Summary of our Virtual Coffee Chat for Interpreters on June 1, 2020
OVERVIEW
This article is a Summary of our most recent Virtual Coffee Chat for Interpreters. This session is part of a series to help professional conference interpreters come together in an informal setting to work together to gain the business confidence to move forward in the RSI world and participate in developing a sustainable business model for RSI that will get all of us through the pandemic and beyond.
THE MARKET SIDE
In the last few weeks it has become clear that one of the biggest issues right now is that interpreter best practices for RSI hardly matter if clients are not aware of similar best practices or do not follow them. Many of you have expressed concerns that clients are overwhelmed, do not understand online meeting basics and that despite our efforts to have the best possible home working environment and the best equipment to interpret, you still cannot hear well or see well and many meetings are frustrating, cumbersome and could be vastly improved for everyone involved. June 1’s session took a deep dive into this topic – best practices on the client side and how we can work together to achieve best practices in the marketplace.
Please remember that this is a deep dive session on this particular topic and while we have tried to cover as many of the pre-submitted questions, we did receive a very large number of questions on other topics. The following is a comprehensive summary of the session.
DEFINITIONS FIRST
If you are new to our coffee chats, RSI stands for Remote Simultaneous Interpretation. In the context of this article, RSI refers to remote simultaneous interpreting provided for a client using a platform or other interface, known as an “ICT” (Information and Communications Technology), where the parties involved (interpreters, meeting hosts, speakers, discussants and/or listeners) are in separate locations.
APPROPRIATE USE
We firmly believe that RSI is a tool that creates access to interpretation services. It is not necessarily a replacement for conventional simultaneous interpreting methods. Like all tools, it should be used appropriately. Right now, RSI is likely the only option for parties to engage using interpretation while social distancing initiatives are in place.
We believe RSI should be employed as a best-fit solution for the circumstances, weighing all factors involved in the decision process. In some cases, as social distancing restrictions relax, RSI will remain the only or the best option. In other cases, RSI with the hub approach or a hybrid solution will make the most sense and hopefully, there will be a return to on-site services.
The goal of a best-fit approach should always be to employ the highest-standard solution possible, to ensure the most professional results. Our Company always follows a best-fit, highest-standard approach.
THE REALITIES
Where do we begin? How do we all work together – with each other and with our clients to improve the situation?
RSI is hard. Interpreting remotely in any way is hard. It is harder than normal simultaneous interpreting, which is something that very few linguists are capable of. Most clients and even many agencies do not understand the specialized skill that conference interpreting involves. Which makes conveying the difficulties of RSI even more challenging.
BUT THERE IS MORE TO IT THAN THIS. Online meetings are hard, period – not just when interpreting is involved. They are harder than in-person meetings. We’ve all heard of Zoom fatigue. But why are online meetings more difficult? Studies have shown that video interactions require more concentration – there are fewer subtle visual cues, there are sometimes delays, and it is harder to process VOIP audio. And that process is exhausting.
Communicating this fact and then explaining that interpreters have to listen AND speak at the same time to perform RSI in this already compromised environment, is a starting point.
THE BASICS – A STARTING POINT
To move forward, we’ve created some basic Best Practice guidelines for clients to follow:
Shorter Meetings
Host shorter meetings. Shorter engagements will keep the audience focused on the content and your interpretation at the highest quality level possible. Clients should consider breaking up longer meetings into shorter, targeted topics with either longer breaks between or even having them on different days.
Optimal Sound
One question that came in ahead of time was “how do we resolve sound issues caused by poor bandwidth somewhere between the speaker, interpreter and audience?” This is a very difficult question to answer because we cannot resolve that which we cannot control. There was an excellent article written by an interpreter recently about how sound is degraded in the VOIP environment and headsets can only do so much. But we can do certain things to help. Clients should endeavor to create the best possible sound environment for all meeting participants, speakers and most critically, the interpreters. Because Interpreters require a much higher level of audio quality than listeners in a virtual meeting, what works for a non-interpreted meeting may not be sufficient when interpreters are involved. VOIP audio is significantly lower quality than a normal on-site audio environment. A recent LinkedIn post had a nice example of the audible differences. To ensure optimal sound clients need to make every effort to have all presenters, speakers and moderators:
Use Headsets - or headphones with an external microphone. The use of a computer’s built-in speakers and microphone needs to be avoided. The improvement in audio quality with a headset of any type is very noticeable.
Create a Quiet Work Environment – Presenters, speakers and moderators should ensure that their setting is as quiet as possible. They should not connect from cars or public /other noisy environments as the background noise can make interpretation impossible.
Mute their Microphones – when they are not speaking. Moderators should help control this to avoid background noise and feedback. This will make an enormous difference in the sound quality of the meeting for all parties involved.
Computers/Ethernet Connection
Presenters, speakers and moderators should ideally use computers or laptops with a wired ethernet connection when possible, rather than a mobile device and/or a wireless or mobile data connection and ensure adequate bandwidth available (a speed test is recommended prior to connecting). Wireless connections are less stable and far higher speed can often be obtained when using ethernet, ensuring a more solid connection with fewer dropouts or freezes.
