A report by the Wall Street Journal indicated that around 73% of virtual meetings involve two to four individuals. This report shows that many businesses prefer to have smaller and shorter meetings. On average, a session lasts between 31 minutes to 60 minutes.
A business meeting involves the exchange of valuable information-from project updates, growth strategies, and financial decisions. Jotting down points during a session and speaking simultaneously can become tedious. Moreover, it is difficult to remember all the valuable information discussed in a meeting.
Fortunately, transcripts can help to ensure no vital information is lost. They keep a record of your meeting for further analysis and future reference ahead of a session. The transcriptionist can fast-forward, pause, or rewind the recording to capture every detail.
As a senior manager, you may use professional transcripts to make decisions within the organization, depending on recorded meetings. You can also use them for legal proceedings, record-keeping, and whatnot.
Below are some tips that aid in meeting transcription services.
1. Invest in efficient meeting recording equipment.
It isn’t easy to transcribe a meeting during a live discussion. You may be taking down points but can’t keep up with the speed of the debate. Hence, the need for quality recording equipment.
Your device should capture every word throughout the meeting. The selection of these devices depends on your desired recording quality and budget.
Using your phone for recording is an option. However, phone features can alter the quality of your recording. It happens when the meeting forum is large and the speakers are not audible.
2. Pick an efficient service provider with the right tools.
Your transcription service provider should be a professional. It is advisable to check their previous case studies to ensure you chose the best.
Confirm that they have the right tools for listening to the meeting. Quality headphones that cancel out the noise are compulsory. Standard software that aids in speech recognition helps achieve quality transcripts.
Using video software makes video transcription easier. Hardware like foot pedals gives you control over the audio files; hence you deliver standard audio transcription.
3. Sign a contract with the transcription service giver.
An agreement with the professional service provider explains your specific expectations and requirements. Your service provider defines the services they provide as well. A detailed contract helps each partner to understand what to expect.
You can add any other expectation on video transcription for your service provider. Such requirements include timelines, budget, and data confidentiality.
4. Share your clear and detailed requirements with your transcription service giver.
Your transcriptionist should understand your requirements concerning formatting, text styles, file names, headings, and time formats before they can begin working on the recording.
Additionally, before beginning the transcription process, clarify these points to your partner to avoid confusion later. You can help the service provider with questions they have regarding the meeting.
Having details from the beginning helps achieve quality transcripts.
5. Confirm confidentiality with your service provider.
A professional transcription service must enforce a firm confidentiality policy. Therefore, before you hand over sensitive video or audio files to your service provider, ensure you are satisfied with their confidentiality policy.
Standard transcription service providers prioritize meeting transcription services for their clients.
6. Give a list of participants of the meeting to your transcriptionist.
A list of speakers in the meeting helps your transcriptionist identify the speakers correctly. Names and titles allow the transcriptionist recognize who is saying what during the session. This helps in case of an overlapping speech between speakers.
Nevertheless, you may skip this if your main focus is on the points discussed during the meeting.
7. Instruct your transcriptionist on your concerns about verbatim and non-verbatim transcripts
It’s advisable to tell your transcriptionist your preferred transcripts. Verbatim transcripts include repetition, stutters, speech errors, and fillers. Verbatim transcripts capture the meaning of words and the context they are. Verbatim transcripts are essential, especially in case of legal concerns.
If you need a simple and more precise text, a non-verbatim transcript is preferred. It does not include sounds, false starts, expressions, and fillers. It enables the reader to analyze and draw conclusions quickly.
8. Provide the transcriptionist with an extensive list of industry terminologies, company acronyms, and phrases
Sharing a list of your industry terms eases the understanding of the meeting recording. These are phrases that they are likely to encounter during the meeting recording. That way, your transcriptionist readily recognizes these acronyms and terms throughout the meeting.
Moreover, your transcriptionist prepares a transcript-specific listing of acronyms-for easier comprehension of what the speakers are discussing.
9. Ask to proofread and revise the transcripts
Transcriptionists use various transcription ways to create the best transcript. Nonetheless, you should ensure that your transcriptionist proofreads and revises the transcript. It guarantees that your final copy will be complete and accurate.
Proofreading also ensures that the transcriptionist uses the correct format. Proofreading is fundamental because the transcript may be shared among the senior management team to provide detailed insights and help them make informed decisions regarding business operations.
Conclusion
How can you get outstanding professional transcripts? We hope you now have your answer. Standard and accurate transcripts can help you analyze meeting discussions, giving you essential insights from them. You can refer to these transcripts if you require specific data from a video recording, saving you the hassle of listening to the whole video recording.
When done accurately, meeting transcription records can provide a faster, easier, and more reliable way of accessing information from a video or audio recording. It is more reliable and convenient because it captures every video or audio recording detail.
Utilizing high-quality recording equipment, choosing a transcription service provider with the appropriate equipment, asking them to proofread their work, and other tips can help you receive premium-quality transcripts. Use this guide when hiring the services of a transcriptionist.