Value Of Voice Writing Training

By Carol Adams


One career that is making a big comeback is court reporting. The other is in medical transcription. There are several tools that provide ways to perform these jobs without needing to learn the Gregg shorthand technique. The need still exists for those that can type upwards of 200 wpm. The problem is that not many people can achieve this speed of typing. Using voice writing training to obtain a certification prepares you for a career in both court reporting and medical transcription without having to learn shorthand or super fast typing.

The idea behind voice writing is that the person repeating what is being said verbatim into a special microphone. These positions can be found in courts where the exact phrasing and wording of statements is critical to making the best judgments in a case. Another profession is that of the medical transcriptionist. This person takes the orders and notes from the doctors, including prescription information, and records and transcribes it to medical records. Again, the skills to create a word for word transcription is critical as lives depend on accuracy.

A stenomask is used to create the recordings. This is designed to block out all background noises. It fits over the recorders nose and mouth and allows only their voice to be heard on the recording. Usually, they can just whisper into the microphone to make the recording. When done, they will use special software to finalize the written form of the recording.

Stenographers have to learn special equipment or writing skills. They will either use shorthand to write out the words they hear, or they will use a special keyboard that allows them to write faster. These are both good and accurate ways to do the job but have their downfalls. Many people either don't know how or can't learn special ways of writing. With a voice reporter, the skill is only in being able to accurately hear and repeat what is said.

Being certified helps advance a career. It is not difficult to get certified since several schools offer this as a six or twelve-month course. They will teach the equipment and techniques to get accurate information. They also teach specialized language and common words used in the medical and legal professions.

The value of this type of system is very high. While writing in shorthand and even in longhand can provide the needed information, it is much easier to get behind or miss something. There may be several reporters working at the same time to avoid loss of information. Having the ability to repeat, verbatim, the words that are spoken creates a much faster method because there is no worry about slowing down over cramped fingers or hands.

Using voice transcription software makes it even faster. Often, hiring a transcriptionist to manually write out the words spoken from the recording later can endure hours of work. With advances in this type of software, they can upload the file to the software and have it perform the task. Editing will have to be done after to ensure accuracy, but the accuracy is usually pretty close the first time through.

Decades ago a court reporter invented the technology that is still in use today. Moving from writing and shorthand, they were able to speed up the process and ensure a much faster way of providing an accurate record of the proceedings. Transcribing it afterward provides the final written record.




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