Professionals face a multitude of challenges in the audio transcription space, having both their skills and patience often tested to the limit.
From heavy accents to poor audio quality, difficult audio files can easily hinder the efficiency and accuracy of audio transcription.
But when you have access to the right tools and strategies, these challenges can be mitigated, and often with ease.
Before we discuss some of the pro tips to dealing with difficult audio files in transcription, let’s first understand some of the challenges:
Common problems and challenges in audio transcription
Fast rate of speech – With dialogue being spoken at a rapid pace, there’s very little room left for error, requiring extra attention and spontaneous typing skills.
Bad or poor audio quality – Low recording volume, background noise, and distorted audio quality, are all frequent issues that can mask the actual speech or message.
Heavy accents – Many a times, diverse accents from around the world can make it very challenging to accurately capture the spoken word, particularly if the transcriptionist is not familiar with the accent.
Technical jargon – Industry-specific language or specialised terminology, for example, can be daunting for the transcriptionist unless he/she has the necessary research skills or knowledge beforehand.
Now, let’s discuss how we can overcome these challenges:
Tackling challenges in difficult audio files
How to handle fast rate of speech
Pausing and rewinding is your friend. Don’t hesitate to pause and rewind the audio frequently in order to catch and correctly interpret each word. Remember, transcription is not a race to the finish line, it’s more about accuracy.
Furthermore, if you improve your typing speed through regular practice, you can dramatically cut down the time it takes to transcribe faster-than-normal speech.
How to handle poor audio quality
Instead of using speakers, use high-quality, noise-cancelling headphones which minimise environmental sounds. This can actually make a significant difference in picking up sections of the audio that you either couldn’t pick up before or you found hard to pick up through conventional speakers.
Audio enhancement software can also improve the sound quality of audio files by filtering out background noise and automating audio levels so that every aspect of the audio is on a level field. This can help to understand speech better in audio files where the audio quality is poor or plain bad.
How to handle heavy accents
A good strategy is to familiarise yourself with various accents from across the world in your spare time. This will improve your ability to pick up different accents and, therefore, transcribe them more easily and accurately.
Furthermore, certain kinds of transcription software lets you slow down the audio playback without necessarily distorting or disrupting the original speech, which can be quite helpful.
How to handle technical jargon
Pause the transcription so that you can look up new or unfamiliar terms. If you are transcribing within a specific field or industry, start developing a glossary of terms which you can refer to quickly when the need arises.
London Transcription can help ensure that all your audio transcripts are of the highest quality. Leave all the legwork to us so that you can focus more on keeping your clients happy!
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