Hey, podcasters! Transcribing podcast audio to text offers the following benefits.

• • A podcast transcript connects you with a larger audience.

• • Transcribing podcasts helps you create blog posts, infographics, emails, and other informative content.

• • Search engines can index audio transcripts of podcast episodes in text format.

I’m sure you’d want to reap these benefits! Then what are you waiting for, connect with us to transcribe podcast audio to text today!

Getting a Transcript from a Podcast

Getting transcripts for podcasts is a time-consuming process and costs money. Yet, it’s safe to say that the benefits of having a transcript far outweigh the time and cost that go into producing it. Get access to our podcast transcription services here!

Transcripts increase the accessibility of podcasts and make them discoverable to search engines like Google and Bing. Google is not capable yet to index audio files. That shortcoming can be overcome by converting podcast audio to text and adding it to your podcast on the audio platform of your choice wherefrom Google will index and rank it in SERPs. 

Coming to accessibility. There are persons with cognitive disabilities, completely deaf or with impaired hearing, who will benefit from your content if transcripts were uploaded. Sometimes, technological barriers force even people with normal hearing to prefer text over audio. So with transcripts, podcasts become accessible to a wider audience who may not otherwise benefit from the informative content peddled through podcats.

You may also be interested in – How to Write Out an Interview Transcript!

Using a Transcription Service to Generate a Podcast Transcript 

As said transcribing podcasts word by word is time-consuming. Hiring a transcription agency which offers a professional transcription service is a much easier way to get a transcript for your podcast. Just provide us with the audio file or a direct link to the podcast, and we will deliver an accurate podcast transcript within a few hours.

Get Podcast Transcripts in 3 Steps

We follow a straightforward process to help you get podcast transcripts. Depending on the size of the audio/video podcast audio or video file, and other requirements we’ll deliver the transcript within hours. 

Step 1 – You provide us with an audio or video file of your podcast or in case it’s not downloaded on your local drive, provide us with the URL of the podcast.

Step 2 – A transcriber with relevant experience in the field of audio transcription transcript file formats will be assigned to convert audio recording into text.

Step 3 – Once ready, the transcript will be delivered securely to you via email or the preferred delivery method. So within a few hours, you get your podcast transcript.

You may also want to know – How to Transcribe an Interview!

More About Podcast Transcription Services

Creating a podcast transcript is what we specialize in. Know that if you plan to do it yourself, typing out every word accurately along with timestamps is a time-consuming process. But with Locate Translate, you can create accurate transcripts via our human transcription services at the best transcription prices.

Transcription Services for Spotify, Amazon Music, and Other Podcast Hosting Sites

Create podcast transcripts with us for all podcast hosting platforms including Spotify and Amazon Music. We deliver transcripts in multiple languages. Not only do we provide English to English podcast transcription services, but we also offer transcript translation services whereby we translate a transcript from German to English, Arabic to English, Korean to English, Italian to English, Japanese to English, etc. 

Call us on 02086094852, email hello@locatetranslate.co.uk or contact us using our online transcription quote form for more information about our podcast transcription service!

Audio transcripts come in many transcript file formats. This blog will provide knowledge that will help you identify the format that will work best for you. So let’s begin.

Some of the most common transcript formats are:

Plain Text Transcription Formats

1. Plain Text Files [.txt]
2. Microsoft Word Document [.docx]
3. PDF

Time-Stamped Transcription File Formats

1. SMPTE Timecode
2. HTML Transcript File Formats
3. JS and JSON File Formats
4. Tab-Delimited Text and CSV Text
5. Edit Decision List [.edl]
6. Avid ScriptSync [.txt]

Detailed Guide to Transcript File Formats

Audio transcripts can store valuable information and knowledge, and as such act as a reservoir from which is easier to glean valuable insights, whenever and wherever needed. However, transcription formatting is a hard nut to crack yet imperative, if you want transcripts to generate value for your business. 

