Remote interpreting connects someone who speaks with a professional interpreter over the phone or by video, without anyone needing to be in the same room. For organisations that serve people from many different language backgrounds, it’s become one of the quickest and most practical ways to make sure every conversation is understood.
This guide explains what remote interpreting is, looks at the two main types (telephone interpreting and video remote interpreting), shows how a blended approach combines remote and in-person support, and helps you choose the right option for each situation.
What is remote interpreting?
Remote interpreting is professional interpreting delivered at a distance. Instead of an interpreter travelling to your location, they join your conversation by phone or by video and interpret in real time between you and the person you’re speaking with.
There are two main types:
- Telephone interpreting, where you connect to an interpreter over the phone (sometimes called over-the-phone interpreting, or OPI).
- Video remote interpreting (VRI), where an interpreter appears on screen and interprets over a video call.
Both sit alongside face-to-face interpreting, where an interpreter attends your appointment in person. The difference is simply where the interpreter is. Remote interpreting brings their skills to you in seconds, from wherever they are.
Remote interpreting can be accessed on demand, the moment a need arises, or pre-booked for a scheduled appointment. It also supports non-spoken languages: British Sign Language (BSL) interpreting works well over video, where the interpreter and the user can see one another clearly.
Why remote interpreting is in such high demand
Demand for remote interpreting rose sharply when Covid-19 pushed services online, and it has stayed high since. Organisations that adopted phone and video interpreting during the pandemic found that the benefits outlast the circumstances that prompted them. A remote interpreter can be on the line in seconds, in hundreds of languages, at any hour. There’s no travel to arrange or pay for, which keeps costs down and cuts the carbon emissions tied to interpreter travel. For some rarer languages, where a nearby interpreter may simply not exist, remote access can be the only realistic way to reach a qualified linguist quickly.
The main types of remote interpreting, and when to use each
The right method depends on the conversation: how urgent it is, whether you need to see one another, how sensitive or complex it is, and which language you need. Below we look at telephone interpreting and video remote interpreting in turn, then at how to combine remote and in-person support in a blended setup.
Telephone interpreting
Telephone interpreting connects you to a professional interpreter over the phone, often within seconds. It’s fast, flexible and cost-effective, and it works anywhere you have a phone signal. Many organisations set up access in advance, so staff can reach an interpreter the moment one is needed.
Because it needs no cameras, screens or scheduling, telephone interpreting suits:
- Emergencies and urgent calls, such as police, ambulance and other emergency service lines, where speed matters most
- Unexpected or one-off needs, where someone arrives or calls and an interpreter is needed straight away
- Short, factual exchanges, like booking an appointment, confirming details or answering a quick query
- Hard-to-reach situations, where arranging an in-person interpreter would be slow or impractical
- Sensitive conversations where privacy matters, since the interpreter isn’t physically present and anonymity is easier to preserve
A telephone call can also include more than two people. Our telephone service lets three or more participants join the same call, so a member of staff, a service user and an interpreter can all speak together.
The main limitation is the absence of visual cues. Without being able to see facial expressions and body language, some meaning is harder to convey. For emotionally charged or complex conversations, such as a difficult medical or legal discussion, that lack of visual context can get in the way, and a video or in-person interpreter may be the better choice. Telephone interpreting also isn’t suitable for BSL users, who need to see the interpreter.
If quick, reliable communication without the need for a screen is the priority, telephone interpreting is usually the most efficient option. Learn more about our telephone interpreting services.
Video remote interpreting (VRI)
Video remote interpreting brings an interpreter onto a screen, where they interpret the full conversation between everyone involved over a secure video call. It combines much of the speed and convenience of the phone with the visual understanding of an in-person appointment.
Video interpreting is:
- Fast and on demand: connect to an interpreter in seconds, or pre-book one for a scheduled appointment
- Wide-reaching: available 24/7 in 500+ languages, including BSL
- Visual: facial expressions and body language are visible, which helps in sensitive or detailed conversations
- Secure: protected by 256-bit encryption, the enterprise standard used in secure digital banking and healthcare networks
- Flexible: works on desktop and mobile devices
- Cost-effective and lower carbon: there’s no interpreter travel, so you avoid both the cost and the emissions that come with it
Our video service also includes practical features for real appointments, such as background blur for privacy, in-call chat, screen sharing for documents, screen pinning and mute.
