(Last Updated On: December 29, 2017)

It is always a big challenge for new over phone interpreters to start their practice. Despite being trained for offering interpreting services for many years, providing them through technical devices such as the telephone, creates specific issues you have to deal with to maintain the quality of your work. Many of those challenges can be only overcome with time, patience and a lot of practice, but there are some basic strategies you can follow if you want to start in the right way.

Effective strategies for over phone interpreters

• Take care of the conditions of the sound: the most important complement of over phone interpreters is the quality of sound. In order to guarantee that you receive and deliver your work properly you should control that you have a clear connection and avoid cell phones or any other devices with low quality of sound. Using a dual handset phone can help you through the assignment. In the other hand, you should also pick the right place to provide your services. Finding a quiet place without distractions is the best way to assure you can listen and talk well without background noise.
• Talk some time to clear up the conditions with the clients before you start your service: It has to be done quickly and in a efficient way. With this step you can clear up with the client how they must speak or behave while you are interpreting. It might include short sentences, clear pronunciation and any special need you have to do it properly.
• Keep yourself in good physical and mental health: There are many reasons to hire a over phone interpreter and many of them are related to emergencies and hard real life situations. As you will probably cope with many of them, you must control your own life conditions to assure you deliver your services without any inconveniences.
• Maintain a continuous preparation: phone interpreters are required for a variety of situations in different fields. It requires that you dominate many type of variations of languages. Therefore it is important that you keep studying and expanding your knowledge.

As you will be facing new situations, it is important to remember that you have ethic rules for over phone interpreters which you can follow. Many of those situations may be already solved by these rules and they may help you deal with the circumstances you will face without compromising the quality of your work.