In addition to serving as a valuable resource, something you can resort to for future use, made available for the perusal of other employees. Audio transcripts have an intrinsic value in themselves as aiding material that helps hard of hearing consumers of video and audio understand its content. Providing listeners with an opportunity to read the transcript of the audio while listening to it. This way podcasters can widen the reach of their content and reach the audience who happen to be deaf and hard-of-hearing.

The best way to overcome the impediment thrown your way by the complexity of transcript file formats is to use professional transcription services, whereby you outsource it to an agency housing professional transcribers, who have mastered the art of transcription formats. It may not just take the burden off of you but also save you plenty of time and capital, which may better be utilized somewhere else where it’s wanted.

Order Audio Transcription Service

Some of the Standard Transcription Layouts

Plain Text Transcription Formats

When it comes to uncomplicated transcript types, plain text transcriptions form a large chunk of it widely used. Here are some of the common plain text transcription formats:

1. Plain Text Files [.txt]: One of the common features of these files is that they all have a .txt file extension. Also, these files aren’t formatted at all. You may need Notepad, a plain text editor, to open files with a .txt file extension. 

2. Microsoft Word Document [.docx]: Donning a .docx file extension, MS Word documents bear text formatting. You can format word documents as you deem fit, hence it’s fair enough to say that .docx files are easier to sift through, read or even edit.

3. PDF: The thing with Portable Document Formats [PDF] is that PDFs don’t lend themselves to editing and also PDFs can’t be formatted should the need arise to do so. Though easier to read and portable, PDFs are mostly locked.

You may also want to read: Subtitles Vs. Closed Captioning: All You Need To Know

Time-Stamped Transcription File Formats

These files bear timestamps, that’s why they’re referred to as time-stamped transcription file formats. Moreover, typically time-stamped file formats are formatted and written in MS Word, and contain timestamps on a second, minute, and even hourly basis.

SMPTE Timecode

SMPTE stands for Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. SMPTE time-coded transcripts are frame labelled, which prove helpful in audio-video synchronization. So know that if you want to sync audio to the video and embed a transcript accordingly where audio-video-text are in complete sync, go for transcripts with SMPTE timecode.

HTML Transcript File Formats

As said earlier, requirements vary from one platform to another. Suppose you need a transcript of a video that you want to embed on your website. The transcript in this case has to be formatted in HTML. Otherwise, the browser may not be able to access the transcript. That clearly indicates that if a transcript is wrongly formatted, it may not serve the purpose that was intended for it.

Suffice it to say, for audio and video files to be embedded on a website and made accessible through a browser, the transcript file has to be in HTML format. 

JS and JSON File Formats

Other than the drawback that JS and JSON transcript formats are hard to read, hence largely less user-friendly, such files though prove useful for other purposes where time synchronization and timestamp is an absolute necessity. Machine learning transcription software produces JS and JSON transcripts. 

A unique thing or value they bring to a transcript is that each word on the transcripts acts as a link and corresponds to the audio or video section or its location on the recording where it was spoken. In other words, JS and JSON transcripts are interactive.

Tab-Delimited Text and CSV Text

The need for tab-delimited and CSV text arises when dealing with text in tables. The thing is most transcription software don’t support such a transcript format, creating, therefore, a need for conversion of text in tables into a simpler format, or exporting text in tables as tab-delimited text or CSV text file.

In the case of tab-delimited text, tabs help separate the information into separate columns. Each tab represents one line. CSV or Comma Separated Values file uses commas to delimit the information. And each comma is representative of a separate column that contains one record per line.

Tab-Delimited Text and CSV Text Examples

Tab-Delimited Text                                                      CSV Text

Industry-Specific Transcript Layouts

Edit Decision List [.edl] Transcript Format

Specific to the film industry, .edl file format comes in handy when doing post-production script-based editing. Timestamped as well as ordered, Edit Decision List helps when relating moments from a video to the corresponding texts in a transcript. So you get the text for the exact moment you want in the video recording. 

Avid ScriptSync [.txt]

A file format with great utility, Avid ScriptSync syncs text or words on a transcript with audio and video of the recording. It’s a lot quicker when it comes to synchronization and is used by filmmakers and video editors. Though a plain text file itself, Avid ScriptSync transcript is added audio/video sync marks when processed by software. Sync marking is done for each line of the text.

