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2 Simple Steps to a Better Transcriptionist

Carey — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:43:34 +0000

The better you are at what you do, the easier it becomes.

Within six months of joining a transcription company as TC (typist/transcriber) I was promoted to QC (Quality Checker) from a novice transcriber. In the following short two years, I was made Team Coordinator, and then Assistant Team Leader.

And in doing so, I more than tripled my salary in 3 years!

How did I do that?

Well, I have these few secrets that help me to be a better transcriptionist. These are what I call my secret sure-fire ways to be a better transcriptionist.

It’s all about quality, NOT quantity

As transcibers (TCs) a lot of my colleagues focused their attention on their typing speeds and other statistics. And, you know what, after 3 or 4 years they are still transcribers while I moved up the ladder.

From day one, I concentrated on my quality/accuracy. I was and am only interested in getting everything right – the words, the phrases, the tenses, the format, the grammar.

Don’t get me wrong. Being productive is well and good. And, as a transcriber there are certain expectations you have to meet but first concentrate on quality. Everything else will follow.

Being the fastest transcriber crunching out hundreds of pages a day will not help unless your transcript meets the quality standards of your clients. It may be helpful if you work by yourself and get paid by the pages or line count. Because someone else (a QC) will have to proofread the whole transcript anyway. That’s why quality should be your first priority; not quantity.

How To Improve Your Transciption Quality

Improve your comprehension skills: The most important skill you can develop as a transcriber is your comprehension skill. All else will follow. Accurate comprehension of dictations is what most transcribers struggle with. To improve your comprehension skills its important you practice listenting to different accents. Try watching the news on foreign TV channels in English.
Improve your English vocabulary: Make it a point to note down every new word your come across in your work or anywhere else. Note down and look up a dictionary for its meaning.
Brush up your basic grammar: Remember the boring English grammar classes in high school? Well, now is the time to revise and improve upon it. Most transcribers struggle with the basics! Tenses and verbs are pretty important so do learn them again.
Create Notes for each client: By notes I mean a document where you note down commonly occuring uncommon words, addresses, names, places, legal terms, technical terms, etc unique to a client. These notes will be a quick reference for you and your colleagues when in doubt or when clueless about anything in the dictation. And over time, these reference notes will be a resource for everyone.

It’s Team Work

In an office setting, interpersonal skills go a long way in developing your career. They can break or make your career. Transcription industry is not exception. I got my promotions with the help of my (previous) Team Leader!

Granted transcription can be routine and mundane, but that’s not an excuse to be a recluse. Make it a point to get up from your cubicle and interact with your colleagues and team members. Remember, transcription is a team work unless you are a freelance transcriptionist working from home.

Always be presentably dressed.
Always be helpful.
Be understanding to new transcribers.
Be ready to work beyond the call of duty.
Be proactive and take initiatives in your work.
Ask when in doubt.
Ask for feedbacks on your work from quality analysts (QCs) and your Team Leader.

To conclude, transcription is a team work where it takes at least two persons to complete a job. But, with practice and perseverence one should be able to work alone and produce transcripts that meet the quality standards of clients. And, that’s the ultimate goal because it only gets easier and better from there on. I promise.

How to Become a Transcriptionist – The Ultimate Guide

Carey — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 07:40:25 +0000

Have you been wondering how one becomes a transcriptionist? What makes one a transcriptionist? Are there courses or books that help you become a transcriptionist?

If you are pondering these questions this post is for you, my friend. This is quite a long post as I want you to come out of it with a true understanding of being a transcriptionist. I want to provide as much value as possible in every post I publish. So buckle up and enjoy the read.

How I became a Transcriptionist

photo credit: nerdycreative

Back in 2005, I was reading commerce at Delhi University when my father met with an RTA (road traffic accident) and succumbed to his injuries. As he was the lone bread earner in the family, I had to step in his shoes and take care of the family. Fortunately, shortly after that, a friend who was then working in a transcription company invited me to give an interview.

