Google Translate's Live translate at the kitchen table, iPhone Live Translation on calls, a practice run, and what to tell the homeowner and put in writing.
Swipe or tap Next · checked on 2026-10-22
Not technical? Start here. Copy this prompt into ChatGPT or Claude (the free versions work) and it walks you through the whole guide, one step at a time, in plain English. It asks before it assumes anything and checks with you before anything that costs money, reaches a real customer or deletes something. The rest of the page is the same guide, written out, if you'd rather do it yourself.
Just want the line to say to the homeowner? It's under What to tell the homeowner below.
The walkthrough prompt (copy all of it) · lines 1-2 of 106. Copy all copies the whole prompt; read it in full on the page.
Hi! Please be my patient guide for this step-by-step guide from Receipts Group: "Pitch Spanish-speaking homeowners with live translation on your phone"
The guide is here: https://receiptsgroup.com/guides/live-translate-spanish-homeowners (open it if you can; if you can't, everything you need is below).This is the manual way: every step, every button. Two tools, one for the table and one for the phone, and the same rules for both.
Every few sentences, glance at the transcript. If it got something wrong, say it again, shorter. Prices and dates always go in writing too.
It's free on the App Store and needs iOS 18 or later. Already have it? Update it: Google's help page says to keep it on the latest version.
Open the app and tap Live translate at the bottom.
Choose your two languages and the mode. For the kitchen table it's Conversation: the translation plays out loud and you take turns talking. The others:
Just start. Google says the microphone “automatically detects when one language stops and the other language starts,” so you don't tap between turns. Tap Speak to pause or resume, tap any line to hear it again, and tap Back at the top to leave.
What I'd do: put the phone flat on the table between you, speaker up, and ask if they mind turning the TV down. One idea per sentence, then wait for it to finish talking before you start the next one.
Google launched Live translate in the U.S., India and Mexico first (August 2025), and its help page lists 73 languages, Spanish included. So if the homeowner's more comfortable in another language, look for theirs in the language list and run the same steps.
Apple's list for Apple Intelligence: iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, and the iPhone 16 models and everything newer (16e, 17, Air and up). Not the regular iPhone 15 or 15 Plus. No supported iPhone? The call part is out for now; the kitchen table part above works on any phone with Google Translate.
Apple says Apple Intelligence is “automatically available on eligible devices” once they're on the 27.0 software, as long as the iPhone's language and Siri's language are set to the same supported language (English is one). It needs free space: Apple says up to 14 GB on some models. Apple's own tip before an update: back up, plug in and use Wi-Fi.
Start the call in the Phone app like normal. During the call, tap More, then Live Translation. If you're not on the speaker or headphones, the call switches to the speaker by itself.
If Spanish isn't picked, tap Choose Language and pick it. The first time, it downloads, which Apple says “might take a few minutes.” So do this on your test call, not with a homeowner waiting.
Apple says this “alerts both parties that the call is being translated,” so the homeowner hears that it's on. Then they hear a spoken translation of what you say, their answer is translated back to you, and you can read the transcript on the screen. It works on a regular phone call; the steps are all on your side.
Spanish on calls: Apple's language list for Phone and FaceTime says Spanish (Spain). Some words may not be the ones your homeowner uses, which is one more reason for the practice run.
Privacy: Apple says Live Translation “runs entirely on device.”
Accuracy: Apple's own note: “Outputs may vary, so check important information for accuracy.”
Data: on cellular data, Apple says carrier charges may apply.
Tell them up front, before the pitch, not halfway through when it's already gotten weird. Say the opening line into the translator so they hear it in Spanish, and let them say no: if they'd rather have a family member translate, that's their call. I'd still keep the phone's transcript running so I can check the numbers.
The opening line and the check-back (fill in the brackets) · Part 1 of 2 · Copy copies all 26 lines
THE OPENING LINE: say it first, through the translator,
before the pitch
"Hi, I'm [your name] with [company]. Before we start:
my Spanish isn't good enough for this, so I'm using a
translator on my phone. It turns what I say into
Spanish out loud, and what you say into English for me.
It can make mistakes. If anything sounds strange, stop
me and I'll say it another way. If you'd rather have
someone in your family help translate, that's fine too.
Is that okay with you?"The opening line and the check-back (fill in the brackets) · Part 2 of 2 · Copy copies all 26 lines
[Only if your paperwork is in Spanish:]
"Before you sign anything, you'll get the paperwork
in Spanish."
THE CHECK-BACK: after the price, and before anything
gets signed
"Just to make sure the translator got it right, can
you tell me back what we're doing, when, and the
total?"
They answer in Spanish. You read the English on the
screen. If anything's off, say it again, shorter, and
point to the number on the estimate.The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule covers most sales you make in the homeowner's home ($25 or more), even when they invited you over.
For those, you have to give them a filled-in copy of the contract or receipt “in the same language, e.g., Spanish, as that principally used in the oral sales presentation,” with their right to cancel until midnight of the third business day, two copies of the cancellation form, and you have to tell them about that right out loud when they sign.
So if the homeowner heard your pitch in Spanish, translator or not, I'd treat it as a Spanish presentation and hand them Spanish paperwork.
Don't make it with the app: get the contract and the cancellation notice translated properly and have your lawyer check them, because your state can add its own rules on top.
The rule has exceptions (a repair visit the homeowner asked for, a real emergency, and a few others), and your lawyer will know which ones fit your jobs. I'm not your lawyer.