Conclusion

No matter which industry you’re in, at Locate Translate we specialize in audio and video transcription services, legal transcription, in as many as 30+ language pairs, including German transcription, Japanese transcription, Arabic to English transcription. We can be your valuable partner in transcribing complex audio and video content in the format needed. Get in touch with our expert transcribers and let them do all the hard work while you enjoy peace of mind. At Locate Translate, we provide human-done transcription services, which is 100% accurate and can work with all transcript formatting options.

Related Articles

This blog is for novice transcribers who have just started their career in interview transcription.  Also, for businesses trying to convert audio/video files into text on their own and looking for guidance in doing so accurately and in quick time, this blog may suffice to provide tips and nuggets of information on the subject? This guide will help you through the interview transcription process and help you write a perfect interview transcript like a pro. So without further ado, let us begin.

How to create an interview transcript; is that what you want to know? We wish to tell you right away that it’s a time-consuming process and complex as well. It takes strong language skills and years of experience to produce accurate transcripts that professional transcribers are so used to delivering.

But herein lies the secret.

It takes patience and plenty of time (and businesses don’t have much time) to get the hang of the process. To achieve speed and accuracy, you will have to become a vetted professional who knows to polish a mediocrely written transcript into a perfect interview transcript. That’s what professional transcriptionists do. 

Do you wish to do the same but don’t know where to begin or how to start? Not to worry, here’s our step by step guide on how to write a transcript of an interview. To simplify the transcription process and help you deliver accurate transcripts on time, read along.

You may also want to read: How to Transcribe an Interview: A Complete Guide to Transcribing Interviews

Prepare beforehand as to what your goals are and what you try to accomplish from the interview transcription.

You have to be clear in your mind about what you try to accomplish before setting out to do something. It works wonders in transcription, as in any sphere of life. Setting clear and achievable goals helps discipline the process and yield great results. In that, the interview transcription is no different. 

So prepare in advance to achieve the kind of outcome you’ve set for yourself. The key to success, therefore, for transcript writing is preparation. That includes setting clear goals and outlining the process as to how you intend to go about transcription. 

These steps will help kickstart your written transcription process: 

Identify the purpose and factors that might affect your transcription process.

There is no set template as to what should be the purpose of writing a transcript. It varies from one interview transcript to another. Sometimes, the purpose may be to convert audio/video into bullet points. Other times, the client may want it accurately converted into text word for word.

Both ways, you have to adopt a different approach to written transcription. For businesses who want to transcribe interviews on their own, identifying the purpose is hard, so is drawing a roadmap. That’s where the relevance of agencies like Locate Translate lies. Not only have we mastered how to write a transcript, but we also help novices transcript interviews like professional transcriptionists.

How detailed should your transcription be, the purpose of your transcription determines it?

First things first, identify what purpose should the transcript serve. Later in the transcription process, it will help you determine how detailed your written transcript should be. Transcribers pay maximum attention to the purpose before beginning to write a transcript.

Depending on the level of detail, you may have:

Full-Verbatim Transcription –  In full-verbatim interview writing, the interview script includes every word from the recording, excludes nothing from the text transcript. Verbal tics, such as repetition, stuttering, coughing, filler words, as well as the pauses the speaker has taken while speaking, everything features in the interview transcript.

Intelligent Verbatim Transcription – This type of transcript is cleaner and refined done on a word-for-word basis. The elimination of unwanted noise and extras that have nothing to do with the conversation make the intelligent verbatim script more refined, making it, therefore, easier to read compared to full-verbatim.

Detailed Notes Transcription – This transcription involves the conversion of the whole interview into bits of detailed notes. All the information gleaned from the audio file is converted into text format, which is easier to sift through.

The transcript must account for speaker identification and timestamps beforehand.

Parsing information from the interview becomes easy if you can identify speakers and timestamps. It will help you gather relevant information about a particular speaker, which you cannot do if you are already in the middle of the process. Doing it in advance is imperative. 