To cut the story short, I gave the interview and as of today, I have been working there for almost 5 years.

Just like that. I became a transcriptionist.

How I heart my work!

Until that time, I had no idea what transcription is!

I soon fell in love with transcription. I found my mojo!

A few months down the road saw me moving up the corporate ladder! [Read here how I got promotion after promotion!]

There are a few things that helped me tremendously early in my work (and even now):

English Grammar: I loved English classes, and the teachers too! Is it funny how English teachers always end up being our favourite teachers in high school? The basic grammar I learnt in high school is all I needed to succeed in the transcription business. If asked, I’d say English is THE subject students should never neglect. This forms the basis of your communication skills and maybe underestimated in some quarters. I believe, in whatever industry you maybe, it is essential for actively managing your career and for your confidence – whether in interviews or in the workplace.
Watching TV: Yes, at the risk of sounding rather juvenile let me say the hundreds of hours I’ve spent watching TV finally pays off! And, mind you I was watching only English/American movies and programs. I am comfortable with any accent. I simply adore the UK English accent more. Its classy and even sexy. The more movies and TV programs you watch the more you are exposed to different English accents. Always watch the news on TV. You get to see and learn history, places, people etc which are beyond your culture and society.
Reading loads of novels and books: I’ve always loved reading. In fact it’s an acquired habit. I was 12/13 years of age when I decided to make reading a habit. I’d read all the books and magazines I can lay my hands on. I’d frequently used up my library cards in school. I joined the local District Library. I was saving for book sales. In the process I accumulated quite a library. Reading books and magazines improved my vocabulary, to say the least. I became more aware of geography, culture, history and art. All these really help in transcription. Believe me.
Everything I do or experience is a chance to learn: I am a student of the University of Life. I believe there is always a chance to learn something new in every situation or place. When my dad write articles I’d help him in typing. In fact, I helped in proofreading his last book that was published posthumously. I learnt a lot from these experiences.

So there you have it. You don’t need a degree or do a course to become a transcriptionist. That is not to say, degree is not important. In fact, I have now joined a correspondence BA English course. It is not degrees that maketh a man, but how he utilizes his knowledge that is more important. Simply align what you are doing with what you want in your life.

See below, how what I’ve been learning all my life BEFORE I became a transcriptionist readies me for the job!

What you need to become a transcriptionist –

Basic English grammar
Good typing speed of 60 – 100 wpm (word per minute)
Good comprehension of English language
Awareness of different cultures, history, art, law and business.
Proficiency in a word processor like Microsoft Word and/or any other alternative.

Why I Heart Transcription

Before working for the company where I still work, I’ve never heard the word transcription even. Even after a couple of months I still don’t know if it pays enough to feed my family. How wrong one could be! I’d go as far as to say that not only does it feed my family, there is even a chance to make yourself a nice, comfortable living, too! Lets see below a few of the benefits of working as a transcriptionist.

Everyday is a learning experience: It is never monotonous and boring. One file may be about family law or immigration matter. The next you are listening about the current state of law. Depending on the clients, you may also be exposed to how a company is run to business ethics and practices.
Upgrades your skills: Before I became a transcriptionist I knew how to use the MS Word, but it’s only after I became a transcriptionist that I learnt to use all the keyboard shortcuts, efficient Google search and research techniques, formatting text, text box, MS Word templates, etc. I now often look at the documents I helped my father type and see how unprofessional they are!
No pressure: Transcription job is a pressureless job. Client usually give us ample time to complete the transcripts. Once you get used to a client and his/her diction and pronunciation, transcribing only gets easier. With experience and increased efficiency, typing and proofreading documents is a breeze.
Pay: I can’t say for other cities and countries, but in New Delhi a transcriptionist with zero experience can earn anything between Rs 8,000 to Rs 15,000. Within 2/3 years an skilled transcriptionist should be making 2ok plus.
Parttime/work at home : There is always an option to work parttime from home. To supplement your regular income you can always find a subcontractor in your city who will provide you with transcription work at home. I would not encourage you to depend on this for the long term, though. The pay rate is not too great.
Go freelance – you can always take it to the next level: Almost similar to the above, you may reach a stage where you believe you have all the skills required to take on clients yourself. That’s when you might want to go freelance. This is an option well worth checking out. Freelance transcriptionist acquire their own clients and deal with the client directly. By cutting out the middleman (company or individual), there is limitless earning potential. Details on this will be in the future posts.
Build your own transcription company: For the ambitious, this is the ultimate in the business. It may require a bit of capital and ready contracts for this to work. But if you have been freelancing and alreading having regular billing clients, this is something you should look into. Because, an individual can do only so much. In transcription business, more hands do matter!

