earfuledits – EarfulEdits

Q&A: Christmas Edition

Posted on December 13, 2024 by earfuledits

Merry Christmas! This will be my only blog post for a couple of weeks because I will be travelling for the holidays. So, here are a few fun Christmas themed questions to get to know my readers!

Q. What was your favorite gift you have ever gotten for Christmas? If you can’t choose one, share any that stand out!

A. I can’t think of a favorite gift but, some gifts that come to mind that I really liked was a Nintendo Switch Lite and a Korok plushie.

Q. What is your favorite Christmas season activity?

A. For me it would be going downtown to look at the Christmas decorations with my family and loved ones.

Q. What is your favorite thing to do on Christmas day?

A. Opening gifts on Christmas morning with family and hanging out.

Q. Candy canes or gingerbread?

A. Gingerbread!

Comment below your answers. I would love to read them! Happy holidays!

Improving Your Typing Speed

Posted on December 11, 2024 by earfuledits

Typing fast is one thing. Typing fast and accurately? That can be difficult. If you are a transcriptionist, generally you will get faster the more you type and work on transcripts. A fast and accurate typing speed takes practice as any skill does. Aside from typing transcripts, there is one website I enjoy going to for typing practice. It tells you your WPM (words per minute) and your accuracy.

If you want to practice your typing or are simply curious to see what your typing speed is, take a look at this website: Free Typing Test

Comment below what your WPM is, I am curious to see what it is!

Creating a Client Contract: Protecting Yourself and Your Services

Posted on December 9, 2024 by earfuledits

Client contracts are very important for any business that provides services. It offers two-way legal protections, it shows professionalism, and it sets clear goals and expectations.

To learn more about client contracts, why it is good to have, and how to make one, check out this article: 10 Things to Include in a Client Contract

Remote Work: Creating a Productive Workspace

Posted on December 5, 2024 by earfuledits

Remote work is great. It gives you flexibility and allows you to work from the comfort of your home. However, it can also create distractions because it is at your home. It takes more effort to stay focused and motivated and sometimes, depending on the home and family, it can be loud! So, how do you stay productive and focused while working in the comfort of your home?

For some simple and helpful tips, read this article: Home Office

Focus Groups: Transcribing Multiple Voices Effectively

Posted on December 3, 2024December 3, 2024 by earfuledits

Have you ever wondered how transcriptionists capture the chaos of multiple people talking? Whether it be a podcast with three or more people or a business meeting, a lot of times people will talk over each other and interrupt. It’s hard to understand! Sometimes it’s impossible to understand what is being said when there are multiple people talking over each other. However, there are some techniques that are used to capture the chaos of multiple voices.

Here are some techniques that I use:

1. Listen carefully.

I know this is an obvious one. It’s important to listen carefully no matter what you’re transcribing. I do follow one rule though, and that is: Do not rewind and listen to the same thing any more than three times. If I can’t understand what is being said after three listens, I move on and either put my best guess in or put in an [indiscernible]. After I finish the audio, I go back and listen again while proofreading.

2. Focus on the primary speaker if people are talking over each other or interrupting.

When the speech gets chaotic because people are interrupting and talking over one another, I usually try and focus in on the voice that was speaking first. Then, when there is a break, I will move on to whoever is speaking next. It is definitely difficult to navigate interruptions and overlapping speech, but it just takes practice.

3. Memorize voices.

This technique I am still working on. Sometimes there will be a couple of people that sound so similar I get mixed up on who is who when they speak. Try and memorize the voices that are speaking so you know how to label them. If you need to, go back and re-listen.

These are the techniques that I have used in the past when transcribing groups of people. I am pretty new to transcription. So, if you are a more experienced transcriptionist, feel free to comment below your techniques for transcribing multiple speakers.

Q & A — Thanksgiving Edition

Posted on November 25, 2024November 19, 2024 by earfuledits

Kind of like my Halloween post, I will be asking my readers some Thanksgiving related questions! This will be my only post for this week since it is my Thanksgiving break, and I will be busy with family and errands. So… away we go!

What is your favorite part about Thanksgiving Day?

My favorite part about Thanksgiving Day would have to be when the guests come over, usually just family, and I get to see all of my loved ones in one space. This will be my first Thanksgiving married! So, it will definitely be different. I am looking forward to going to my parents’ house to visit and eat.

What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?