Now that you have received the necessary information about the transcription process, it is time for you to start writing your first transcript. We will help you master the art of interview transcription in 4 easy steps.

Kickstarting interview transcription in 4 easy steps

This definitive guide to transcription will prepare you for professional interview transcript writing. Had you followed what we discussed above, you should face no difficulty whatsoever in writing an interview transcript. Let’s begin the process.

Step 1: Do not rush to transcribe on the go. Listen to the interview recording first, from start to finish.

If you are new to transcription, you are bound to make the oft-repeated mistake of rushing to transcribe right away without listening to the recording first. Listening to the interview recording to get a good grasp of its content in its entirety is crucial.

Get familiar with the whole recording of the interview. It will provide a contextual basis for your transcripts to be accurate and never lose sight of the complete picture. As said earlier, identifying obstacles early on in the process is pertinent to a smooth transcription process. You can’t figure any such error if you don’t listen to the recording before starting to transcribe it.

Eventually, it will slow you down when obstacles crop up, forcing transcribers to start over, which isn’t feasible at all. 

While listening to the audio, it’s better to take notes, identify speakers, jot down words that sound unfamiliar as you listen to the audio. That is how professional transcribers at Locate Translate approach transcription when delivering accurate and error-proof transcript documents. At the same time, the added benefit is that you get familiar with technical jargon, terminology, etc. And that is reason enough to include it in your transcription strategy. 

Step 2: Type out a rough first draft of the interview transcript.

Only professional transcribers can go full swing transcribing right away. For someone who is not a professional, there is no substitute to treading mildly. That would include writing the first draft, rough version of the transcript. You can always revisit the first draft to furnish it, polish it and work on it. Edit, keeping in mind whether you need a full-verbatim, verbatim or detailed notes transcript of the interview. 

No matter how simple we make it sound, it is not. You have to be great with typing and accurate with language. That is the reason we recommend using the professional transcription service offered by Locate Translate. Our transcribers will bring clarity to your transcript, making it as accurate as possible.

To achieve speed, add shortcuts, abbreviations for words, such as bc for because, in the first draft. Pause whenever and wherever you feel the need during the first draft. But don’t rewind the clip. 

Step 3: Revisit the first draft of the transcript and edit it and polish its content.

With the hard part done, now you have a readable first draft of the interview transcript. The thing to go for now is repeated edits, polishing the content as fits your needs. 

First thing first, make sure to get rid of typos. Do not leave everything to spell checkers but manually track and remove misspellings by going through the transcript word for word and line by line. 

In addition to that, listen to the audio again after you’ve finished transcribing it. Listening and reading through the transcript is your way to work with inconsistencies in the transcript text and the best chance to add any missed parts. There may be words you may have misheard.  That may have distorted the meaning of the whole sentence. At this stage, you can remove any such inconsistencies.

Step 4: Shape your transcript layout according to client needs, transcription template or format.

Do you know how to format your transcript? If not, you will need professional help. You are required to have a fair sense of transcription guidelines. To format transcripts in a particular template requires experience and knowledge. Irrespective of the type of transcript, or template, or format, accuracy is a prerequisite.

Any transcript done has to serve the purpose. In addition, adjusting font size is imperative.  So is titles, subheadings and paragraphs to make it easier to read through the document. 

Congrats, you can now transcribe like a professional! 

You have reached the level where you can transcribe like a pro. But remember transcribing is a sophisticated art and a skill that’s demanding. It needs constant practice to master the art of interview transcription.

To forge a lasting balance between accuracy and speed, quality and quantity, make sure you follow our guide, How to Write a Transcript: A Definitive Guide to Interview Transcription, verbatim.

Did you know: At Locate Translate, we can offer transcription in 30+ languages, including German Transcription, Japanese Transcription, Arabic to English Transcription, English to English Transcription, etc. Also, working in domains like Legal, Medical, Media, Marketing, Market Research, etc.

