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How to recover from a mistranslation in a video call

Pause at the first detail you’re unsure about. “Did you say you leave on Monday or arrive on Monday?” makes it easier to fix the problem than asking the speaker to repeat a whole story.

Get ready for your next translated call

Written by Hanashi

Try a three-step repair

  • Name the missing detail: the time, the person or what happened.
  • Ask for a short sentence with the important words made explicit. “My sister arrives on Monday” is easier to check than “She gets in then.”
  • Repeat back what you heard. For an address, spelling or number, ask for the exact detail in chat if it’s appropriate to share.

Keep a way to move on

If the audio is hard to hear, take turns and check whether the speaker can move closer to their microphone. If the same sentence keeps failing, describe the idea differently or use text for that part.

If you are swapping stories, you can set aside a side detail and come back to it. If someone is making an important decision based on the detail, confirm it before continuing.

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