When Is Phone Interpretation Your Best Option?

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At a moment’s notice, you could be faced with a client who needs assistance in a language that’s not your native tongue. One of your foreign partners might need to discuss an urgent matter with you that could significantly impact the company. A foreign patient could be rushed to your clinic with critical health matters.

Situations are seemingly changing by the minute in our fast-paced world. It is our duty to ensure that nobody gets left behind, keeping businesses and individuals moving at an efficient pace. This is where on-demand phone interpretation services come in to facilitate clear communication. Whether you need it on-demand or arranged in advance for a specific date in the near future, over-the-phone interpretation could be your solution for quickly facilitating effective multilingual communication.

What Sets Telephone Interpreting Apart from Other Interpretation Forms?

Where in-person interpretation requires preparation and coordination, phone interpreting is easy to arrange and offers you immediate access to a large pool of trained, experienced, professional interpreters specializing in a wide range of industries and languages. Another unique aspect of over-the-phone interpretation is its cost-effectiveness. With no need for travel or special equipment, the price of telephone interpretation is based on minutes of use and a one-time setup fee.

But be aware! For as flexible as phone interpretation can be, there are situations in which its use is more effective and others in which it is not. Before you decide to set up a call, consult a professional translation company that will take the time to understand your requirements and guide you in selecting the most effective form of interpretation service for your needs.

Settings in Which Over-the-Phone Interpretation Works Best

In this language services blog, you’ll get familiar with a few common settings in which over-the-phone interpretation is most appropriate. As we go through the list, keep in mind that in each scenario, phone interpretation services serve to enhance the communication process rather than obstruct or delay it.

When the phone is your primary means of communication, it’s only logical to use telephone interpreters to help you communicate with foreign-language speakers. There are many organizations in which telephone communication is solely used to render services.

  • Customer Support Centers are essential resources in a wide range of industries, wherever services or products are sold. To ensure all customers receive the support they need, over-the-phone interpretation is a plus in all call centers. Customer support representatives need to fully understand and respond to the caller’s needs in a way only a native speaker of the caller’s language can. That’s why only a professional phone interpreter has the skills and knowledge to help support teams provide satisfactory assistance to customers in their native tongue.
  • Emergency telephone dispatchers must regularly meet the critical, life-impacting needs of members of the public. In such settings, each moment counts, and the slightest delay or error can result in irreversible damage. Having a professional medical interpreter on the line to facilitate communication between the dispatcher and a non-native English speaker can improve outcomes in a life-threatening scenario.
    The impact of phone interpreters in such situations cannot be overstated, as their mere presence can help ease the caller’s fear, who is already burdened by the reality of a serious situation. Knowing that there is someone on the other end of the line who can understand you is reassuring and an important first step toward initiating reliable, potentially life-saving communication.

Effective communication between teachers and parents is vital to keeping parents engaged in their children’s education. They need to be up to date on their child’s academic progress and have the capacity to be involved with their teachers to help the student succeed. Over-the-phone interpretation can be provided to ensure that all parents are active participants in their child’s education.

Teachers and LEP (Limited English Proficiency) parents need access to phone interpreters to fully participate in parent-teacher conferences and have all their questions answered about the student’s academic progress. Phone interpretation services can be easily scheduled ahead of a set appointment date or on demand.

During business meetings with international contacts. With the advancement of technology, more people are conducting business transactions over the phone. This is a particularly efficient method when you need to set up a meeting with partners abroad, but language barriers could hinder new opportunities. To overcome these barriers, the most qualified professional interpreter needs to be involved during your conversations.

The qualifications of an interpreter are especially important when you need them for business meetings, as there are often industry-specific terminologies and ideas that an interpreter needs to be familiar with. In order to ensure the telephone interpreter you use for your meeting is capable of facilitating effective communication, you’ll need to make sure you use a professional legal interpreter for legal matters, a technical interpreter for the review of technical documents, and a finance interpreter in investment meetings. For this type of call, the interpreter needs to be selected in advance and booked to ensure their availability.

The quality of your business communications in a global market is not something to leave to chance. When you bring the right phone interpreter into your business conversations, they can help bring your business a wealth of global opportunities in just a phone call.

When phone interpretation is not enough, Zoom interpretation services are available to incorporate visual cues and enable face-to-face communication.

Multilingual Patients in Medical and Dental Settings.

Our language services company helps multiple medical and dental offices with on-demand phone interpretation services, so when they need to serve a patient who doesn’t speak English, they can tap into the service 24/7 to bridge the language barrier for scheduling, dispatch instructions, or consultations with providers.

Eliminate the Language Barrier with Professional Phone Interpretation!

Being able to communicate well is an element that will never go out of style.

Clear and effective communication is always a must and always appreciated. You know your business is where it is today because of your ability to effectively communicate with your clients, vendors, employees, and other associates. As our communities become more diverse and more global opportunities arise, phone interpretation will be a critical tool for successful communication, which sets the groundwork for establishing trust or securing successful business deals.

Contact us today to learn more about our professional telephone interpretation. Let’s eliminate the language barrier between you and your clients!

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