A word with businesses, market research agencies, healthcare professionals, law firms, and media houses

Given the complex and time-consuming nature of the transcription process, and no matter how lucidly we explain its workings and steps to follow, you may at some point want to outsource your transcription projects. For that, you may need the support of a reliable transcription agency to achieve its objectives in record time and with unmatched accuracy. In that case, we are proud to introduce ourselves as one of the UK’s most trusted full-service language solutions providers. At Locate Translate, we specialise in providing businesses, market research agencies, healthcare professionals, law firms, media houses top-quality transcription services and English to English transcription services.

Should you need any help with transcription or want us to explain how transcription works in a more detailed manner, feel free to contact at hello@locatetranslate.co.uk or call us at +44 208 609 4852. You can also fill our contact form. Let us know your requirements. Our transcribers will get back to you within 30 minutes to assist with interview transcripts.

Related Articles

Interview Transcription: learn how to transcribe an interview with our easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide to interview transcribing. Let’s begin.

What is a transcript of an interview?

An interview transcript is a written or text version of a completed verbal interview. Converting an audio or video recording of a conversation to text word for word is a brief description of the transcription process.

Transcribing interviews means …

Transcribing interviews is converting speech from audio or video recording to written record word for word.

Overview of how to transcribe an interview:

If you’re looking for ways to write a successful interview transcript, these steps will guide you through transcribing interviews:

1. Listen to the full audio/video recording.
2. Outline the time you’ll need to transcribe it.
3. Select tools to help with the transcription process.
4. Write the first draft of the interview transcript.
5. Proofread your draft rigorously to polish it.
6. Format the transcript in the required format.

How does transcribing help?

Transcribing interviews helps in performing analysis, helps you mine data, and makes interviews accessible.

The benefits of writing an interview transcript

Transcribing interviews reaps many benefits for businesses to utilize in their favour. Though there are numerous benefits, the following are the major benefits of writing a transcript of the interview:

Captures imperceptible details

A little snap in attention because something catches your eyes keeps you unaware of imperceptible details hidden in the interview. As a result, details are easily lost. You may not even recall all the answers given to the questions, no matter how important. Interview transcripts, on the other hand, capture even the minutest detail so that you revisit all the information and data later.

Accessible to other team members

Generally, interviews and information therein, remain mostly confined to few individuals. Your interviewer may have access to its content, not other team members. That kind of creates an information vacuum. But not anymore, with interview transcription you can make the same interview accessible to other members of your organisation as part of the decision making process. Moreover, it’s much easier to email copies of transcripts than the audio/video file and is easier to sift through and review.

Direct documentation of the interview

Converting the interviews into a document makes the entire conversation available for detailed examination. Consequently, you can better understand its content and draw further insights from it.

Saves valuable time

Transcribing interviews collects and streamlines all the necessary information for further review later in the day. You can haul from transcripts, insights, data to guide you through when you dig into the interview later. So, transcribing definitely saves you plenty of time because sifting through it for details, information, and notes is really easier than going through the audio/video interview.

Interview transcription in 6 steps:

Step 1. Listen to the full audio/video recording.

How do you know which method of transcription to deploy to transcribe a recording? How to deal with complex recordings with a number of speakers? Can an audio-to-text converter handle the complexity of your transcription project? Or for that matter, do you have the linguistic expertise and attention to detail to do it yourself? 

These are some of the questions you might want to ask yourself before undertaking transcription on your own. And for the most part, the answers lie in listening to the audio/video recording in full, I mean from beginning to the end in one sitting. 

When you do so, three things should guide your decision pertaining to whether you can do justice to it if you chose to transcribe it yourself. The three things are:

• The number of speakers in the recording 
• The length of the audio/video recording
• Technical terminology used in the recording

The more the number of speakers, the more difficult it gets to write a transcription of the interview. The same holds for the length of recording, its complexity manifolds with an increment of every second. It gets difficult to keep track of speakers and the conversation they’re having. Then there’s technical terminology. Every profession, sector, and industry has its set of unique terms, words, phrases that only an expert and professional transcriptionist can pick up. 

