Team Reames
Introducing actual cases of providing services
Hybrid Meeting Interpreting
Please contact us to learn how to employ interpreting for meetings on-site and online.
Internal client meetings today are frequently an online interconnection of participants physically together in certain places and individual participants in their own remote spaces. Unlike fully online conferences where each individual joins separately, some people can converse directly as usual, and others converse online in a so-called hybrid format. When language interpreting is provided for such a meeting, however, the setup can become complex. Zoom Workplace and Microsoft Teams are frequent choices for the online meeting.
Interpreter Position
Interpreted speech should not interfere with the main meeting. Whispered interpreting (chuchotage) is preferred for this reason, so that the main meeting can proceed in ordinary fashion while interpreting into the other language is done almost simultaneously for those who need the language support. To whisper-interpret for listeners in the main meeting and with remote connections, a separate audio connection (channel) is required for each language direction (for Team Reames usually Japanese to English and English to Japanese).
Case 1: Tandem Zoom
Most simultaneous interpreting requires two or more interpreters taking turns. As long as the interpreters can hear the speakers and the listeners can hear the interpreters speak without interference of the main meeting, the interpreting console location can be remote or on-site (main meeting). Co-located interpreters can form the most responsive team and, as shown in the photo, even share the same computer with headphones and microphones connected via adapter as needed. The computer connected to Zoom Workplace delivers simultaneous interpreting in either language direction to remote listeners or local listeners who will need their own online connection.
Case 2: Hybrid Double Teams
In a conference room and via Microsoft Teams, the main meeting is conducted principally in Japanese. The interpreter listens to Japanese voice and “whispers” English in the conference room through a wireless transmitter to listeners with receivers (shown in photo). In addition, the interpreter “whispers” English through a separate Microsoft Teams connection. Remote listeners access the main Teams connection and English Teams connection separately, typically via PC and smartphone, respectively. The interpreter must be careful not to interfere with the main conference audio. In addition, English conversation is consecutively interpreted. The English and interpreted Japanese audio will be heard by everybody in the main conference. Interpreters will switch on their Teams microphone to speak in the main conference.