Is there anything I can do to help the interpreters working in the VICO?

If you participate in a VICO with remote simultaneous interpreting, please use a high-quality microphone, namely either a USB headset with integrated microphone or a unidirectional podcasting-type USB microphone (clip-on or stand-alone) together with (separate) headphones for listening. Please do not use external speakers as these can cause echoes. Make sure you position the microphone at the right distance and speak directly into it, at a reasonable pace.

Please do not use microphones built into a computer or camera, wireless headsets connected to the computer via its built-in Bluetooth, phone earbuds (even if wired) or standard VICO room equipment with omnidirectional, multi-party ‘spider’ microphones, which are often shared. None of these perform adequately for remote interpreting because they do not reproduce the frequency range of 125 Hz to 15000 Hz that simultaneous interpreters need in order to be able to listen and speak at the same time, as stipulated in ISO standard 24019:2022: Simultaneous interpreting delivery platforms - Requirements and recommendations. If two or more people are physically present in the same room and intend to speak during the proceedings, they should not use external speakers as these can cause echoes and should each have their own individual headset or microphone+headphones. They should also have their own camera. Omnidirectional microphones or microphones built into a computer which capture multiple speakers do not perform adequately to allow simultaneous interpretation and also pick up ambient sounds such as mouse clicks and pages being turned, all of which can make it difficult for the interpreters to hear what is being said while talking.

Please also make sure you wait a few seconds before starting to speak when you take the floor, because there is an inherent delay in Zoom in picking up the sound when there is a change of speaker and language.