Telephone interpreting, also known as remote interpreting, refers to interpreting services provided via telephonic links (occasionally with video links as well), in which neither the interpreter nor the parties are in the same physical location. Interpreters tend to work in medical, social service, business and legal cases. At present, most of telephone interpreting is done consecutively, but as telecommunications technology develops further, simultaneous interpreting will become more prevalent.

This type of interpreting is used for business negotiations or talks, when great distances are involved (e.g. one partner is based in Japan and another in the US). It is also used during preparations for business meetings when arrangements have to be made between the business partners. Three-way teleconferences are the preferred option for this method of interpreting. The biggest asset of this type of interpreting is that costs are lower than organising a full meeting.

In any case, interpreters will need an active knowledge of both working languages, technical knowledge of the field they will be working on and, last but not the least, a professional manner.

Telephone interpreting is a fast-growing industry that is becoming the staple work for a great number of interpreters. This is a relatively new field that was established nearly 30 years ago as a community service. As communication is rapidly getting more technologically advanced, modern telephone interpreting has become a vital tool in the interpreting industry. The skilled telephone interpreter would not only have extraordinary language fluency, but also special communicative talent.

Learning faster and more efficient ways of organising thoughts and expressions is especially crucial for a telephone interpreter. The ultimate goal of an interpreter in communicating an idea is to allow the language to be unnoticed in a direct stream of thought. Accuracy and objectivity are important to all types of interpreters.

However, these goals are even more difficult for the telephone interpreter because the other parties are not visible to each other. Because of the lack of visibility, the interpreter has to rely on voice tone, which is the only nonverbal element that can be captured in telephone interpreting.

The ability to be sensitive to many cultural backgrounds and dialects is also important in telephone interpreting, but this has to be done with exceptional quickness and consistency. Today, telephone interpreting is extremely important in corporate trade and legal services too (the invisibility of the interpreter is particularly useful in granting a feeling of confidentiality to the speakers).

There's a certain tendency to consider translation and interpreting as one and the same thing. Whilst the principle remains the same – conveying the content of a source language into a target language – interpreting belongs to a distinctive breed. The translator deals with static text; he'll have time to swing back and forth in the quest for that perfect sentence. The interpreter hasn't got that privilege. Decisions have to be made in real-time or near-real-time, which means the threshold between success and disgrace is even thinner.

Apart from the obvious language skills, the qualities required of an interpreter are very demanding. This section gives you and idea of what you should expect from a fully qualified interpreter.

Language Skills

In the same way an omelette can't be cooked without eggs, language is just a pre-requisite for mastering the techniques of interpreting.

Analytical Skills

Analysis is foremost amongst the strategies employed by court interpreters. It is so essential that it can be considered an intrinsic part of the process rather than an subsidiary strategy. Many standards of practice for medical interpreters also cite analysis as a key element in interpreting proficiency. 

Listening and Recall

Effective interpreting requires effective listening skills. The specific kind of listening that interpreters perform is known as "active listening", which is quite different from other forms of listening, and has to be learnt by the interpreter. Having a good memory is especially important for a legal interpreter, who must retain and include in the target language message even extra-linguistic elements.

Ethical Behaviour

Although the interpreter's code of ethics has the greatest impact in legal settings, ethics are a major consideration for all interpreters. Some delicate situations can arise in international conferences, requiring that interpreters thoroughly understand their role and exercise good judgment. Medical interpreters must be particularly attuned to the importance of patient privacy issues.

Speaking Skills 

Even consecutive interpreters, who generally interpret in more intimate settings, need to be able to express ideas well: effective speaking skills range from quality of voice to choice of intonation vocabulary, phrasing, etc.

Subject and Cultural Skills

Although the sentence 'You don't need to understand it, just translate it!' is quite often heard, interpreters need to acquire technical terminology and knowledge pertaining to the relevant fields, and, whenever possible, to suppress potential 'gaps' with their cultural knowledge.