Modern-day technology has made creating and sharing media easily through audio and video clips. However, information in a well-written documented form still remains in demand. This is achieved by means of transcription services. Transcription services deliver the speech into text.
A voice-to-text transcription service may achieve this by using hand typing or making use of software like ASR. The transcription may be full verbatim which includes all the slang and mistakes in the text or it may be a clean verbatim that excludes the repetitions and the stutters during the transcription process.
This sort of transcription is used frequently in
Court trials for legal proceedings, criminal trials. These are provided to judges and lawyers to avoid misinterpretation of the recording.
Medical transcription for recording physician’s notes, patient’s history and procedures, etc.
Education sector where recorded seminars and lectures are made available through transcription.
In business sector using transcription as a marketing tool to enhance your outreach by making conferences and symposiums available in this manner.
Marketing researchers and freelance writers also benefit from material available in written format.
Why use a Voice-To-Text Transcription Service?
Attract your audience
Making media available in written form is the key to attracting more audiences, especially people who prefer to read. This makes information more acceptable to people of all age groups as written from of video will never go out of trend! Making media available in more than one form gives your audience to access it in any form at any time.
Easy editing
This makes obtaining information, uploading, disseminating and editing it easier compared to video and audio formats.
Discoverability
Transcription makes your audio more readily searchable and available to a large group of people through SEO.
Shareable content
A written form of a podcast is shared more easily when you can make cool quotes that can be tweeted or an infographic out of these. You can also make these into a blog post or build a guide and distribute printed/email forms of your data to your coworkers or employees.
Save time
Listening and comprehending a recording takes a longer time than skimming through its written document.
Automated vs Manual Transcription
When it comes to transcription services, you have two options: manual or automated.
Automated transcription is a method in which audio and file are converted into a written form by the use of voice & speech recognition technology.
- These are good for building the first draft of raw footage, video content, or interviews.
- This has its downside as it isn’t very efficient in recognizing multiple speakers or people with a heavy accent.
- Names of people and places may get mixed up and words not in English may not be spelled correctly.
Manual transcription is achieved by a professional human transcriptionist. General transcriptionists do not require a proper certification, whereas special fields such as legal and medical transcriptions are certified. Make sure to look for accreditations while choosing your service.
- Manual transcription saves you a lot of time and makes the revising, editing process easier.
- There are also fewer chances of error with a real professional handling your service.
- However, these are costly compared to automated ones.
- Transcriptionist can identify various speakers in a discussion and identify as well as eliminate background noise
- They can recognize multiple accents and can differentiate between homophones.
- They can also avoid fillers and stutters. Manual transcription can be modified to suit the need of the client.
- They also add timestamps, so you know when a certain sentence is spoken. Manual voice-to-text transcription service is also more secure.
- Manual transcription is your go-to service, especially when dealing with large files with more than one speaker, challenges such as background noises, speakers with various accents and fast talkers.
How to Choose your Voice to Text Transcription Service?
Additional services
Look at all the services provided by the company and choose one that suits all your needs. Some companies also offer mobile apps for making transcription services easier.
Recommendations
Ask for recommendations from people who have used the service. Look at the feedback or reviews of the company you’re choosing. Choose a company that has been working for more years in this field. Read the testimonials and reviews on their websites before selecting one.
Budget-friendly
Choose one that suits your budget. Ask for a quote from multiple companies and compare potential costs.
Certified
Look for ISO accreditations to make sure you get a safe and secure transcription service, especially if you’re looking for a legal and medical transcriptionist. A certified transcriptionist is a topmost priority.
Communication
Discuss the quality of the audio with your transcriptionist before moving on with the transcription. Also, discuss text and document formats beforehand.
Fluency
The transcriptionist must be fluent in the language to understand the accents, jargon and slang used in the audio in order to transcribe it correctly. Native speakers do a better job here.
Punctuality and Confidentiality
A transcriptionist needs to be meticulous and punctual. In addition to this, the confidentiality of the client in these matters must be the topmost priority. Outsourcing to a 3rd party must be protected at all costs. The company must have proper cybersecurity tools and Confidentiality Agreements. Ensure secure delivery of your work either by uploading it on your own system or email.
Availability
If there is a deadline you need to adhere to or need a quick service, look for a company that offers 24/7 service or has multiple transcriptionists available and can work with multiple turnarounds in a limited timeframe. Check for a rush service available for audio files that need to be translated on an urgent basis.
Making heaps of data available in a perpetual written form through these voice-to-text transcription services is the key to attracting a larger audience, saving up time that takes on listening to lengthy voice notes and keep yourself invested way after you press the stop recording button.
