Conference Call Interpreter

How to Add an Interpreter to an International Conference Call

Conference Call Interpreter | If you’re hosting an international conference call where attendees speak a language other than your own, it may be beneficial to hire an interpreter to provide interpretation services on your behalf. Adding the interpreter to your conference calls is relatively easy. Here’s what you need to know.

How to Add an Interpreter to an International Conference Call

Is an Interpreter or Translator necessary?

Your audience may or may not be bilingual, so it’s smart to poll participants in advance to determine the need. For example, if you speak English and will be conferencing with business leaders in China, there’s a good chance they speak English and won’t require an interpreter. However, there’s still a chance that some participants could benefit from this service, making it worthwhile to check.

Adding an Interpreter Before the International Conference Call

Once you’ve determined the need for an interpreter, you’ll need to find one who speaks the designated languages. If you have someone on staff who can do this for you, great; simply invite him or her to your global conference call as you would any other participant and make sure not to use lecture mode as your interpreter will need to speak.

If not, there are many online services you could turn to hire a one-time interpreter to help with your audio conference. You’ll want to source and set up your online interpreting account before the global conference call as you certainly don’t want your group to have to wait while you take care of your billing details and other matters.

These online services typically connect you to an interpreter on demand, making audio conference invites impractical. Fortunately, you can use our leader dial-out function (*1) to dial the service, select the desired language, and connect with an interpreter. Once you fill him or her in on the task, press *2 to join the interpreter to the call.

You may want to do this a few minutes prior to the actual start of the international conference call to ensure that both you and the interpreter are on the line as your participants join the call.

Conference Call Interpreter Added During the Conference Call

Assuming you’ve already set up an account with a prepaid service, you could also add an interpreter mid-way through a conference call if needed. For example, if you’ve invited a special guest to join the global call at a specific time, and that person requires an interpreter, you can use the included leader dial-out feature to join both parties to the audio conference. Again, you’d press *1 to initiate dial-out and *2 to join the parties to the conference.

These tips are helpful for the occasional need for a single interpreter. If you’re hosting a large global audio conference requiring support for multiple languages in separate “breakaway rooms,” contact us about our custom event audio conferencing services.