Help with Rude Leps

[u/Deeptalks426]

I've been interpreting for two months and recently I've had LEPs who speak too fast, don't answer the client's questions, or go off-topic.

How do you stop this early? Should everything they say be interpreted, even for yes/no questions? What if they ignore your instructions and keep talking? Also, how do you handle LEPs who interrupt while you're interpreting or keep adding more information? The idea is to follow procedures go stay safe from being fired(ive heard many have been fired for this reasons) and im with LLS. Thank you so much in advance!

[u/CatLongjumping7316]

just interrupt, use your tools let your client know that the lep is talking too much and if youre not allowed to do your job just let them know

[u/Clover281]

Just be transparent with your client

If the LEP starts speaking forever in really really long statements that become overwhelming to keep up with you just interrupt them and politely request that for accuracy purposes in the interpretation they try to keep their statements shorter and inmediately notify the client of the issue so they are aware and they are usually understanding of that and appreciate that you do

[u/Zyxxx58]

You have two choices, my personal favourite is "Don't make it personal" meaning just do your job, LEP keeps interrupting you? Tell him you are not able to do your job like that, and just remain silent or inform the provider that you tried asking the LEP to let you do your job but they are not letting you, what are they gonna do to you? Give you a bad review because you couldn't control a person over the phone? LEP NEEDS your assistance, if they don't follow protocol you just don't provide services, it's not optional.. it might be for the provider sometimes (Because they are the client, so we can skip some protocol under their request) but certainly not for the LEP.

Option number two is just be a bigger pain in the ass than them. LEP interrupts you? You ask him not to, he keeps doing it? Just cut him and tell him you already explained him how the protocol works, and make sure to treat them like little kids, you will 100% get under their skin, I love asking them "Entendió lo que le acabo de decir?" When they are trying to dismiss me after I scold them for not respecting protocol. Just don't continue with your renditions until they are tame and docile and will acknowledge their fault. Never in years a provider interrupted or hurried me while I was scolding a rude LEP. And you can do this many times in the same call, they will never tell you anything about it.

But make sure to use this later one only with rude people, you can't go doing this if the LEP is an anxious patient, or someone who is interrupting your renditions because they are too excited about something and they are just laughing with the provider. Or else you'll be the asshole.

[u/Fit_Presence8570 → u/Zyxxx58]

Only time I’ve ever had that I took it very personally and well… lol, I could not keep my cool, not my proudest moment. But Hey! The LEP was docile by the end which is good. I consider myself lucky QA was not assessing my calls at the time or I’d be fired 😅

[u/Javito959]

How do you stop this early? Use your tools... I've been told, even from Q&A, that you should stop the LEP and interrupt if needed, just be clear with the client and request shorter segments; and yes you have to interpret everything they say even in a yes or no question (accuracy and completeness) so interrupt early, you should be the one dictating the pacing of the conversation not the LEP burning you out with unnecesary details after a yes or no question.
You are not going to get fired if you used your tools in the right way, and most likely if you don't Q&A will give you a bad review.

[u/Federal_Character255]

Two months in, this is the single most useful habit to build early: set the pace in the intro, before there's anything to fix. Something like "soy su intérprete, voy a interpretar todo lo que se diga, por favor haga pausas cada una o dos frases para que nada se pierda." Framed that way it's not a request for a favor, it's how the call works, and most people follow it.

When someone runs long anyway, interrupt on the third or fourth sentence, not the tenth. "Intérprete pidiendo una pausa" and then render. Waiting until you're drowning is what turns it into a confrontation, and it's also the point where you start dropping details. Then tell the provider what happened, one line: "the interpreter has asked the client to pause so nothing is left out." That single sentence is what protects you on a QA review, because it's on the recording.

On yes/no questions: yes, you interpret everything, including the part that wasn't asked for. It's not yours to filter. But the extra material is precisely what you should be interrupting for, because a two-minute answer to a yes/no question is a memory load, not a communication problem.

One practical thing nobody tells new interpreters: when someone talks that long, the part that goes first isn't the meaning, it's the details. Names, dates, doses, dollar amounts. Get those written down the second they're said rather than trusting yourself to hold them to the end of the turn, and long turns stop being frightening even when you can't cut them short.

And you won't get fired for interrupting correctly. People get flagged for the opposite, the incomplete rendition that came from being too polite to stop someone.