Interpreting over the phone

Interpreting over the phone is a type of interpretation where the interpreter listens to the speaker over the phone, and translates this speech to the customer, and then communicates the customer’s speech back to the companion. Before performing the interpretation, the interpreter will contact the customer to ascertain his/her needs, and the purpose and subject of the conversation. The interpreter then prepares a conversation plan and only then contacts the customer’s companion, to introduce himself and inform the companion about the subject of the conversation. Most commonly this type of interpreting is used in a conversation between 3-4 participants via a “teleconference”, where people need a translator’s assistance during the conversation but there is no need for personal contact between the participants. When ordering an interpretation over the phone, one must consider the following:

• Interpreting over the phone can be time-saving, since the translation is available immediately
• This type of interpreting can require less organisational effort, since there is no need to attend a meeting in person
• Interpreting over the phone is less expensive than traditional consecutive interpreting