How To Improve Your Dictation Skills

How To Improve Your Dictation Skills

How To Improve Your Dictation Skills

Good dictation skills will not only ensure an accurate finished product, but they will also save money on transcription services. If the dictated speech is clear and concise, the transcriptionist will be able to type faster, which should result in a lower cost for your transcription services as long as they are billed hourly. There are many things that can be done to ensure good quality recordings, and there are several things that should be avoided to prevent poor recordings.

Microphones on handheld recorders or dictation machines will often pick up background noises, making it very important to consider your environment for dictation purposes. These background noises can interfere with your own voice which can cause problems for the transcriptionist if your voice is overcome by the background noises. Be sure to clear the area of any noise makers including other people, pets, televisions, radios and cell phones. The clearer the recording, the easier it will be for the transcriptionist to produce accurate results.

Circumstances may sometimes require dictating away from your home or office. If your dictation must be done away from your normal setting, avoid dictating in restaurants, cafes, airports, bus terminals or open spaces. These all offer too many opportunities for unwanted audio to be picked up by your recorder. Consider also that white noise' caused by fans, lighting, refrigerators or electric motors will be picked up by the recorder. Pay careful attention when working in an unfamiliar environment.

When making recordings, be sure to set your recorder to the highest quality setting available. For digital recorders this is most often the SHQ (stereo high quality) setting. The higher setting will use more media or memory for digital recorders, but the savings in time and accuracy will be well worth it. The LP (long play) setting is often the lowest recording quality and should be avoided, especially in cases where there are multiple voices on a single recording to be transcribed.

After you have settled on the type of equipment, and have found a quiet place to work, it is time to take the last preparatory step before you begin your dictation. That step is to test your equipment. This is a easy process that takes only a few seconds before you actually begin your dictation. Simply record a test phrase into the machine and play it back. Make this a habit to avoid dictating into a machine that may not be turned on, or may have dead batteries or is otherwise not functioning properly. This step could save hours of wasted time.

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