Change and innovation are often forced upon us when we least expect them, and certainly at times when we are not actively looking for them. There is no doubt COVID-19 has changed our lives in so many ways and forced change upon us, much of which has been negative and depressing. But there have also been positive repercussions which have contributed to our personal and technological growth. We have learned that life can – and does – continue moving forward and business, education and commercial methodologies have simply had to be adapted to new strategies based on the internet rather than personal physical contact. Education and business have continued moving forward through online learning forums, webinars, online business meeting and team get-togethers, keeping your work team functioning effectively off-site via virtual communication channels such as Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, amongst many others. File sharing has become normal procedure for many employees through software programs such as DropBox, Google Drive, Microsoft Drive, Cloud storage, etc. But the question remains : how do we effectively keep a record of virtual meetings, webinars and conferences which need to be shared with both attendees and those who could not attend but need to be kept in the loop?
The answer is relatively simple : opt for a reliable and effective transcription service which can either give you a verbatim record of a meeting, or reduce a three or four hour meeting to a written document which is accurate and provides only those points which are important by cutting out conversations which seem to go round in endless and unproductive circles, incomplete sentences, hesitations and words which are used repeatedly without achieving anything concrete. By the same token, important and binding Minutes of such meetings can be taken by a transcriptionist who has experience in this area and can ensure that all relevant information and actionable points are accurately recorded in writing and circulated to all parties involved.
What exactly IS transcription?
Simply put, transcription is the conversion of oral audio or video into typed/written format. This is done either through a speech-recognition computer program or by an individual who has good listening skills and a fast and accurate typing speed. Speech-recognition programs are often used as a means of providing subtitles on videos, but are not particularly accurate nor able to differentiate between sentence beginnings and endings and changes in speakers. When verbalised by the program, rather than written, they come across as creepy and irritating. Personally, I loathe them!
What makes a good transcriptionist?
A transcriptionist must have certain attributes in order to be able produce professional and accurate typed records of verbal discussions, meetings, webinars, presentations and conferences. Simply being able to type a written record of a verbal conversation is not enough to qualify you as a good transcriptionist. The following facts need to be borne in mind at all times:
- Conversations are not scripted, and there are many false starts, ums, ahs, repetitive phrases and incomplete sentences which need to be excluded from the transcription. As such, it takes careful judgement and an innate ability to decide what needs to be included and what can be left out of the written record. To a certain extent, this is a skill which cannot be taught or learned by just anyone.
- Factual information is vital, and should never be excluded, even if the seeming authenticity of the facts is questionable. As a transcriptionist, it is not your responsibility to judge what has been said, but simply to record the conversation as accurately as possible. To do this, you need to be a very careful and patient listener, and be willing to listen to unclear sections of the recording as often as is a necessary to understand what is being said.
- Speakers often run words and sentences into one another, making it difficult to follow the meaning and to distinguish names and technical terms.
- Very often, additional time needs to be spent on research to ensure the correct spelling of names, technical, medical or scientific terminology.
- If the transcriptionist is unsure about correct grammatical use in a formal transcription such as Minutes, this MUST be checked before being committed to paper. Incorrect wording and grammatical structure can change the whole meaning of the original conversation.
- Meetings which are held over the internet have the potential for a host of audio problems, including sudden loss of sound, signal problems resulting in disrupted or garbled speech, echoing, or breaking up speech into unintelligible words. In such cases, the transcriptionist cannot guess what was being said, but has to indicate the loss of clarity by typing in [inaudible] to indicate the problem.
- Punctuation is vital! I cannot stress this enough. Correct punctuation ensures that the transcription accurately conveys what the speaker meant. A comma in the wrong place can sometimes change the whole meaning of a sentence.
- Have a very good understanding of the language you are transcribing. This is NOT translation from one language to another, so there is no excuse for poor grammar and punctuation on the part of the transcriber. And, as much as it may rankle, DO NOT change the wording of the speaker into something you think sounds better. YOU are not the speaker, and were not in the conversation, so you need to keep your own style of speaking out of the picture.
- However, be prepared, if asked by the client, to tidy up the transcription to eliminate irrelevant wording. This is where your good communication skills will be effectively employed in condensing an overly-wordy document into something more concise and readable. The rule here is : don’t do this unless you are specifically asked by the client to do so.
Transcription work is not suited to everyone, but boy, is it satisfying …
One of the most important things to remember about working as a transcriptionist is that this is an occupation which has to produce accurate and binding records which can be used in a professional capacity. It is a skilled occupation and a good transcriptionist will be in high demand by those who insist on professionalism, speed, consistent quality and reliability and adherence to agreed time lines. It takes patience, dedication, the ability to conduct research if necessary, good listening and communication skills and a strong work ethic. It’s not an easy profession, but it can be fun at times, teaches you something new every day and provides amazing levels of satisfaction.
