[Latino woman on screen with dark curly hair. She is dressed in a dark shirt and is visible from waist up. Behind her is a light colored room. She smiles as she introduces herself and looks down periodically during the video to review notes. Her facial expressions are straight forward and don’t provide any double meaning to what is being said]
Hello, this is Carmela the Assistant Manager for Rose Interpreting. I wanted to create a vlog explaining to our hearing customers what happens when we answer the phone. Either Sarah (sign name eye lashes in front of eye) or I answer the phone. We are Deaf so when either of us answer the phone we are using a VP or video phone to answer the office number. A video phone is a screen that is connected to the call. What will happen when you call is someone will come on the line and say “Please hold while I connect your call.” Then you will wait for one of use to answer the call and when that happens our video phone will display a video.
On my screen I see an interpreter and they can see me so that we can sign to each other. So what will happen is that the interpreter will voice what I’m signing and they will sign what you are saying, helping to facilitate our conversation. Because of this process there may be some pauses, or lag in our conversation while they work to facilitate the conversation. This is normal and not a cause for concern. We may also be taking notes, writing down important information and that may also cause a brief pause in conversation.
It’s also important to understand that that interpreter will be following the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf code for confidentiality. So everything that we will talk about on that phone call will remain between the two of us. That interpreter can’t talk to others about information that they have interpreted. They could lose their certification for a breach of confidentiality. Also our Video Relay Service (VRS) company only hires certified interpreters. So you don’t need to be worried about poor interpreting services or a lack of professionalism. All their interpreters will know how to accurately facilitate the conversation. So I hope this answers any questions and clears up any confusion. (Smiles) Thank you.