Categories: Technology

Is Converting Audio To Text A Complicated Task?

Transcribing is the main reason why most movies have subtitles for the longest time. Many people thought it would be a difficult and almost impossible task to transcribe audio to text effectively.

If you are thinking about getting into transcription, then chances are you have thought about the job’s complexity. It is easy for you to get discouraged because it is all new to you. The good news is that transcribing is not that hard.

You need to ensure you do a couple of things to help you transcribe with ease. Read on to find out how you can become a better transcriber despite the challenges you face on the job.

IMAGE: UNSPLASH

How To Make Transcribing Simple

If you have never transcribed before, you will struggle at the start. For this reason, getting transcription software audio to text will ensure that you have an easier job to do. Most software offer tutorials on how you need to go about transcribing.

Others will even have sample transcriptions you can practice with. With good software, you also get a writing area and an audio section, so you do not have to keep going back and forth between two tabs. It makes transcribing easier for you, and you learn about the jobs.

Reasons Why You Might Find Transcribing Difficult

Despite all these tools, there are times when you realize that transcribing is still hard for you. Finding out what the reason behind this is will help you transcribe better. Here are some of the main reasons why you find it difficult to transcribe.

Background Noise

If you are transcribing audio with very loud background noise, you might notice that it takes you longer to figure out what the speakers are saying.

If you notice that you are unable to hear anything despite all your efforts, then all you need to do is mark the problem area as inaudible and put a time stamp. The audio might get cleaned and given to someone else to work on it, or it might be sent to the owners. You need to remember that it is not your fault if the audio has too much background noise, and that does not make you a bad transcriber.

Different Languages

Another thing that might make transcription difficult for you would be speakers using a different language. Integrating a transcribing software will not do much for you in this scenario.

You will still end up with audio you cannot understand. It might be annoying, especially if it is your first transcription job. If you find that the better parts of your audio are in a different language, then all you have to do is take a different job.

It also helps if you take the time and listen to a small bit of the audio before figuring out whether that is something you can easily translate.

Slang Or Accent

While there are times when the audio is clear, the speakers might have a strong accent or use slang that is hard to understand. There is nothing you can do in such a scenario because you cannot make sense of whatever is being talked about.

How To Handle Difficult Transcription

One of the things you will notice when it comes to transcription is you will still have to make sense of whatever is being talked about. Here are some pointers to help you keep transcribing despite the challenges you might encounter while at it.

Make the translation as clear as possible. It might involve switching up words by native speakers to make it sound grammatically correct, but clients prefer it that way
Put a marker on unclear areas. That way, it is easy for you to go over them or have your client figure them out
Ensure you timestamp everything.

Even though people think transcription is complex, it is easier than you think. All you need to do is ensure that you have the right software and good typing speed. That way, you do not have to worry about so many things.

The main thing you need to remember when it comes to transcription is to be as accurate as possible. That way, you can go about transcribing without an issue.