Are you an author? Do you have a story to share with the world but find writing hectic and uninspiring?
If that’s you, who says you must write? Why not speak your book into a dictation device and engage dictation service providers to transcribe it?
That would mean you get more time to think about marketing and get rid of the drudgery of writing.
And if you’re not an author, documentation can be quite a task. Imagine the hours you toil at work, yet, you have to sit back and type at your desk!
It doesn’t matter if you’re a doctor, legal practitioner, investment banker, or even a businessman, you can use dictation services to reduce the usual stress of bookkeeping.
In this post, we aim to guide you on how to go about dictation services and get the best results.
What Is Dictation?
Dictation often involves speaking to a person, who in turn takes a note of what’s being said. Conventionally, the process takes time until the introduction of dictation devices – such as dictaphones and smartphones.
Today, you don’t even need a second person for dictation. You can easily be alone and take audio notes of your thoughts and ideas.
While dictation reduces the time needed to document your ideas and thoughts, you can’t share the raw audio file for official purposes. The chances are that you included incoherent words while taking the notes; the quality of the sound might even be poor.
In that case, you need dictation transcription. What is dictation transcription? Is dictation the same as transcription?
What Is Dictation Transcription?
For starters, dictation is not the same as transcription. While dictation speaks, transcription writes.
However, there is no transcription without an audio file, in other words, a dictation. In summary, the two are complementary, and to get the best results for your official needs, you should combine them.
So, back to the question!
Dictation transcription involves transcribing a dictated audio file into written text for documentation or sharing purposes. With this process, you make corrections to whatever grammatical error you might have committed while speaking.
Also, dictation transcription helps you remove noise and distraction from your words to convey the right and accurate message to your audience. But if you don’t appropriate the process, you might not get an accurate transcription.
So, how can you ensure that you get highly accurate transcripts from your audio documents? Should you use professional dictation services or transcription services?
Read Also: General Transcription: What Is It? What Does It Entail?
5 Steps to Get The Best Results From Your Dictation And Transcription Services
Invest In A Digital Recording Device
The first step to ensure accuracy and quality delivery for your transcripts is to produce the finest sound and audio quality possible. And there’s only one way to do that: invest generously in a recording device – don’t think about the cost.
You could use a digital dictaphone or even your mobile phone. But on your phone, you might need to download an additional app to filter out the noise while taking your notes.
Appropriate Speech Recognition
Having your apps or dictaphone doesn’t assure quality audio itself. First, you might adjust the device to recognize your voice using speech recognition.
Also, you might need to test the voice recognition feature as much as possible for it to understand your speech patterns and pitches. After that, you can move on to the next stage.
Speak Into The Microphone
You don’t necessarily have to hold the device to your mouth. No, what you should do instead is locate the microphone and ensure it’s somewhat close to your mouth while talking. Why?
When you speak closely into the microphone of your digital recording device, you reduce noise, and you wouldn’t have to shout to get the most audible end product.
Now, you can record!
Transcribe Your Recorded File (DIY)
The chances are that you want to transcribe your dictations yourself for pleasure or to save costs. Either way, here are the software you might need:
● Dragon Anywhere – produces top-grade sound, has a connectivity feature that works with the Dragon software. However, it needs the internet, and you can’t use the dictation outside the app.
● Dragon Professional Individual – comes with fine sound quality and even a self-transcription. But it is not free, it comes at a hefty price.
● Google Docs Voice Typing – is easy to use and works with phone and computer. You can use it on your Chrome browser. Beautifully, it costs nothing.
● Windows 10 Speech Recognition – also has an integrated voice identification tool that you can use for your dictation transcripts. Unfortunately, the accuracy isn’t the best. But, it is free.
Pro tip: the expensive software might offer a free trial or a limited free solution window. Check while downloading to confirm!
Transcribe Your Recorded File (Engage A Transcription Service)
If you had done a DIY transcription, how fast can you type? At most 30-50WPM. Unlike you, expert transcriptionists like the ones at Espresso Translations can go thrice and four times your speed.
And if you decide to use software, you might yet need to sit through the transcript to correct errors. Well, you can save your time and energy by hiring expert transcriptionists.
Regardless of your industry, be it legal or medical, transcription services companies remain the best option to get the most accurate, error-free transcript.
Get in touch with our team with the details of your service requirements along with your digital files and we will get back to you with a quote for business support within the hour.
Read Also: What are transcription services?
