Ever since the pandemic, Zoom calls have become a huge part of the work carried out by businesses, organizations and government offices, particularly in major Colombian cities like Bogotá. These Zoom calls often involve people from different countries who require interpreting because they don’t speak Spanish. So how do you organize interpreting for a Zoom call? Below is a quick guide so that your online meeting goes smoothly.

1. 1. Identify which languages you require for interpreting. The most common combination in Colombia is Spanish and English.
   2. Find an interpreter who has experience interpreting for Zoom calls and who has some background knowledge of the topic of the meeting / session.
   3. Ask the interpreter to hire a Zoom Pro licence for the session if you don’t already have a subscription. This means that you only pay a small rental fee, instead of having to pay for software that you probably aren’t going to use every day of the year. You MUST have a Zoom Pro licence to be access the interpreting function.
   4. Make a list of the people who will participate in the Zoom call with their email addresses, as well as the time and date it will occur (specify that it is the time in Bogotá), and share it with the interpreter. Ask them to set up the meeting and make both of you co-hosts.
   5. Send the interpreter any documents you are going to discuss or present during the session so that they can prepare and research any technical vocabulary.
   6. If the Zoom call is just 1 hour, your interpreter probably won’t need a break. If it is between 1 and 2 hours, your interpreter is definitely going to need a 5 – 10 minute break in the middle to make sure that the interpretation is of the highest quality throughout the call. If the session is longer than 2 hours, you are going to need a second interpreter so that they can work in 15 minute shifts.
   7. Connect to the Zoom call 15 minutes beforehand so that you can check the interpreting channels in both languages.
   8. Enjoy the miracle of interpreting on a Zoom call!

ONG Traducciones offers interpreting for Zoom calls, as well as renting access to Zoom Pro for a day or multiple days. You can find out more about our interpreting service here.