4 Myths About Transcription

When you think of transcription, your mind may take you back to a time when office walls were adorned with wood panels, a pea green carpet and a cigar smoking boss. Okay, okay, I’m just describing Darrin Steven’s office from Bewitched. You got me.

But seriously, there are many misconceptions surrounding transcription and it’s usefulness in the modern era. Gone are the days of the secretary with her perfected shorthand and typewriter close by. Now we have automation, software and foot pedals, oh my! Transcription is here to stay, so we may as well learn a little something about it and break away from the myths surrounding it, shall we?

1. Transcription is so easy, anyone can do it!

There are so many levels on which this statement is incorrect. Here are just a few points to consider:

• The quality of the audio is rarely perfect.

Have you ever spoken to someone on speakerphone and it sounds like they’re in the middle of a dust storm? Try as you might not to sound rude, every other word you utter is “uh, what?” because you simply have no idea what the person on the other end is saying. So they repeat, and repeat until you can understand them…or until you throw your phone at the wall.

Audio quality is like this. Sometimes a file can be so easy and clear to hear, the angels sound as the transcriber begins to type. Some audio is difficult and there is a need to replay, replay, and replay because we want to get it right every time.

• People have accents.

Sometimes accents are someone speaking a language that is not their mother tongue. Sometimes accents can be regional. Either way, it may be hard to decipher what is being said. Replay, replay, transcribe.

• The number of people featured on the file.

Sometimes the file has one person, sometimes two. Sometimes it’s a room full of people on an earnings call and the transcriber must decipher which of the 15 people is speaking. Ouch.

2. You just need to type really fast

As previously mentioned, your satisfaction is Speechpad’s number one concern. As such, our transcription team works above and beyond to not only provide you a written copy of your audio or video file, we also proofread and edit it under multiple steps and quality checks before we deliver it to you. As such, a transcriber must be able to:

• Have good grammar
• Listen for different speakers (see above)
• Be able to spell foreign words, technical jargon and business oriented phrases correctly

3. Speech recognition software is good enough

While technology has been evolving to best suit the needs of businesses, artificial intelligence is still no substitute for human intelligence. The software available is great, that I won’t deny, but humans can still do more. For example:

• Machines can’t edit and proofread so you will spend your own valuable time doing so when a human transcriber would have been able to do this before you had your file in hand.
• You’ll most likely have to do your own formatting. Speechpad can tailor the format to your needs, just ask!
• Software can’t always filter out extraneous words like a human can. If you want a verbatim transcription, this won’t be a problem. But if you want a clean copy you will have to edit those out on your own.
• Accents can throw off the software. Again, technology is constantly progressing and more and more able to recognize different accents but can not pick one apart the way a human can.

4. Only women transcribe

Nope! Just like not all women stay home cooking, cleaning and raising kids all day long, not all men are at an office in a business suit acting like Don Draper in Mad Men.

• Social norms are changing. Just like women are breaking out of their traditional mold, men are breaking free from the office and looking for more work from home that allows them to better embrace their needs and interests. Many men use this kind of work to stay home with their children the way someone may assume a woman does. Or perhaps he’s transcribing at home on off hours to support his family, or his own dreams and ambitions.
• Transcription is no longer seen as purely secretarial work. The longer this gem of a business tactic is around, the more people begin to understand how necessary it is rather than a meaningless task meant to keep your secretary busy. People are understanding that there is a vast audience out there that NEEDS to read your content rather than listen to or watch it.

There are many options out there, both machine based and human based, that can help you satisfy your transcription needs. We are here to help you understand and identify your specific goals and help you succeed.