Troublesome Terps Podcast Features ZipDX

Troublesome Terps is a new podcast for the interpreter community. The project is co-hosted by Alexander Drechsel (@adrechsel ), Alexander Gansmeier (@ACGInterpret) and Jonathan Downie (@jonathandownie), who are themselves professional interpreters based around Europe and the UK.

Episode #4 of the podcast featured Barry Slaughter-Olsen (@ProfessorOlsen), General Manager of Multilingual at ZipDX, in a nearly hour-long discussion about the new field of remote interpreting.

The podcast was derived from a conference call conducted using ZipDX. The participants connected using the ZipDX Web Phone which delivers audio quality exceeding traditional telephone call.

The ability to reliably deliver superior audio quality is critical with respect to multilingual projects. It’s a major factor in reducing interpreter fatigue.

The conversation spanned a wide range of topics of interest to conference interpreters. It touched on concerns about:

• Sustaining the quality of interpretation while not physically present
• Issues around setting up and working from a home office
• Their experience with various emerging new services

Professor Olsen brought to the discussion his years of experience as a professional interpreter and educator.

Where some are concerned that remote interpretation could degrade the experience of interpretation, he sees it as an opportunity to expand access to interpretation. He sees new technologies as a way to extend the reach of interpretation beyond what has historically been practical.