Go out and get in!

To becoming a transcription simply work for a transcription company. There are no strict requirements. The question only then is where is a transcription company that employs freshers or gives training.

Contact your friends and relatives and ask if they know of any company in the transcription industry.
Read opportunities pages in newspapers.
Join online job sites like Naukri.com
Check out online jobboards.

Although it’s possible to be a transcriptionist without any experience in a transcription company, it’s advisable to work for one at least say 3 years. For one, you will be dealing with an array of different clients, meaning different accents, formatting and requirements. That’s free exposure will only get in a company.

Good luck now!

What is Transcription – The Idiot’s Definition

Carey — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:58:39 +0000

According to Wikipedia: Transcription is the conversion into written, typewritten or printed form, of a spoken-language source, as in the proceedings of a court hearing. A transcriptionist is a person who performs transcription.

Simply put, transcription is the process of converting audio/video recordings (dictations) into written text. A transcriptionist is also known as transcriber.

As you can see, this process involves listening to a recorded audio and typing out the text on to a word processor like MS Word (paid software) or OpenOffice (free).

To transcribe a piece of dictation you need both hearing and typing skills. We also need a computer with internet connection to receive the audio/video files, play the audio file, type out the dictation using a word processor, and finally send back the text file.

To transcribe a piece of dictation, one must be able to hear what is being said and, comprehend and understand the subject and context. It’s one to thing to hear every word and be able to type it out and its altogether a different skill to comprehend the context. A transcriptionist must be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. That is to say that, some dictations may include instructions and other details which may or may not be required to be typed up. And, some details may have to be placed in their designated areas of the document. A transcriber should be able to differentiate between instructions and text, and, decide on which is which. It requires a great deal of common sense and practice.

A transcriptionist is not a typist. Trancription is much more than typing. It involves listening to and understanding recorded dictations, it requires an excellent grasp of the English language, grammar and the ability to decipher different accents. A good transcriptionist must have an eye for detail and a huge reserve of patience. He or she must also be very conversant with Microsoft Office or any other alternative. To a transcriptionist Internet is his/her best friend. Researches are done primarily on Internet – addresses , names of companies, schools, names of streets, spellings, etc are confirmed using the Internet.

Transcribing also requires a decent typing speed say, 60 – 100 words per minute. You should be able to use the foot pedal (that plays, rewinds or pauses the audio player) and type at the same time.

Transcriptionist usually work for transcription companies while many chose to work from home as freelance transcriptionist. It’s a very rewarding career. With the ever competitive business environment and cost-cutting being the only business strategy for most law firms, real estate firms, and business houses to stay competitive in their respective markets, transcriptionist will find themselves in huge demand in the coming years.

And if the current trend of blogging for business is to flourish and thrive, or those creative types simply wanting to dedicate more time to creation, there will be millions of individuals (usually those comfortably living in the cloud, as Glen of ViperChill.com would say) who will want to outsource their mundane chores to virtual assistants like transcriptionists!

Hope this is useful to you. If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave them in the comment below. I am always open to your suggestions. Believe me, your comment can improve my work and my life! BTW, if you require a transcriptionist you know where to find me, right? Please share this article if you like it.