5 Transcription Tasks That Should Be Automated

There are a few transcription tasks that just consume too much time and effort for the transcriptionist to do all by themselves. The advantage of technology surpasses the basic automated transcription through the use of a transcription tool and offers other things that would help a transcriptionist transcribe a certain piece of audio or video.

Transcription, in general, has become in-demand for a number of different fields. From corporate and legal all the way to the medical field, the need to transcribe certain audio or video files has grown drastically as automation has become an essential way for these fields to function properly.

Efficiency is the name of the game, aside from the quality of course. Although the quality of transcription remains to be the top priority, the need for a transcription to be done in a timely manner is also very important. Due to speed being a factor, competition could get tough for a transcriptionist that does everything by themselves.

This is the reason why a transcriptionist has to use the right transcription tool in order to get more than just an automated transcription but also to perform other transcription tasks helping them come up with faster results in a more timely manner. A transcription, in general, is just converting an audio file into written format. However, there are also other features that could be needed as well.

Here are 5 different transcription tasks that can be done by a transcription tool:

1. Auto-punctuation

Auto-punctuations can be very important especially when trying to decipher the conversation and understand the context of what is being said. When a transcriptionist needs to put the punctuations themselves, they will still have to go over the transcription in order to understand what is being said.

With punctuation automatically in place, the transcriptionist would only need to decipher them and not need to add them anymore. A transcriptionist already has a lot to do and focusing on other smaller tasks can be quite distracting.

2. Speaker identification and labeling

Instead of having to manually indicate who is speaking at what given time, the transcriptionist can use this time to properly edit the conversation. This is why it is very important for the transcription tool to have a speaker identification and labeling feature. This helps the transcriptionist save their efforts and focus on what truly matters: the quality of the overall transcription.

3. Word-by-word transcription

Automated transcription is very important. Imagine having to type in “what I really do not know is if Marjorie really went to the mall to pick up a cymbal.” Instead of having to type in everything, with an automated transcription tool, the transcriptionist can just listen and check if everything is being transcribed properly. Possible mistakes in the transcription tool would be to spell “cymbal” as “symbol” depending on the speaker’s pronunciation.

The benefit of automated transcription is that the transcriptionist can pay more attention to the context in order to properly correct the misspelled or misused words instead of having to type everything themselves. This would save a lot of time especially if a lot of words are already transcribed correctly by the transcription tool.

4. Timestamps

When a client requests timestamps, it could be very draining for the transcriptionist to have to put in the timestamps by themselves on top of having to transcribe the whole audio or video file. The automatic inclusion of timestamps will allow the transcriptionist to not only focus on other things but will also give the transcriptionist the option to set the timestamps according to the client’s specifications.

Some clients might want timestamps to be put every minute or 30 seconds while other clients might request every line. Most of the time, timestamps would be preferred during the beginning or an end of a statement. This could then go hand in hand with the speaker identification and labeling feature.

5. Word tracing

Word tracing is knowing where a specific word is within the audio. This helps the transcriptionist identify which part of the audio will they need to relisten to. This can be extremely useful for certain transcription audio or video files that could be a couple of hours long. Instead of having to go through the entire audio again just to find the specific part to focus on, with the help of a tool with this feature, the transcriptionist may simply need to click the word of the transcript to be directed to the specific audio part. This simplicity would massively save time and even prevent stress.

Word tracing is also extremely important for those that are handling statements since it would allow them to get the context more and be able to accurately provide who said what. This is a feature that works extremely well with timestamps and together, they will be able to take a huge chunk of workload off of the transcriptionist’s shoulders.

While there are a lot of transcription tools out there, there are only a few that are truly useful. It is important to check both the reviews and find out what the transcription tool has to offer. Some transcription tools have features that other transcription tools might not have and even cost more at the same time. It is important to use an inexpensive transcription tool while still being able to come up with good assistance.

While there are a number of free transcription tools out there, not all of them are particularly useful and some of them could even compromise the total quality of the transcription. It is important to invest in the right transcription tool. Sometimes, a transcription tool can in fact ruin the total transcription and well, become totally useless. With a lot of transcription tools out there, finding the right one is very important.

A transcriptionist has to pick out the right transcription tool that assists them in transcribing the needed workload. In the long run, the right transcription tool will allow the transcriptionist to do more and thus earn more (if the transcriptionist is paid by the quantity and not by the hour). Of course, even if a transcriptionist is paid by the hour, it will make things easier for them as they don’t have to pressure themselves too much when it comes to coming up with the perfect transcription.

Looking for a transcription tool that can automate all of these transcription tasks? Look no further! Izitext.io is loaded with all of these features.