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- They provide a written copy of the recorded meeting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- They help quickly skim and assess the content and relevance of a meeting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- They overcome problems with voices that are difficult to hear or understand.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- It\u2019s easier to do computer searches for specific words and phrases from a digital text file.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- They provide content on a website, help search engines index your website, and help people find your website.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Most businesses outsource meeting transcription work because it takes too long to do it themselves and they need to focus their energy on their business.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The challenges of transcribing meetings<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Because meetings involve multiple people, meeting transcription can be challenging, takes longer to transcribe, and requires more transcription experience than single-person dictations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other transcripts that involve several people include seminar transcription, conference transcription, teleconference transcription, webcast transcription, and podcast transcription. They may also include debates and symposiums, group discussions, Q & A sessions, training sessions, feedback sessions, brainstorming sessions, workshops, press meets\/conferences, and presentations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some of the challenges you can run into when transcribing meetings and other events that involve several people:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- You have to become familiar with different voices with a different tone, pitch, and speed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- People may be speaking over each other, and interrupt each other.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The recording may contain low-speaking voices that are difficult to hear.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Words will be difficult to decipher if a speaker is too far away from the microphone, mumbles, or speaks too fast or too quietly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- You may have to identify the speakers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Speakers often use incomplete and truncated phrases and incorrect sentence construction. Speech may include repeated words and phrases, false starts, interjections, pauses, mispronounced words, and noises like ahs, uhs, and um.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Identifying speakers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The more people that are attending the meeting, the more voices you\u2019ll have to get used to, the more difficult transcription will be and the longer it will take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each company might have slightly different requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ask your clients if you need to identify the speakers. Some will want you to identify speakers while others don\u2019t as they know the speakers and the content and the transcript may be used for internal reference purposes by the people who were present at the meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Identifying the speakers by name can be difficult for transcriptionists as they don\u2019t know the people and speakers will have to identify themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you don\u2019t know the names, you can identify individual speakers generically as Male 1, Male 2, Female 1, Female 2; or Interviewer or Interviewee; or Moderator and Respondent. Ask your clients if they prefer that you label the speakers differently, such as by their initials, their first or last names, or as \u201cQ\u201d and \u201cA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additional difficulties may include:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- The need for frequent timestamps.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Background noise and poor audio quality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Special terminology that requires research. The topics will vary dramatically depending on the industry and type of meeting. You may have to be familiar with corporate communications, meeting minutes, and financial terms. You may have to research uncommon words, technical terms, and acronyms.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Speakers with accents.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Transcription format<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The format of interview transcripts is usually simple but can vary depending on the client. Most people don\u2019t have special requirements. Typically, you\u2019ll want to use a new paragraph when changing speakers and identifying the speakers.<\/p>\n\n\n
\nIf you are interested in learning more about transcription work from home, sign up for my FREE TRANSCRIPTION MINI-COURSE<\/a> to find out if transcription is the right kind of work for you.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Equipment<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Because meeting transcription is challenging, it's important to use a good headset and a foot pedal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Headsets<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I recommend using high-quality headphones that provide clear sound to make transcribing easier and increase the accuracy of the transcript.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Below are popular transcription headsets for transcriptionists<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The spectra USB transcription headset is a good lightweight transcription headset and one of the most popular headsets of transcriptionists.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- PROS: It is lightweight, comfortable, and sturdy. you can control the volume directly on the headset; it has a 10-foot cable, USB, and it's inexpensive.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- CONS: It has smaller speakers which means that it has less power and the quality output is lower than headsets with larger speakers. It\u2019s also not good for listening to music.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
![](\"https:\/\/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/31XVf9ifTyL._AC_SL170_.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nSpectra SP-USB USB Transcription Headset with\u2026<\/span>By VEC<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n\n$27.95<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41vQAyET4lL._AC_SL170_.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nSpectra Plug and Play Headset with Digital Sound\u2026<\/span>By VEC<\/span><\/div>\n\n$29.24<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41T-8qVKMDL._AC_SL170_.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nSpectra USB PC Stereo Transcription Headset with\u2026<\/span>By Executive Communication\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n\n$31.95<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAds by Amazon <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- PROS: Noise-cancelling detects the vocal range through a frequency detector. It controls and adjusts the volumes. This is a great headphone for transcribing poor-quality audio files. It is durable and the price is in the mid-range.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- CONS: The cable may be a little shorter than some people will like. This headphone is great for transcription but not for listening to music.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n![](\"https:\/\/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/416oSsG8l7L._AC_SL170_.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nECS OHUSB WordSlinger Deluxe Overhead USB\u2026<\/span>By Executive Communication\u2026<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n\n$49.95<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n - CONS: The cable may be a little shorter than some people will like. This headphone is great for transcription but not for listening to music.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- PROS: Noise-cancelling detects the vocal range through a frequency detector. It controls and adjusts the volumes. This is a great headphone for transcribing poor-quality audio files. It is durable and the price is in the mid-range.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
![](\"https:\/\/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41jKpPtfY8L._AC_SL170_.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n![](\"https:\/\/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41zSj6he2pL._AC_SL170_.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n