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Using your recorder for meetings? That’s OK.

• Your recorder may have a conference/dictation setting. That affects the way that the microphone works. Be sure to set it for conferences.
• Submit a written copy of the agenda, list of speakers, and any other relevant information to International Transcriptions together with the dictation file.
• Each speaker should announce his/her name before speaking.
• Some speakers tend to speak quietly, in a way that can barely be heard or transcribed. Remind the speakers that their messages have to be transcribed, and that they should speak in a way that will be recorded properly.
• Submit the minutes of the meeting. It should include the name of each speaker and the first words of their statement.
• Use the best possible recorder. Ask us for recommendations before the meeting. We have experience working with various systems, and some produce better quality than others.
• Use a good microphone, or several microphones, when recording a meeting. The built-in recorder microphone may work, but good, external microphones placed very close to the speaker will make a better transcription.
• Test your equipment before any meeting or recording.
  • It may have worked last time, but that does not mean that it will work well this time
  • Record yourself and play it back
  • Record an imaginary speaker sitting far from the microphone and play it back
  • Imagine that you are about to transcribe the text. Can you understand it well enough to do a good job?
• Have a spare recorder ready – just in case
• Have spare tapes or memory cards available

Make the following announcements at the beginning of the meeting. Repeat it as necessary during the meeting:

• The meeting is being recorded
• The person who will transcribe the meeting is not present
• Speak loud enough for the recorder to pick up your speech
• Do not speak when somebody else is speaking
• Announce your name before speaking
• When asking a question, mention the name of the target of their question
• The chairman should refer to each speaker by name