Video remote interpreting is a strong fit for:
- Healthcare appointments and consultations, where seeing the patient supports accurate, compassionate care
- Mental health and other sensitive sessions, where tone, expression and reassurance matter
- BSL and other visual communication, which depends on the interpreter being seen
- Conversations involving documents or visuals, where screen sharing helps everyone follow along
- Longer or more complex discussions, where visual context reduces the risk of misunderstanding
For very short, routine exchanges, the phone may still be quicker and simpler, and where the internet connection is poor a telephone call can be more reliable. Outside those cases, video interpreting offers the closest remote experience to having an interpreter in the room. Explore our video remote interpreting services.
A blended approach: combining remote and in-person interpreting
Video remote interpreting brings an interpreter onto a screen, where they interpret the full conversation between everyone involved over a secure video call. It combines much of the speed and convenience of the phone with the visual understanding of an in-person appointment.
In practice, many organisations don’t rely on a single method. They use a blend, sometimes called a hybrid approach, choosing the format that fits each appointment and switching between them as needs change. A blended approach isn’t a separate service. It’s how you combine telephone, video and face-to-face interpreting across your operations.
Video remote interpreting is especially adaptable here, because it works for both in-person and virtual settings. You can:
- Bring an interpreter onto an in-person appointment by adding them to a screen in the room, so staff and service user are together while the interpreter joins remotely. In healthcare, for example, our client app runs on medical-grade tablets mounted on wheeled trolleys, so a clinician can bring an interpreter to the bedside in seconds.
- Add an interpreter as a participant in a virtual meeting, so everyone, including the interpreter, joins by video.
- Use telephone interpreting on speakerphone when people are together in a room but the interpreter only needs to be heard.
A blend also helps with continuity. If an in-person appointment can’t go ahead as planned, the interpreter who was due to attend can often join by video or phone instead, so the conversation still happens on time. Many organisations reserve face-to-face interpreting for the situations that benefit most from an interpreter being physically present, such as court hearings and long or highly sensitive appointments, then use remote interpreting for everything else.
Because we provide face-to-face, telephone and video interpreting through one network and one platform, you can mix these methods to suit each case. You can see the full range on our interpreting services page, including face-to-face interpreting and BSL interpreting.
How to choose the right type of remote interpreting
A few practical questions usually point to the right choice:
- How urgent is it? If you need someone immediately, telephone and on-demand video both connect in seconds.
- Do you need to see each other? Visual cues matter for sensitive, emotional or detailed conversations, and they’re essential for BSL. If so, choose video or face-to-face.
- How sensitive or complex is the conversation? The higher the stakes, the more value there is in seeing one another, whether on screen or in person.
- How long is the appointment? Quick exchanges suit the phone; longer discussions often benefit from video or an in-person interpreter.
- Which language do you need? For rarer languages, remote interpreting widens the pool of available linguists well beyond your local area.
- What about cost and sustainability? Remote interpreting removes travel, which lowers cost and carbon compared with in-person attendance.
The table below gives an at-a-glance comparison.
| Telephone interpreting | Video remote interpreting | Face-to-face interpreting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best For | Quick, urgent or routine calls | Sensitive, detailed or visual conversations | High-stakes, long or complex appointments |
| Speed to connect | Seconds, on demand | Seconds on demand, or pre-booked | Booked in advance |
| Visual cues | No | Yes, on screen | Yes, in person |
| Supports BSL | No (Requires Visual Modality) | Yes | Yes |
| Typical cost | Lowest | Low | Highest (includes travel) |
| Interpreter travel | None | None | Required |
There’s rarely a single right answer. The strongest setups match the method to the moment, and keep more than one option open.
Remote interpreting with Dals
At Dals (formerly DA Languages), remote interpreting is something we deliver at scale every day. Our network of more than 6,000 interpreters covers 500+ languages, including BSL and other non-spoken languages, and we deliver around a million minutes of interpreting every week for more than 1,000 organisations across the public and private sectors. We’ve been doing this for over 25 years.
You can reach an interpreter on demand in seconds, or pre-book one for a set time. Our telephone and video services run on our own purpose-built apps, developed and owned in-house, which gives us full control over quality and security. Conversations are protected by 256-bit encryption and two-factor authentication, and our work is backed by internationally recognised ISO certifications and Cyber Essentials Plus. For healthcare teams, our client app runs on portable medical-grade tablets, so an interpreter is always within reach on the ward or in clinic.
NHS trusts, police forces, local authorities, central government departments and private organisations rely on us for pinpoint accuracy and full accountability when they communicate with the people they serve. Because the world is a better, fairer place when everyone is understood.