Optimal Camera View
Speakers, presenters and moderators should provide an optimal video view with minimal visual distractions. Green screens or virtual backgrounds are highly recommended, as are cameras positioned at eye level, either by using a separate camera or a laptop lift. Interpreters also need to be able to focus on the visual and non-verbal cues provided by speakers to ensure the best interpretation quality. Your audience will also benefit from the best camera views of your presenters.
Protocol for Q&A or Speaking
Clients need to implement a protocol for getting attention to speak or how/when to ask questions. They should Inform all parties involved of the protocol, preferably in writing ahead of time and at the start of the meeting.
Allow Extra Time at the Beginning of a Meeting
Online meetings with interpretation often require additional time at the meeting for participants and speakers to log in, ensure their audio and video are working adequately and select language channels. Clients should allow a bit of extra time at the beginning to allow everyone to join the meeting successfully and be ready to go. Ask presenters to join the meeting well ahead of the scheduled start time.
Inform Parties they are being Interpreted
Clients need to make everyone aware they are being interpreted and it’s helpful to remind speakers to speak slowly for the benefit of the interpreters. If the meeting is consecutive, introduce the interpreters who will also be on the screen. We believe it is important to bring attention to the human element of the interpreting process – especially in light of the virtual environment.
Inform Parties they are being Recorded
If a meeting is to be recorded, clients must inform all parties that they will be recorded. Any recording of interpretation will need to be arranged in advance. This is a challenging topic at the best of times and is very much so with RSI. In my view, interpreters should consider RSI as a situation where recording may occur, as new technology makes this extremely difficult to control. Never assume there is no recording. Never assume you are not being recorded.
Testing/Technical Rehearsals
It is essential that interpreters participate in test meetings or technical rehearsals ahead of time, to test the technical functioning of the interpretation process, introduce interpreters to meeting moderators, speakers and review protocol – and in some cases introduce the interpreters to each other. While this isn’t ideal, it is happening and it is also essential that interpreters be able to contact each other at any time, even if they do not know each other. Ask for contact information if needed. More than one test may be needed.
Meeting Support
There is much to do during a multilingual meeting. It is important to ensure that there is adequate technical support available – usually provided by the platform companies -- but there is also a need for general meeting support for multilingual meetings. Interpreters need to have someone ensuring they have materials and documents, know of agenda changes; user microphones need to be muted, cameras need to be turned off, and similar things. Making sure there is dedicated multilingual meeting support is essential for most meetings. In some cases, it may be just to get started or to assist client-side moderators. Either way support for interpreters and clients during the meetings is essential and cannot be emphasized enough.
Risks and Limitations of RSI
It is imperative that the limitations and risks involved with RSI be conveyed to clients. RSI is a technology tool to provide simultaneous interpretation via the cloud and is a best human effort service. Many variables can affect the ability to interpret and/or the interpreting to be received which are beyond the control of the parties involved, such as, but not limited to, internet connection speeds or connectivity, power interruptions, lack of proper microphones, hardware and software issues.
Interpreters and LSCs can assure clients that best practices will be followed by interpreters and that they will meet requirements of the platform providers BUT no guarantees can be made that interpreters will be able to hear, or listeners will be able to hear the interpretation. When an interpreter cannot hear, they should indicate they cannot hear by saying, ‘inaudible’, and make a best human effort to interpret what they can hear.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER / WORKING TOGETHER
We now have some basic points that clients need to do on their end for a successful multilingual online meeting -- but it also seems like we are asking interpreters to be interpreters, technicians, AND to educate and support clients on how to conduct meetings. That’s overwhelming, indeed.
Customer service and a focus on client success is essential. What we’ve learned is that an enormous amount of support is required through the entire process of conducting an online meeting – far more than anyone could have ever imagined. Clients need general education about RSI and multilingual meetings. They need resources, guidance and most of all they need support as they navigate new ways of engaging.
We received a number of questions on what platforms to work with, what to recommend to clients and how to make sure things will go well. The answer is that interpreters cannot do all of this alone -– we must work TOGETHER to serve the market needs and ensure quality working conditions to the greatest extent possible.
In addition to the basic points outlined above, the international professional and standards organizations are hard at work on this topic to provide resources for client education - and standards for the market. Take advantage of every resource available. Guidelines are expected to be published soon.
The technology companies are also trying hard to address these gaps, but remember that they are technology companies and have plenty to focus on, from providing technical customer service during the meetings to making sure the interpreters are set up to function on the platforms - they are also busily selling their technology. View the technology companies as partners to success.
Most important of all, you must work with people you trust, enlist the help of Consultants, Experts & Language Companies you know and trust, to handle the customer education, assist with determining solutions or appropriate platforms, and provide dedicated support before and during meetings. We have always worked to build the trust of interpreters, which is part of why you are all here, and it is based on our expertise and willingness to help and to share. Please feel free to reach out to us for any assistance you may need with your clients. We've been around since 1972, and have a long history with remote interpreting dating back more than 25 years - so when it comes to RSI, we have true expertise.
Focus on breaking down the complexities of a multilingual meeting into the simpler components we have mentioned in this article. Use all available resources, work with the technology companies to ensure technical support is being provided -- and most importantly, bring in or introduce clients to outside help to provide comprehensive, professional support. As interpreters, you can help clients understand and follow best practices to ensure their success.
Working together, as allies - we can make a difference. None of us are in this alone.