Is fast necessarily better when it comes to transcription?
Does a person necessarily have to type really fast to be a good transcriptionist? My answer is: NO! I really don’t care how quickly a person even hunts & pecks…if the finished product is not accurate, it means nothing that you can type 200 WPM.
I will admit that I’m not the fastest typist on earth, but my finished product is very accurate–word, spelling and punctuation-wise. I’ve had people working for me in the past who turn in transcripts that they’ve created by using speech-recognition software, thinking it will enable them to crank out a million transcripts a day and make them lots of money. Wrong! Most of them were so inaccurate, I had to basically type them over myself. I don’t work with those folks any more, needless to say.
In order to be in tune with the speakers on an audio, a person needs to actually listen to what is being said and not type mindlessly, or grievous errors will surface. I like to pretend that I’m typing the script for a play and I want to convey to the actors the exact way the words should be spoken, so using the correct punctuation and the correct words are very important.
A person could type quickly but not know the difference between “your” and “you’re” or between “affect” and “effect” or “patients” and “patience”…need I continue? There are a lot of those homonyms to be deciphered. Sure, someone could turn around a 3-hour audio within one business day, but how accurate is it going to be? How many errors will they miss, even if they proofread–which will probably also be a quick job.
If you’re fast and accurate, know how to spell, know your grammar and punctuation and can add those special nuances that make a great transcript, then you’re one in a million. Hey–you’re me! I am very proud of the knowledge I’ve gained and of my ability to use what I learned in school as far as using the English language correctly along with punctuation and formatting, to turn out the best transcripts in the business!
Bottom line: Don’t come to me and say you took a typing test and can type 150 WPM with 93% accuracy…that was probably by copying from something that was already typed and formatted for you. To be an excellent transcriptionist, you have to be able to take a blank page and make it into a beautiful, typewritten document, using an audio recording, and have the finished product be understandable and readable.