Keeping this in mind, you may not want to risk the quality and accuracy of the interview transcript by doing it yourself. The best thing to do is to outsource it to a professional transcription agency that has a workforce in the form of qualified transcribers to do it for you.

Who’s the Professional Transcriptionist? How to Identify One?

A professional transcriptionist is a qualified, skilled, and experienced linguist with years of experience transcribing interviews. They’ve identifiable traits that may help you identify and choose one. Such transcriptionists are:

• Trained and qualified with eye for detail.
• Capable of transcribing complex recordings.
• Expert in linguistic skills with understanding of multiple accents.
• Experienced enough to pick up on words.
• Familiar with industry-specific glossary of terms.

At Locate Translate, we’ve got talented linguists working with us to help you with English to English transcription of audio/video recordings, or Arabic to English transcription.

Doing Transcript from Foreign Language to English

Things get more complicated when you’re transcribing from another language to English. If the recording you’ve is in foreign language, say French, and you want it transcribed into English, ask yourself whether or not you’ve the requisite language skills in source as well as the target language.

Again, at Locate Translate, we’ve qualified native linguists to carry out transcription from 30+ languages to English. Want us to do the transcription, contact us now!

Step 2. Outline the time you’ll need to transcribe it.

Outlining how much time you can afford to allocate to transcribing interviews is pretty difficult to figure out if you’re not a professional transcriber. Consequently, you may end up spending more time, yet accomplishing very little. It certainly could be a loss to your business. 

That’s why Locate Translate is better positioned to professionally transcribe your recordings in record time. We can transcribe recordings of any length within stipulated time because our professionals have impeccable typing speed and a good sense of transcription format. Shortest to say, they know exactly what they’re doing, how to do it.

Step 3. Select tools to help with the transcription process.

To streamline the transcription process and make it easy, selecting the right set of tools is imperative. Professional transcribers have access to all sorts of tools pertinent to writing an interview transcription. They know how to put such tools to their maximum use so as to bring efficiency to the interview transcription. 

That includes noise-cancelling headphones, Google Docs to transcribe audio files, audio player, Word processor, etc. These are some of the tools human transcriptionists use, but not the only ones. That doesn’t mean you can use transcription tools unaided by professional transcribers to write an interview transcript.  

You may choose to do so but it will be riven by errors. Even if you download a free transcription audio player, then you must also learn how to operate it. Without knowing where to pause, when to rewind, which portion to fast-forward, how to use hot-keys, how to operate the time-coding function, can you really use it efficiently? Not necessarily! Therefore, it’s better to let experts do it while you do what you do best, running the business.

Step 4. Write the first draft of the interview transcript.

With all the necessary transcription tools at your disposal, you can start writing the first draft of the interview transcript. But you must remember that writing an interview transcript is not easy at all. It demands linguistic accuracy and experience to pick on words. 

There are words that you cannot translate, sometimes complex terminology is involved that makes transcribing the recordings quite difficult for non-professionals. You can begin by transcribing in short intervals but that’s time-consuming, and businesses don’t have much time to allocate to the transcription project. Outsourcing it to the transcription agency will save you time and labour, which is a win-win for any business!

Step 5. Proofread your draft rigorously to polish it.

The first draft is never perfect. You have to polish it over and again to glean valuable insights from it. You must know what to choose and what to leave.  Doing so entails professional expertise. Sometimes speakers have different accents, though they speak the same language. For a transcriber, it’s necessary to have understanding and mastery of different accents in order to be able to pick on words. That also entails attention to detail. An ability to identify errors. Professional transcribers can polish it, make it more insightful and accurate for reading by other team members.

Step 6. Format the transcript in the required format.

At this stage, you must know what’s the right format for your transcript. Formatting properly your transcript means making it easier for readers to decipher imperceptible details and meanings hidden in the recording. The kind of font to use, subheadings, paragraphs, etc. may enhance the utility of your transcript if you know how to use it.