Before a real homeowner, run the whole thing with someone who speaks Spanish well: a bilingual employee, a family member, a friend. About 15 minutes. They play the homeowner, you do your normal pitch through the phone, and they tell you what came out wrong. It costs nothing, and it's a lot cheaper than finding out at a real kitchen table.
Google Translate, Live translate, Conversation mode. Your intro, the opening line, your main points, the price and what's included, then the check-back line. A real table with normal noise beats a quiet office: that's what a kitchen sounds like.
Call them from your iPhone, turn on Live Translation, and do your confirmation: the day, the time, the address. This is also when Spanish downloads the first time.
Your tester fills in the checklist below. Fix every line that came out wrong (shorter, plainer), and run those lines again.
The test checklist (your tester fills it in) · Part 1 of 2 · Copy copies all 22 lines
TRANSLATION TEST: before a real appointment
(your bilingual tester fills this in)
Tester: ________ Date: ________ Phone: ________
AT THE TABLE (Google Translate, Live translate)
[ ] My intro came out right
[ ] The opening line came out right
[ ] My main points came out right
[ ] The price came out right (the exact number)
[ ] What's included came out right
[ ] Dates and times came out right
[ ] It switched between us on its own: Y / N
Words or lines that came out wrong: ____________The test checklist (your tester fills it in) · Part 2 of 2 · Copy copies all 22 lines
ON A CALL (iPhone Live Translation)
[ ] We both heard that the call is being translated
[ ] Day, time and address came out right
Anything that sounded strange in Spanish: ____________
FIX BEFORE THE REAL THING: ____________
READY FOR A REAL HOMEOWNER: Y / NReady: your tester got the price, what's included and the appointment time right without you repeating yourself more than once or twice, and they understood the opening line. Not ready: a number came out wrong, or they had to guess what you meant. Fix those lines and test again before a real homeowner.
If your pitch is long sentences and trade talk, rewrite it before the practice run. Paste this into ChatGPT or Claude with your pitch at the bottom. Take out any homeowner's name, address or number first.
Prompt: rewrite my pitch for a translator · lines 1-4 of 12. Copy all copies the whole prompt; read it in full on the page.
Here's the pitch I give homeowners at the kitchen table. I'm going to say it through a live translator app into Spanish, so rewrite it to translate well:
- one idea per sentence, and short sentences
- plain words instead of trade words (if a trade word has to stay, add a few plain words that say what it is)
- every price, date and time said the same way every time, and marked so I remember to show it in writing tooRead the rewrite out loud. If it doesn't sound like you anymore, tell it which lines to put back. Then take its two lists into your practice run.
Checked 2026-10-22 on the App Store listing, Apple's support pages and ElevenLabs' launch post. Prices change: check before you buy.
The one real cost isn't a tool: getting your contract and cancellation notice translated properly and checked by your lawyer. That's a one-time job, and it's the part I wouldn't do on the cheap.
Check the model first (iPhone 15 Pro or newer; not the regular 15 or 15 Plus). Then update (Settings → General → Software Update), and check the iPhone's language and Siri's language are the same supported language. Apple says Apple Intelligence can be unavailable after a language change until the new language finishes downloading.
It downloads the first time you pick it. Do that on your test call, never with a homeowner waiting.
That's normal: Apple switches to the speaker when you're not on headphones. Use headphones, or take the call somewhere quiet.
Apple lists Spanish (Spain) for calls. Your tester will tell you which words land wrong; say those another way, or switch to Google Translate on speaker.
Google's help page says it needs headphones connected. At the table, use Conversation.
Update the app. Google launched it in the U.S., India and Mexico first, so it may not be in every country yet.
Shorter sentences, one at a time, and wait for it to finish. Turn the TV down. Check the transcript, and say it again in plainer words.
Never let a price live only in the translation. Write it on the estimate and point to it while you say it.
That's why you tell them first. If they still say no, offer a family member to translate, or a time when someone bilingual from your team can come.
If the pitch was in Spanish, the Cooling-Off Rule wants the contract or receipt in Spanish. Don't make it with the app: have it translated properly and checked by your lawyer before you use it.
This is the one I called wild in the video. On October 21, 2026, ElevenLabs launched Eleven Realtime Translation. Each person talks in their own language and hears the other in theirs, live, in more than 90 languages, and it detects the language on its own.
The translated voice stays the same for the whole conversation (you pick one from their library or use a clone). They built it for contact centers (it sits between the agent and the caller), phone networks and live events.
Who can use it today: it's an alpha for ElevenLabs' enterprise API customers. There's no app to download and no published price: access goes through their sales team or their API. So it's not something you can open tonight and set to English and Spanish. That's what the two phone tools above are for.
What it means for a call center: this is where it's headed. One setter booking homeowners in a lot more languages, without a bilingual hire. I wouldn't plan a floor around it until it's open to everyone and priced. And whatever translates the call, the appointment still has to pass the same checks (the four-box check), and before any translated voice goes on your floor's sales calls, have your lawyer look at the calling rules for the states you dial.
What each page backs up is listed at the end of the full guide.
If they can't follow the pitch, you never really found out if it was the price. Two free tools on your phone, one practice run with someone bilingual, and paperwork in their language.
If you'd rather have a floor that books the appointments for you, that's our call center buildout.
Want help setting this up? Receipts Group builds these systems.
Open the full guide as a page (every file in full, plus the table of contents).