Non-Verbatim Transcription: A Freelancer’s Guide to Accuracy and Clarity

As many clients sought different sub-types of transcriptions: verbatim, non-verbatim and phonetic transcriptions. A good freelancer knows what to keep and what not to keep.

Non-verbatim transcription is equally important as other sub-types of transcriptions.

This method is particularly important when one desires to improve the readability and accuracy of a transcript without sacrificing clarity.

For freelancers, beginner transcriptionists, and clients alike. We all care about you. 

Therefore, we have no choice but to keep you informed and to provide the best of knowledge concerning non-verbatim transcriptions.

This article explores more about non-verbatim transcription and acts as a guide to help you drill deeper into non-verbatim transcription processes. Let’s all learn about it.

What’s Non-Verbatim Transcription?

Non-verbatim transcription is all about editing the transcripts with good intentions. It doesn’t fully involve typing all what you hear. 

Non-verbatim transcriptions involve transcribing spoken words into texts while removing unnecessary conversational elements such as:

Filler words like ‘’um,’’ ‘’eeh,’’ ‘’uh,’’ ‘’you know,’’ or other such kinds of words.

Accidental word repetitions like, ‘’I,’’ ‘’I,’’ as people like to say.

Abandoned words or phrases like ‘’actually,’’ ‘’never mind’’ and others.

Non-essential interjections like ‘’hmmmh,’’ ‘’um,’’ ‘’yeah,’’ and others.

Slang language or incomplete word phrases.

So, instead of producing a transcript with a literal word-for-word from a recording. Non-verbatim transcription is used to refine the transcribed texts into a clean and easy to read document.

How to produce polished transcripts that are formal, professional and easy to read. This is what non-verbatim transcription entails.

For example, a speaker might say, ‘’ Well, you know, I guess, like, we could maybe, um, go there later.” When using non-verbatim transcriptions, the statement will read “We could go there later.”

You can detect that non-verbatim transcription is usually converting words or transcribed texts into a professional form to communicate the original message without distractions. 

Other names for non-verbatim transcription are edited or smooth transcriptions. But the question is: how do you hit such a formal balance, knowing very well that most conversations exhibit a lot of filler words and non-essential verbal elements?

Here is when the key things matter when we talk of non-verbatim transcriptions. Let’s learn how to come up with a high clean transcript level.

Striking the Balance: Accuracy and Clarity in Non-Verbatim Transcriptions

Non-verbatim transcription deals with cleaning up the spoken language during the process of transcription.

However, what many transcriptionists or freelancers face is balancing language professionalism by improving the clarity and accuracy of their words.

But undertaking this process is simple if, foremost, you don't change the speaker's intent tone, or the correct spoken message.

You should aim to preserve the original meaning of the spoken words even though you’re formally cleaning up the transcript.

The ethical rule of non-verbatim transcription is to edit for clarity. But not to change the text's meaning.

Doing so might sound difficult. But in other words, it means cleaning up the language spoken, but avoiding changing the speaker's meaning. That’s how easy it is.

Non-verbatim processes provide more reader-friendly transcripts that anyone can easily understand. They tend to avoid transcript readers getting distracted by words.

Is that for sure? Yes, it is. Non-verbatim is more about polishing the transcript and bringing more linguistic sensitivity. 

So, let's learn how you can balance transcript accuracy and clarity when using a non-verbatim transcription procedure.

a) Follow the Process Best Practices

Non-verbatim transcription calls for effective word analysis, discernment, editorial skills and a good sense of language flow. These are the best practices you should embrace.

But how do you apply these best practices? Here we go!

Clarify the client's expectations from the start: Not all clients would require the same edited version of transcripts. 

Enquire more about what they need, as some of them might prefer just a light, cleaned-up transcript version. In contrast, others might require a heavily edited transcript version. Ensure you understand what each client needs.

Keep fillers and false starts in check: Be cautious when it comes to keeping filler words and false starts in check. Remove these words when they add no value. But retain them if they affect the speaker’s tone.

Preserve the speaker's meaning, don't rephrase: Cleaning up content and rewriting it means a whole different thing. 

Remember, non-verbatim is all about cleaning up the text version. Avoid rephrasing the speaker's meaning. But instead, preserve the speaker’s intent.

Correct grammar without losing the message: Non-verbatim is about crafting the transcript formally. Clean up the grammatical errors. But avoid losing the speaker’s message. Make the words and sentences correct, like in an academic setup.

Remain consistent and proofread your work: As you make clean edits, choose a style and stick to it. For example, if you represent numbers in digits, like 2, 3, 10. Stick to the same style.

Again, if you decide to shorten words such as, ‘’do not’’ as ‘’don’t.’’ Be consistent and use the same word style throughout the transcript. But ensure you conduct a proofreading exercise at the end to ensure everything is accurate.

b) Avoid the Common Mistakes, Keep True

Non-verbatim transcription requires careful editing without closing the line. So, watch out for the following common mistakes and avoid them to produce a clean transcript.

Over-editing the transcript: Avoid polishing the transcript too much. Over-editing the transcript might lead to losing the speaker's meaning.

Failing to standardize formatting: Use a consistent formatting style and stick to it. Failing to do so makes your transcript confusing. You can use a style sheet to help you maintain the same editing style.

Neglecting to proofread your transcript: Imagine not going through your transcript again. Typo or grammar errors and missing words will undermine your work. Read through your transcript again to perfect it into the required standard.

Inconsistent editing of grammar: Avoid inconsistent editing of grammar without caring about the speaker’s intent. Observe the grammar with clear speaker’s intentions. Avoid word misinterpretations but maintain the grammar with intentional word emphasis.

Removing repetitions without care: Removing most of the words that have been repeated might alter the meaning of the speaker. Have control when removing most of the repeated words.

To understand more about this, here are examples of typical content or professional cases where non-verbatim transcription gets applied.

For business meetings and co-corporate reports.

When academic scholars conduct their research.

For media publishers who desire to repurpose their content.

For medical and legal summaries, when in need of clear and accurate records

Non-verbatim transcription is more of a service that goes beyond just typing words into a document. It's often preferred in contexts where the final transcript is meant to be read rather than being analyzed.

Conclusion

Mastering how non-verbatim processes work or the rules involved equips you as a freelancer with the best transcription skills. It also makes it easy for you to select the kind of niche you would delve into to keep your skills competitive in the transcription industry.

So, mastering this non-verbatim transcription style can open doors to steady transcription work in fields like business, academics and media. That’s why it’s important to understand this helpful information.

Non-verbatim processes are much like real-time editorial tasks, just like Verbalscripts carries out its transcripts' editorial processes. If you're a client in search of professional transcription services with clean transcript edits, Verbalscripts provides all that.

Just by the use of human hands in all the transcription and formatting procedures. Verbalscripts is a transcription hub where you can get clean and smooth transcripts just as you wish.

Seek the team and you will get a clean transcript in minutes, whether for your business, academic or any other content, just as you need it.