Do you know that there are different transcription formats? Do you know the difference between an edited transcript and verbatim transcript?

Audio recordings document pauses and hesitations people use in speech. These create some questions for transcribers.

What should you include in  transcripts? The answer is: Ask your clients. Your clients will decide what they want to include in the transcripts.

There are three basic transcription formats; verbatim, edited and intelligent verbatim.

Verbatim transcripts: The verbatim (complete) transcription format includes every sound that’s in the recording. Every word on the recording must be transcribed exactly as it was said. Even incomplete sentences must be included on the transcripts as they were said.

Verbatim transcriptions are often used for legal purposes. The transcripts include sounds such as err, mmh, umm and you know. Identifiable emotions like laughter, sobbing and anger marked by tremors in speech, are also included in such transcripts. Verbatim transcripts takes the longest to complete and are usually the most expensive because they take longer to transcribe.

Edited transcripts: Some sentences may be left out of the transcripts without misconstruing what was said by the speaker.  Lectures, speeches and conferences often want edited transcripts. Edited transcripts take time to complete, but less time than verbatim transcripts.

Intelligent transcripts: The intelligent transcripts are accurate transcripts of the recording but leave out words such as umm, kinda, like and you know. These sounds do not add any value but are just fillers or pauses. Intelligent transcripts are ideal for interviews and are the fastest to transcribe compared to intelligent and verbatim transcripts.

It is up to your clients to decide which transcription format meets their requirements.

The transcription format required will affect the time it takes to transcribe a project and will consequently affect the total price.