Being a professional conference interpreter and trying to build a freelance career during the COVID pandemic, I’ve had my fair share of Remote Simultaneous Interpreting (RSI) assignments – remote interpreting or distance interpreting for short. But even after the restrictions have long been lifted and the world of interpreting has gone back to normal, RSI has remained an important new facet of an interpreter’s work environment. Meetings, conferences, seminars, and trainings where speakers, participants, and interpreters are often scattered across different locations still take place, across countries and industries.
But in order to reap the full potential of RSI events, the right equipment is essential. Ensuring a clear audio and video feed is crucial in order to allow interpreters to capture every nuance of speech. Insufficient audio quality may even lead to risks of misinterpretation or even hearing strain over time. Unfortunately, audio quality is still an issue in many RSI assignments.
Different audio qualities, prolonged screen exposure and constant camera / earphone use are factors contributing to RSI being more mentally and physically taxing than “traditional” on-site interpreting. This is why professtional associations like Verband der Konferenzdolmetscher (VKD) im BDÜ e.V. have been raising awarenees on this topic, formulating clear guidelines and recommendations on working conditions, appropriate team sizes, sufficient breaks, and contracts that protect interpreters’ well‑being.
They’ve also created a wonderful video on RSI that’s absolutely worth watching.
I truly believe that RSI is by no means just a “cheap alternative” to having business partners or employees fly in for meetings or work events, it’s a complicated setting and work environment that works only if all technical, ergonomic, and organisational boxes are checked.
As professional interpreters, we’re more than happy to consult clients on platform setups, headset standards, bandwidth requirements, and scheduling formats, because we know what we need and what works best, and because our ability to deliver accurate interpretation depends on it.