Transcribing an interview is a painstaking process and would require your undivided attention. Along with patience and commitment to the project, adequate planning is necessary to easily transcribe an interview. Give yourself time to understand the possible problems while transcribing and then work to eliminate them. Here is the clear guide for How to Transcribe an Interview?
Transcribing an interview can be challenging because there are multiple speakers and the recording device might not be rightly positioned. It could lead to some voices coming out more clearly than others. A preliminary check of the audio equipment can easily help with this problem. While transcribing an interview, you need to keep the following things in mind:
How to Transcribe an Interview?
- Research into the Transcribing process
Once you research how a transcription procedure occurs, many things would become clear to you. Along with getting familiar with potential problems, you will also understand how to overcome or avoid them.
Consider your typing speed as it will decide how long it takes for you to transcribe an interview. Whether you are new to transcribing or have done this before, you need to manage your time smartly. Understanding how to get the best audio quality will also aid you in transcribing an interview faster.
Setting up for the transcribing would also be made easy if you know how to get the best audio quality possible. Putting the audio recorder in a quiet room equidistant from all parties would be beneficial as it will catch everyone’s voice perfectly. If there are multiple speakers, it might help if you are in the room so that you can easily identify who was speaking when you are transcribing later.
- Decide your intended outcome
Transcribing an interview is not something you would do in a vacuum. Chances are the transcript would be required for a purpose. Identify why the transcript is needed and tune your efforts accordingly. For instance, if it is just for reference notes, you would need to format it as an official document and would probably even put fewer details into it.
If the transcript will be used officially, then it needs to be transcribed verbatim which would demand accuracy and demand time and effort. For notes, however, you can alter the format for readability and use, making it simpler for you and the reader. Depending on how the transcript is to be used, you can alter your practice accordingly.
- Check your equipment
Checking your equipment before you begin the process saves you time. Your equipment apart from a quality audio recorder would be a computer, good headphones and transcription software.
- Computer: Your computer should have an audio player and a word processor. Since transcribing is mostly typing, pick a keyboard you are the most comfortable with.
- Headphones: Pick headphones with a lead rather than bluetooth ones whenever possible. It will impact your audio quality and will help you listen better. A longer lead is preferable to a shorter lead as it will give you space to move around. Choose noise-canceling headphones while you are at it.
- Transcription software: This is optional but will greatly help you if you choose to use it. There are a lot of transcription softwares available online that you can try for free. Controlling the recording as you type will be time-saving for you in the long run so you can give it a try. But if you are going to be doing this regularly, investing in good software would benefit you in long term.
- Use details to your benefit
Depending upon the purpose of your transcript, you can decide how to transcribe the interview. You will need to know beforehand what is expected so that you can deliver based on the guidelines. It can be:
- Verbatim: Instead of including inflections and pauses, this transcript is written so that the reader understands what was being said without mentioning non-verbal cues. This makes it easier than full-verbatim and this is the most common type of transcript used professionally.
- Full-Verbatim: The most work for you, full-verbatim transcripts would require you to include pauses, false starts, interruptions and repetitions among others. Most true to common speech, this transcript would require you to listen closely to capture every tone and sound to write it down as it is uttered.
- Other: This includes a transcript that will stick to the point and will edit out everything that is not directly related to the context of the interview.
More like notes than a verbatim transcript, this transcript will give the reader a general idea of what was said without getting into too much detail.
If you are told to add timestamps to your transcript, consider doing it through transcription software. Adding timestamps is time taking and software can help you do it with just the press of a button. If you are not given clear instructions, choose to add timestamps at regular intervals. You can also add them at points where something noticeable was said.
The Transcribing Process
Transcribing will take time depending upon the length of the interview so you need to make a rough outline before you start typing. Following are the steps you should follow for an eBay transcribing experience:
- Listen to the full audio
You might think that beginning to type as soon as you listen to the audio for the first time is a good approach but it can easily become frustrating. You will have no idea what is coming next and you will constantly have to go back and forth if you do not have a preliminary listening.
Listening to the audio once would allow you to understand the different manners of speaking of everyone involved. You will also get to know how fast you need to go or how you need to approach the audio if you listen to it before you begin typing.
Depending upon the kind of transcript required, you can either listen to the end or stop midway. Once you feel you have got a handle on how the audio is proceeding, you can begin transcribing. Listening to the entire audio might seem tedious but if you are a beginner it might be the best approach.
- Make a rough draft
If you want to begin typing as the audio plays in your headphones, consider not caring about accuracy and make a rough draft. Even if you are not a skilled typist, you can transcribe whatever you hear roughly and then come back to it later. If the transcript is meant to be used as notes, you can use the rough draft for most of it.
Even if it is a rough draft, if the audio is long, take breaks and do not go on transcribing the entire thing in one go. Maintain your focus by taking short breaks and come back to it with increased concentration. Make sure you use auto-correct while you type so that your document is not riddled with typos.
You should shortcuts to your advantage while you make a rough draft. Use placeholders for long words and phrases that repeatedly occur in the audio. You can also use placeholders for the names of the speakers and then change them later using ‘find and replace’.
- Edit it
Rough drafts are helpful but they are by no means complete. You need to go back to it with the audio playing in your headphones and edit the document. Change the placeholders into actual names and phrases. Add inflections if necessary and change wherever change is required.
After you have gone through with the edits, do not forget to proofread.
Proofreading will allow you to find mistakes if any. If possible, ask a third person to proofread the document as well as they can probably find errors you might have missed.
- Format the final document
The transcript is done but it needs to be formatted as an interview transcript. You will need to divide speech into paragraphs, change the font, add page numbers and headers on every page. You might also have some guidelines to follow on how to format the transcript so follow those guidelines religiously.
Transcribing an interview is easy if you know where to start and how to put words on paper. Apart from ensuring your equipment is of excellent quality and supports transcribing, you also need to know the guidelines on which you need to transcribe the interview. Researching is essential if you are a beginner. Learn about possible mistakes and understand how to avoid them. If you are going to be doing it regularly, investing in good equipment and software is a good choice.
When you begin transcribing, always start at the very basics. Do not jump a step and immediately begin typing as soon as you get your hands on the audio. Take your time and listen to the audio first and make notes on how you want to transcribe the audio. When you begin typing, consider making a rough draft first.
With your rough draft, you are better equipped to tone it when you listen to the audio for the final time. Proofread it once all your edits are done. Format as per guidelines or according to an interview format and your interview transcript is ready to be read and referenced.