Important Things to Remember When Interview Transcribing

Interview transcribing isn’t an easy task. On the contrary, it’s a complicated, time-consuming, and labor-intensive process. One that demands skills of the highest level, mastery of language, terminology, and experience in different industries. Some of the important things you should remember when transcribing interviews include:

• Transcription has different types: Full-Verbatim Transcription, Intelligent Verbatim Transcription, Detailed Notes Transcription. Depending on your requirements choose the one that  best fits your project.

• Transcription from foreign language to English demands impeccable language skills in both the target and source language. You need to have the qualification and skills to undertake such transcription.

• Transcription varies from one sector to another. Transcription in market research may not look the same as in healthcare, legal, or finance sectors. To have industry-specific knowledge and experience is therefore imperative for transcriptionists. Locate Translate assigns domain experts and native linguists to carry out interview transcriptions. 

The most important thing to remember is that one person must do the whole transcription so that there is a natural flow in the written transcript. Assigning different people may result in the loss of meaning.

Tips to Transcribe an Interview

Like I said before, transcribing an interview is a complex task. All sorts of skills, linguistic, listening, editing, proofreading, typing, etc. are required to write an interview transcript. Following these tips might help you transcribe your verbal interviews into text with accuracy and help you draw more information and insights out of your interviews. 

Here are some of the tips that may help you transcribe an interview more accurately.

• Note down the data and time, and location of the interview. Write interviewer’s and interviewee’s names at the earliest so that you know who’s speaking to whom.
• Listen to the full recording once to grasp the overall contextual meaning of the tape and its content. 
• Use tools like foot pedals for question-answer interviews to quickly stop and start your tape handsfree. 
• Listen carefully, small sections at a time,  to the recording and start typing out the transcript interview. Repeat the recording if you feel stuck for meaning.
• Bad audio quality may blur some words. Read through the entire conversation to make sense of words not very clear. Of course, you can guess their meanings, but do refer to the original source as well.
• Listen through the recording again after you finish the first draft. Make sure you’ve missed out nothing, edit wherever necessary. It’s the stage to do corrections.
• Do the editing, grammar check, replace abbreviations with full words and work out punctuations in the final copy.
• Remove verbal tics and fillers if they’re unnecessary and feature too often to make the final copy distraction free and ensure natural textual flow.  [Verbal tics include “I mean”, “you know” etc. Fillers include ‘um’, ‘uh’ etc.]
• Always do the final spelling check before handing the interview transcript for publication or perusal of team members.

How to Transcribe an Interview: Different Transcription Methods

Full-Verbatim Transcription –  In this interview writing, the interview script is detailed with every word included in the text transcript. All the pauses the speaker may have taken, including verbal tics, such as repetition, stuttering, coughing, filler words, etc. feature in the interview written down.

Intelligent Verbatim Transcription – This type of transcript is more clean and refined as it’s done on a word-for-word basis. Refined in the sense that all the noise, unwanted extras that have got nothing to do with the actual audio, verbal tics, etc. such extraneous things are removed from the full-verbatim script. That’s the reason it’s easier to read compared to full-verbatim.

Detailed Notes Transcription – In this transcription process the whole interview is converted into bits of detailed notes with all the information gleaned from the audio file into text format. It’s to remember, however, that these aren’t randomized notes scribed haphazardly, but carefully gathered information, which is easier to sift through.

Given the complex and time-consuming nature of the transcription process, and no matter how lucidly we explain its workings and steps to follow, you may at some point want to outsource your transcription projects. For that, you may need the support of a reputable transcription agency if you want to achieve your objectives in record-time and with unmatched accuracy. In that case, we’re proud to introduce ourselves as one of the UK’s trusted full-service language solutions providers. At Locate Translate, we specialise in providing businesses, market research agencies, healthcare professionals, law firms, media houses top-quality transcription services and English to English transcription services.

Should you need any help with transcription or want us to explain how transcription works in a more detailed manner, feel free to contact at hello@locatetranslate.co.uk, or call us at +44 208 609 4852 . You can also fill our contact form. Let us know your requirements, we will happily get back to you within 30 minutes to provide assistance with interview transcripts.

Related Articles