Clear audio makes a considerable difference to the accuracy, cost and turnaround time of a transcript. Our experienced human transcribers can work with challenging recordings, but if a word has not been captured properly, there may be no reliable way to recover it.
The good news is that most common recording problems are easy to prevent.
Find a quiet room
Background noise is one of the main causes of unclear audio. Traffic, air conditioning, office conversations, ringing telephones and rustling papers can all make speech difficult to hear.
Choose a quiet, enclosed room. Close windows and doors, switch off fans where possible and ask everyone to silence their phones. Avoid cafés, hotel reception areas and other busy public places unless you have no alternative.
Soft furnishings can reduce echo. A smaller room with carpets and curtains will usually produce better audio than a large, empty space.
Position the microphone carefully
A good microphone will not help if it is in the wrong place.
For a one-to-one interview, position the microphone between the speakers. For a meeting or focus group, place it centrally and make sure it is not hidden behind a laptop, folder or pile of papers.
Larger groups may require more than one microphone or a conference recording system designed to capture sound from different directions.
Make a test recording
Record 20 to 30 seconds of conversation and listen to it through headphones. Check that every participant can be heard and that there is no unexpected background noise.
Do not rely solely on the volume display on the recording device. Listening to the test is the best way to identify problems before the main recording begins.
Avoid overlapping speech
When several people talk at once, even an experienced transcriber may be unable to separate every word.
Ask participants to speak one at a time. A chair or facilitator can help keep meetings, hearings and focus groups orderly. It is also useful for participants to introduce themselves at the beginning.
Providing the transcriber with a list of names, abbreviations and specialist terminology can further improve accuracy.
Take care with online meetings
Remote interviews and video conferences can be affected by weak internet connections, poor microphones and audio dropouts.
Encourage participants to use headsets, sit somewhere quiet and close unnecessary applications. For an important event, consider making a separate local recording as a backup, provided everyone has given permission.
Check and retain the original file
Before participants leave, check that the recording has saved correctly. Keep the original file and avoid repeatedly converting it between different formats because this can reduce sound quality.
TP Transcription provides secure human transcription for interviews, meetings, hearings, research projects and other recorded material. If you are planning a recording project, contact us for advice and a quotation.
