Interpreting via Zoom – Tips and Etiquette

Interpreting via Zoom – Tips and Etiquette

Even with the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic slowly receding in the rearview mirror, Zoom is here to stay. Even when they are no longer necessary for public health purposes, remote meetings will continue to play a role in our daily work and social lives, given their time and energy-saving capabilities.

This is particularly true of video remote interpreting, or VRI. VRI was common prior to the pandemic but is now one of the main ways that clients connect to language interpreters.

As such, it may be well worth your time to brush up on the basics of Zoom interpreting etiquette, as well as the technical knowledge necessary to make a Zoom interpreting appointment run smoothly.

Here are our top pieces of advice for those new to the world of Zoom interpretation:

Have Access a Licensed Zoom Account with the Proper Features

An unpaid trial account does not have the features necessary for successful Zoom interpretation. As such, the host of the call should be using a licensed account, such as the Pro, Education, or Business version. This will allow for the implementation of features such as simultaneous interpreting and different sound channels for different language users.

Conduct a Test Run Prior to your First Zoom Interpreting Meeting

Once you have familiarized yourself with the basic features available to Zoom users, it may be in your best interest to run a short test meeting and work out any kinks well in advance.

Additionally, make sure to log into the meeting several minutes before it is scheduled to begin, since setup can take a bit of time.

Speak Slowly and Clearly

Articulating, avoiding rushed speech, and taking turns in an orderly fashion are all simple but effective ways to make sure that your interpreting session goes smoothly.

Even the best simultaneous interpreter can struggle when participants speak hurriedly or overlap one another, so try your best to maintain a deliberate pace throughout the meeting.

Follow up with Interpreters and Clients to Improve Future Appointments

Unsurprisingly, most people are not willing to speak up or criticize the meeting host’s practices unless there is a serious problem. This means that you may find it helpful to follow up with everyone who attended an appointment in order to make sure that they had the best possible experience.

Be willing to accept constructive criticism and change your approach if it is not working for interpreters or clients.

What is OPI and VRI?

OPI stands for Over-the-Phone Interpreting. In some cases, when someone has an OPI account, they call a phone number and then make a request for a particular language. Within seconds to a few minutes, depending on how common the language is, the caller is connected to an interpreter and the conversation begins. If the caller wants to contact someone who is not in the same room, as in when a doctor’s office wants to remind a patient of an upcoming appointment, a third-party dialout may be made. That means that the caller provides the operator with the patient’s phone number.

Later this year, Midwest Language Services, LLC will have OPI on-demand, which means that our clients will be able to use our app to quickly be connected not only to OPI interpreters, but also VRI interpreters. VRI stands for Video Remote Interpreting.

Be sure to check our website regularly in the coming weeks to find out when this service becomes available. Most of our current clients will be able to keep their current PIN to be connected to OPI. New clients will be assigned a PIN for their accounts.