Virtual Remote Interpretation or VRI came of age in the service crucible that raged during the pandemic. Covid protocols all but eliminated in-person and even many facility-based interpretation services. These barriers to quality communication severely degraded multilingual access to the most basic of human services, such as medical care, legal protection, and government support, just when needed most.

Safety, Security & Convenience

As in-person communication of all sorts and access to vital services broke down, leaders in the language services industry were already aware of and promoting a solution capable of meeting and exceeding the safety and security demands of the government–VRI. And end-users have found it a proven solution given its practicality and convenience.

Before the emergence of VRI, the dominant technology was Over-the-Phone Interpreting or OPI. Although OPI has seen some significant improvements over the decades, VRI has much more to offer both clients and end-users. For example, OPI generally requires all participants to be in fixed locations and is subject to the whims of some aging technologies. For VRI, mobility and flexibility are core advantages.

VRI’s primary advantage, of course, is the inclusion of real-time video. There is no substitute for seeing and hearing the people we are trying to communicate with and understand. Additional advantages include the security and convenience built into VRI’s back-office processes. It all takes advantage of decades of communication and other technological advances to offer a virtually “live” experience that is safe, secure, and convenient.

Rapport & Trust

We all know how important it is in a professional setting to establish rapport and trust quickly. VRI is just the tool to facilitate this relationship. VRI makes it possible to meet face-to-face and see eye-to-eye. Participants can take into account the facial expressions, lip movements, and body language of the other individuals speaking. The natural outcome of which is mutual respect and better understanding.

When a doctor, a (possibly separated) husband and wife, along with their interpreter, can all see as well as hear one another, it is much easier to share personal, maybe lifesaving information. Quality VRI interpreters know how to effectively use facial expressions and body language to reinforce the feeling and emotion of their words. There’s no denying the value of seeing and hearing someone who looks, sounds, and reacts like you.

Virtually Anywhere

VRI is an ideal way to communicate in hospital environments. It is also the go-to solution for safety, security, and convenience wherever superior quality multilingual communication and understanding are paramount. Other often-used and some not-so-often-yet-possible settings that take advantage of all that VRI has to offer include:

• Clinics & other medical provider offices
• Symposiums, conventions & trade shows
• All variety of legal venues
• Multicultural events and press conferences
• Aboard aircraft or ship
• 24/7/365 virtually anywhere

VRI Ascending

The pandemic forced us all to live creatively and learn to do many things differently. The demand for quality multilingual communication services that adhere to dramatically different rules and safety protocols forged VRI as the go-to methodology for the post-pandemic world.

Whenever your organization is considering how best to interface with the multilingual world, please get in touch. Let Keylingo’s nimble service strategies help you and your clients secure the quality communication and access they deserve.