Remote simultaneous interpreting (or RSI) helps companies and organisations run events in the modern world. In addition to removing language barriers between speakers and audiences, remote simultaneous interpreting also takes location, physical attendance and technical logistics out of the equation.
This allows you to run fully (or partially) remote, multilingual events without being held back by languages or location.
What is remote simultaneous interpreting?
Remote simultaneous interpreting (RSI) translates the dialogue of speakers for an audience, in real-time, without interpreters being physically present on-location. We can break RSI into two key components – first, starting with simultaneous interpreting.
Simultaneous interpreting describes the live translation of speech between speakers and audiences. Common examples of this include court cases involving foreign-speaking witnesses and events with multilingual speakers or audiences.
In these settings, simultaneous interpreting allows speakers to communicate in their native language, knowing everything they say is translated for their audiences in real-time.
Traditionally, simultaneous interpreting required interpreters to be in the same physical location as the speaker. However, modern cloud-based technology allows interpreters to translate in real-time from remote locations without worrying about lag, latency issues or expensive equipment.
Now, professional interpreters can provide quality RSI services for the world’s biggest events from anywhere in the world.
What are the key benefits of RSI?
If we compare remote simultaneous interpreting to the more traditional on-premise interpreting service, the key benefits of RSI are:
- Simplicity: Traditionally, simultaneous interpreting requires a lot of planning and technical setting up but remote technology makes RSI significantly easier to implement.
- Flexibility: Remote simultaneous interpreting is far more flexible than traditional interpreting services where language professionals have to be present on-location.
- Affordability: Interpreters being able to provide services without expensive setups or physically travelling, making the service significantly more cost-effective.
- Access to talent: Instead of being limited to hiring nearby interpreters, RSI allows you to access global talent without physical location being an issue.
- Location-independence: Providing interpreting services remotely allows language talent to “be” anywhere they need to at any time.
- Scale: RSI is ideal for large-scale, ongoing or multi-location events that would otherwise require intensive planning, personnel and budget for interpretation services.
- Multilingual capacity: Remote interpreting also makes it easier to incorporate multiple translators of different languages, especially if you’re catering to different audiences across events and need to switch up languages at short notice.
- Remote transmission: Aside from interpreters being able to work remotely, you can also transmit your events to global audiences using cloud services.
- Reach: With RSI, you can reach as many language audiences as you want with the most cost-effective simultaneous interpreting system possible.
Aside from making simultaneous interpreting more flexible and cost-effective, remote simultaneous interpreting allows you to run more ambitious events for wider audiences without languages, locations or physical attendance holding you back.
When to use remote simultaneous interpreting
Now that we’ve covered the main benefits of remote simultaneous interpreting, let’s look at some of the most common settings this language service is used.
- Online events: In the connected world, events are no longer confined to physical locations and RSI allows you to run multilingual online events with ease.
- Conferences: If your conferences welcome speakers and/or visitors from around the world, RSI allows you to speak everyone’s language.
- Remote meetings: RSI allows to run meetings with international business partners, potential investors, remote team members and anyone else you need to without physical travel ever being an issue.
- Hybrid events: Remote technology allows companies to run hybrid events with a mix of physical and remote attendees – and RSI can interpret events for everyone.
- Public announcements: When companies, government agencies and other organisations need to get their message out to a global audience, RSI makes it happen.
- Press conferences: Any instance where speakers or interviewees are speaking to press (or to audiences of other languages), remote simultaneous interpreting helps to facilitate multilingual press conferences seamlessly.
In today’s hyper-connected world, people see RSI in action more than they probably realise. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, it helped international agencies like WHO make public announcements to global audiences.
Since then, it has also helped Ukraine’s President address the world on the ongoing conflict in his country.
You’ll also see RSI in action during major sporting events where journalists, athletes, officials and other participants of different language backgrounds need to communicate effortlessly in real-time.
Do you need remote simultaneous interpreting (RSI) services?
If language barriers and/or physical attendance are making your events, conferences or internal global meetings more challenging to run, remote interpreting services could be the answer you’re looking for.
To find out more about RSI, feel free to reach out to our remote interpreting specialists by filling out the form on our contact page.