services as it relates to its flexible use and easy transportation. Predominantly, all the skills and tools needed to convert a traditional interpreting service to a remote interpreting service are computer-related. In other words, when you have your laptop, you have about all that you need to function as a remote interpreter. But make sure the laptop has a well-functioning camera, microphone, speaker, and internet connection.

Remote interpreting services are affordable. As an interpreter looking to set up a remote interpreting job, the application, platforms, and other equipment needed to set things up are highly cost-effective. Remote interpreting services cut many costs, especially the traveling and housing costs of many in-person interpreting companies. We remote interpretation sessions (on-demand and booked) at our firm . And for organizations working in the humanitarian sector, you can enjoy our remote interpreting service for at a subsidised rate .

Final Thoughts

These advantages have already been well proven during the pandemic when face-to-face meetings, conferences, briefings, summits, legal hearings, depositions, on-site medical consultations are challenging. To bridge the language barrier during the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual alternatives such as remote interpreting services are the popular substitute.

If you need support for a remote linguist diversity interpreter, check out the Crystal Clear Translation website to find available options.

Do you need a Remote Interpretation Quote?

Remote interpretation is an accessible upgrade to the traditional in-person interpretation service. It does not need to cost you your job. And if you are a business owner, you can pay less to enjoy more when communicating with refugee employees and delegates. You can use the quote tool to engage us by finding out ways we can be of help to you and your company.