Remoto interpreter guidelines

Before you go online

Going online means a client can ring you within seconds. These are the checks that make that safe.

• You are somewhere quiet and private where you will not be overheard.

  A call can carry medical, legal or financial detail about a real person. Anyone within earshot of you is in that conversation too, and so is anyone who can see your screen. Never take a call from a car, a café, a shared office or public transport.

• Your background is plain, and nothing behind you identifies you or anyone else.

  A blank wall or a neutral blurred background, good lighting on your face, camera at eye level, and nobody walking through the shot. Dress as you would to be in the room. On medical, legal and government calls you are visibly part of a clinical or official setting — a cluttered or personal background undermines the interpreter before a word is said.

• Your headset, microphone and connection are working.

  Test them before you go online, not on a client's first minute. A headset also keeps the other side of the call out of the room you are in.

• You are ready to take calls right now, in the languages and at the rates you have set.

  Being online means a client can ring you this second. If you are not ready to answer, stay offline — a missed call costs you ranking and costs the client the booking.

Good practice

Judgement rather than enforcement — but this is what the highest-rated interpreters on the platform actually do.

• End the call properly once both sides are finished.

  Check that neither side has anything left to say, then leave the call. The clock runs while the room is open, so a call left sitting there is billed to the client for time nobody used.

• When you are asked to do something outside your role, say so briefly and carry on.

  Summarising, filling in a form, explaining a document, waiting on hold on someone’s behalf — one sentence as the interpreter (“The interpreter can only interpret what is said”) settles it faster than doing it once and being asked every time.

• When a call goes wrong, stay on it and say what is happening.

  Bad audio, the wrong language on the request, a participant who never joins — say so out loud, give it a moment, and end the call properly. Hanging up silently reads to the client as an interpreter who walked out, and it is the single most common complaint we receive.

• Ask for a repeat or a clarification whenever you need one.

  "The interpreter asks for a repetition" is a normal, professional thing to say. Guessing is not.

• Speak in the first person, as the speaker.

  "I have a headache", not "he says he has a headache". Step out of first person only to speak as the interpreter, and say so when you do.

• Manage the flow — one speaker at a time.

  You are allowed to interrupt to keep the conversation interpretable. Doing it early is easier than untangling two minutes of crosstalk.

• Tell us afterwards when something was wrong with the call.

  The post-call feedback box goes to the Remoto team. Use it for platform problems, and contact support for anything involving a participant.

Everything you say on a call is either interpretation or you. The participants cannot tell which unless you tell them — and an exchange they cannot follow reads as a private conversation behind their back.

• Anything you say that is not interpretation starts with “This is the interpreter speaking”.

  Asking for a repetition, flagging a term you did not catch, asking someone to slow down — all of it is you speaking, not the participant, and both sides need to know which one they are hearing. Say it in the third person (“the interpreter needs…”), keep it to one sentence, and go straight back to interpreting.

• Whatever you say to one participant, tell the other one you said it.

  If you ask the Spanish speaker to repeat something, tell the English speaker what you asked and why before you interpret the answer. Otherwise the two of you appear to be having a one-to-one conversation, and the person left out has no way of knowing whether what comes back is the answer to their question.

• Never let a side conversation start, in either direction.

  “Just tell her that…”, “don’t translate this, but…”, or a participant asking you personally what they should do — interpret the request itself so the other side hears it, then answer as the interpreter if you need to. Nothing said on the call is off the record between you and one participant.

• Set the rules at the start, with the client, before anyone needs them.

  Thirty seconds at the top of the call — you will interpret everything in the first person, they should speak directly to each other, pause every few sentences, and you may interrupt to ask for a repetition — prevents almost every interruption later from feeling like a fault.

What to say, word for word

Nobody reasons from principles three seconds behind a doctor. Learn these lines so they are there when you need them.

Hello, my name is [Name], and I'll be your [Language to Language] interpreter today. Everything you both say will be interpreted, and everything said on this call is kept confidential. Please speak directly to each other, one at a time, and pause every few sentences so I can interpret.

You don't need to use these exact words — just make sure everyone understands your role, that nothing will be left out, and that what they say is treated as confidential.

If anyone asks whether the call is recorded, say yes — Remoto may record calls for quality and training — and carry on. Never promise a participant that a call is not recorded.

Use the Dial a phone participant panel at the top right of the call: choose the country, type the number, and dial. The phone minutes are billed to the client, so only dial when the client asks you to.

Ask these three questions before you dial

1. 1

   “What number should I dial, with the country and area code?”

   Pick the country in the dialler first, then type the national number. Read the whole number back to the client before you press dial — the minutes are charged to them, and a wrong number can reach a stranger with a real person's business.

2. 2

   “If nobody answers, would you like me to leave a message, and what exactly should it say?”

   Agree this before dialling, not while the voicemail beep is running. If the client does not want a message left, leave none — say nothing and hang up.

3. 3

   “What callback number should I give them?”

   Never give out your own number, and never give out a Remoto number that was not handed to you by the client for this call.

• Ask the client to type the message and both numbers into the call chat.

  Spoken numbers and spoken messages are misheard. In the chat you have the client's exact words in front of you while you dial and while you speak to voicemail, and there is a record of what you were asked to say if it is ever questioned.

• Say who is calling as soon as anyone answers.

  “Hello, I am an interpreter calling on behalf of [client] — I have them on the line with me.” Then interpret as normal. The person on the phone did not choose to be in this call and has no screen to look at.

• Leave the message you were given, and nothing else.

  Do not add detail the client did not ask for, do not explain the medical or legal reason for the call to a voicemail, and do not leave your own name or number. A voicemail can be heard by anyone in that household.

• Only dial when the client asks you to.

  The client is billed per minute for the phone leg. Never dial a number a participant hands you without the client asking for it, and never use the dialler to reach someone outside the session.

Something went wrong on a call, or you are not sure whether a rule applies to your situation? Contact support. Asking first is always cheaper than finding out afterwards.

These guidelines sit alongside the Terms of Service and the Code of Conduct, which govern where they overlap.