Remote simultaneous interpretation yields significant benefits in terms of monetary savings, time savings and ease of organization. There is no more need to travel, no more need to book a room, spend nights in hotels away from home and securing expensive equipment. Remote (or virtual) simultaneous interpretation is now made possible thanks to platforms specially created to fulfill that purpose or thanks to more widely used platforms that come equipped with a simultaneous interpretation function.

However, no matter how good technology might be, precautions must be taken to make the system work to the benefit of the audience and the interpreter(s).

The issue that I have most frequently encountered as a conference interpreter is sound quality. To understand why, one must consider the issue from the interpreter’s perspective,

When communicating orally in every day situations, one’s attention is focused on one voice – that of the person speaking. It is simple.

In simultaneous interpretation, things are more complicated for the interpreter. He or she is dealing with two voices at the same time: the incoming voice – or feed – which is the language the interpreter is working from and which carries the message to convey in another language to the audience and its own voice. In order to avoid situations in which the interpreter’s voice eclipses the incoming voice – in effect making the interpreter’s job nearly impossible, the incoming voice must come in loud and clear.

This absolute requirement is sometimes not met. Some speakers are left unaware of interpreters’ needs and just speak into their laptop microphones. While the resulting sound quality may satisfy the average listener, this is not good enough for the interpreter because the distance between the speaker and its microphone is too big. As a result, the incoming voice from the interpreter’s viewpoint comes in as distant, muffled and covered by the interpreter’s own voice which, in effect, means that the interpreter no longer hears what he or she is supposed to translate. Of course, the interpreter can turn up the volume, but this comes at a price: by turning up the volume, one may enhance the speaker’s voice, but one is also magnifying the ambient noise around the speaker. Nothing is gained in the process.

In order to avoid this, speakers must be instructed to use a microphone-equipped headset. They narrow the distance between the microphone and the speakers lips to a minimum, thereby cutting out the undesired ambient noises which make interpreters’ jobs so difficult. Those headsets are readily available in stores selling electronic devices and within reach of even the most limited budgets. They greatly enhance the interpreter’s experience and, consequently, the quality of his or her rendition.