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Option 1: a translator app's conversation mode
Most common translator apps have a "conversation" mode: you speak, the app translates and reads it aloud; the other person speaks, and it translates into your language. It works well face to face, because the phone sits between the two of you.
On a phone call it gets harder: you have to put the call on speaker on one device and run the translator on a second one. In noise, or when both people talk at once, the translation gets muddled. It's fine for a short, important call, and tiring for a long conversation.
Option 2: captions on a video call
Some video call and meeting apps turn speech into live captions, and some can also translate those captions into another language. Which app supports which language, and whether the feature is paid, varies by version and country; try it on your own account before the call.
Reading captions is slower than listening. You'll understand what the other person says, but to reply you still have to speak or write in their language, so captions are usually a one-way solution.
Option 3: write first, then call
If the call has a clear subject — an appointment, an address, a price, a delivery date — send the important part as a message first, in the other person's language. On the phone you only confirm: "Did you get my message? Is three o'clock OK?" Saying a few short sentences is much easier than running the whole conversation through translation.
Habits that help when you talk through translation
Whichever option you choose, how well the translation comes out depends a lot on how you speak:
- Use short sentences and pause after each one; translation starts when the sentence ends.
- Take turns. When two people talk at once, the translation misses both.
- Avoid idioms and jokes: a phrase like "break a leg" can come out meaningless in another language.
- Pick a quiet place; a headset microphone usually gives cleaner sound than the phone's speaker.
- Don't hesitate to ask again: keep the translation of "Could you say that again, slowly?" ready from the start.
Numbers, names and addresses
Numbers are where speech translation goes wrong most often: "fifteen" and "fifty" sound very alike. Always send times, prices, addresses and phone numbers in writing at the end of the call too. Names of people and streets usually don't translate; spell them out or write them down.
The voice problem
Translator apps read the sentence in a synthetic voice. For a short question that's fine; but in a long family call, or when you're talking to a customer, the other person isn't listening to you — they're listening to a machine. It's the main reason people give up on speech translation: when the voice isn't yours, the conversation doesn't feel like yours either.