Mine would have to be green bean casserole. So good! My grandparents always bring extra because they know I like it so much. I also enjoy some pumpkin pie.

Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions?

My family doesn’t really have any, although I am trying to start one. I have been making a “gratitude tree” for Thanksgiving. I grab some twigs from outside, paint them, and cut out paper leaves to hang on the tree. On a leaf, everyone can write what they’re thankful for and hang it on the tree. I usually put the twigs in a jar and hold them steady with rocks. It’s fun to make for sure!

What are you thankful for this year?

I am thankful for my husband and the marriage we have now and for my amazing family. I am grateful to have such a good relationship with everyone in my family.

Feel free to comment below with your answers to these questions. I would love to see what your answers are! Happy Thanksgiving!

A Day in the Life of a New Transcriptionist: Behind the Scenes

Posted on November 20, 2024November 20, 2024 by earfuledits

The picture above is my little aloe vera house plant that is sitting on my home office windowsill. I water it whenever the soil looks moderately dry. A day in my life is nothing crazy, but if you decide to read through this, thank you!

Morning

First thing in the morning, I do some exercise and then brew some coffee. After the coffee is brewed, I sit down in the quiet of my living room and write my prayers and read the Bible. I then have breakfast and get to work.

The first thing I do for work is check LinkedIn. Normally there are no notifications of importance, so this only takes a moment. I then create an advertisement on Microsoft Designer for my transcription business and I then post my ad on LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Facebook. After that, I start writing my blog posts for the week. I always schedule my blog posts for Tuesdays and Thursdays. For the images that I put in my posts, I usually go to a free stock photos website. This blog has a picture that I took myself though.

After I create my blogs for the week, I post them early on the Earful Edits website and put a link to the early blog posts on LinkedIn. As the blogs are automatically uploaded to Blogger, I repost the blogs on LinkedIn and post them on Facebook and Pinterest as well.

Afternoon

Once all the blog posts are written and posted, it is usually about lunchtime. After lunch, I check my work email for any potential client emails. I have not gotten any client emails yet since I started my business, so I normally practice my typing after briefly checking my email to build my typing speed. I have still been averaging 60 wpm (words per minute) but am hoping it’ll get faster with time. A lot of times I will also scroll LinkedIn and react to other people’s posts and comment on them to help with my networking.

After practicing my typing and do some networking, I go and practice the piano on my keyboard in the home office. I usually practice the piano for about 30 minutes at a time. After that, I go and prep dinner for when my husband and I get home in the evening. Then I go to my part time job at the music studio.

Evening

After work and dinner, I sometimes practice the piano again for another 30 minutes and then relax for the rest of the night. With the exception of some tidying around the apartment.

This is my normal daily routine. If and when I get some regular clients, I will do another post like this. I’m sure it will change! If you read this far… I hope you enjoyed!

Finding Balance: Transcription Pricing Strategies

Posted on November 18, 2024 by earfuledits

When starting a business, you need to figure out what your rates will be. You shouldn’t make it too expensive and drive potential clients away, but you also shouldn’t make it too cheap and sell yourself short. So how do we find a good balance where you are being paid what is fair for your work and are also cheap enough that more people will come to you?

To find out the balance and what is a proper rate for transcribing services, click on the following link: Transcription Pricing

The Future of Transcription: Exploring Emerging Trends

Posted on November 12, 2024 by earfuledits

After a little research, I found that there are three primary things that are trending in the transcription industry:

1. Academic Transcription

Academic transcription is in higher demand primarily because of the increase in technology. More and more classes and meetings are held virtually.

To learn more about the reasoning for the trend of academic transcription, click here: Academic Trend

2. Medical Transcription

Medical transcription is trending because of an increase in electronic medical records and people relying on transcription to accurately transcribe legal documents.

To learn more about the medical transcription trend, click here: Medical Trend

3. Artificial Intelligence

AI makes transcribing a lot easier. The only problem is that it is not always accurate. A lot of transcriptionists will use AI to transcribe things quickly and then proofread what was automatically written while listening to the audio.

To learn more about the AI trend, click here: AI Trend

Transcription Technology: AI

Posted on November 11, 2024 by earfuledits

Although I do not use AI for my transcription services personally, it can be very useful for saving time. It can also be bad due to AI not always being accurate. Take a look at this article to learn more about AI in the transcription world: AI Transcription

Author: earfuledits