Out of the three main forms of Transcription, Verbatim transcription can be very time consuming and nerve-racking too. Verbatim transcription means to include each and every sound that is audible in the audio even fillers like ‘umm’, ‘aah’, ‘you know’, etc. Fillers can prove to be very crucial, mainly when it comes to legal transcription. Let’s understand why including fillers is important in Legal Transcription.
Fillers can be instructive for a reader as these help in understanding the thought process of the speaker while giving a statement or answering a question. Including fumbling or expression of hesitancy can indicate towards the character of the speaker.
Lawyers, detectives, investigators, etc ask for exact copy of actual words, sentences and sounds. In legal world coughing, stammering, or sneezing are also considered as a type of communication as for researchers and analysts these may directly connect to the case.
Lawyers use fillers to understand how nervous, prepared or hesitant the speaker might be when speaking in the court or while interrogations and this has direct impact on the case investigations. It even helps to predict if the speaker is trying to make a story or is trying to hide a story. Any sound or expression can prove to be a clue/evidence.
Not only fillers but even false starts like ‘I didn’t…I mean I did…’ and timestamps like at what hour and minute a particular sentence have been spoken are also important and crucial. Hence it is necessary to get legal transcription done by an experienced and professional transcriptionist.