GUEST BLOG POST: Transcription in the AI World

(This blog post was submitted by Claudia White, a member of The Successful VA Visibility Club.)

Let’s go to the movies!

Imagine getting all excited while looking at a movie or video and deciding to use the closed caption then realizing that the spelling, grammar, punctuation et cetera are all bad.  Wouldn't you feel to just stop watching that movie or video? 

It's very important as a small business owner, or any business as a matter of fact, that your content on social media is on point and conveys the correct message.

Grammar

For some audiences, it's okay to have bad grammar et cetera as it may represent a sense of humor. You must ensure that your content will be accepted by your audience.  To be successful at this, you need to niche down based on your service/product offering and ensure that you have an accurate customer profile.

Punctuation and the type of transcript

There are different types of transcripts therefore the punctuation varies.  Transcripts can be for legal purposes or general purposes (videos, lectures, meetings etc.) 

Legal transcripts

For example, a transcript done for a legal purpose will have to reflect exactly what is said and punctuated accordingly.  To ensure that you do this accurately, you need to invest in a course offered by BLUELEDGE (which I did) or transcribeanywhere.   

General transcripts

The punctuation will not follow standard punctuation rules all the time as there will be run on and choppy sentences.  

For a closed caption it will, likewise, be punctuated in the same manner.  However, you may want to do a clean read transcript for your closed caption for your video based on your target audience.  

Slang and Colloquialism

You may need to replace some slang or colloquialisms with the standard language and even remove some stutters.  However, keep in mind that a transcript is a reflection of what is said.  It cannot be so far removed from what the speaker is saying that if you play the video at the same time, it’s totally out of sync.

Mumble Jumble

Crosstalk/overlapping speech will be hard to identify by speech-to-text software.  Only the human ear can accurately decipher and correctly punctuate such text.  

It must be noted that there are ways to punctuate and highlight crosstalk and that is taught when you do the professional transcription courses. 

Accents and Dialects 

Accents and dialects also impact the accuracy of a transcript.  It’s amazing how the same words spoken in the same language can be transcribed differently.  

A native Spanish speaker saying “looked” in English could be transcribed as “look Ed” because of the stress that is placed on “ed” when saying the word.

Spelling

Spelling is another area that you need to review for your transcript.  The same name may be spelt differently, for example, “White” and “Whyte”.  

The names of places may not be interpreted correctly and may be broken up into several words based on the pronunciation.  For example, “Icacos” may be transcribed as “he can’t us”.  

Look out for the homophones and ensure that you research, if necessary, to ensure that the correct word is used based on the context/content.

Voice Readers

Finally, we also have to think about people who may be using voice readers.  Accurate spelling and punctuation aid in making the software convey the correct message.  

It would be wise to do a bit of research on the common ones for Windows-based devices (JAWS, NVDA, Dolphin Supernova), Google (TalkBack, ChromeVox) and Apple (VoiceOver) to ensure that your transcript can be read accurately.

Should you hire a HUMAN Transcriptionist?

If you have read to this point, you may be saying to yourself this is very time-consuming.  Yes, AI speech-to-text platforms can speed up transcription, but the human element is necessary to proofread and ensure the accuracy of the transcript.

This is where we VAs provide that service so that you can concentrate on the other aspects of your business. Here's how you can connect with me to work with you on your video transcripts. Let's have a conversation!

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