As a transcriptionist, if you haven’t already, you will eventually come across the occasional difficult dictator.
Factors that make some dictators more challenging to understand than others may include the rate or tone at which a dictator speaks, his or her accent, volume of speech, etc. For example, some may talk too fast, too slow, too loud, too soft or even mumble words. In addition to these, you may be faced with poor overall audio quality.
In order to combat against these obstacles, there are some tips that you can try. First and foremost, make sure you are transcribing in an area where you will not be distracted or interrupted. It is important to focus all of your attention on what you are transcribing; constant disruptions will only hinder your progress and increase your frustrations.
Additionally, make it a point to review sample documents of previous transcriptions. This will help you become more familiar with a dictator’s format, word choice, structure and style. Sometimes actually seeing a frequent term or sentence used by a dictator, on paper, helps you to recognize it when hearing it presented within the audio.
Furthermore, you may want to adjust the speed of the dictation audio itself. Slowing down or even speeding up a dictator’s pace may be very beneficial when transcribing. You can gradually adjust the audio rate as you become more comfortable with the dictator.
Remember, with just a bit of time, patience and practice you will be typing difficult dictators with ease!
What do you do when a dictator is unclear or hard to understand? Share your thoughts!
Subscribe to the American Transcription Association (ATA) Blog and keep in touch!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I have always found dictation samples to be helpful, and have used them at nearly every place I’ve ever worked, but amazingly, I have actually run into one or two people who claim that using samples is “cheating.” Now, we all know that there are dictators who are barely understandable even using samples.
My biggest pet peeve, however, is a dictator who chews gum (or anything else) while dictating. They frequently also make smacking and slurping sounds. Hard candies are nearly as bad as gum, as are raw vegetable snacks and chips.
I know that doctors are considered to be oh-so-smart, but I’ve run into dictators who sound absolutely moronic, and it’s a source of wonderment thinking about how they ever got into and through medical school. I’ve got a female ER doctor who sounds like a horse… some nights I expect her to break out in a whinny.
Then there are the doctors who are statin pushers, even in this day and age when the cholesterol theory of heart disease is coming under fire more than ever–and they’re still teaching their students to do the same.
One thing which I have found to help with dictation is the use of a miniature graphic equalizer between your headphones and the output device. Martel Electronics sells one for $29.00 plus shipping. The first one I got was bought at Fry’s Electronics. I believe that Koss makes them. Sometimes all you need is a tiny boost in sound quality and the words/phrases will become more understandable.
When my boss upgraded the computer system this time, I thought I wouldn’t need my graphic equalizer anymore, so I gave it to a newbie (my sig. other). But now I find myself wanting to get one again.