Technology has come a long way in recent years, and transcription is one area that has seen a lot of advancement. Transcription means converting audio files into a written form.
In the past, transcription had specific use cases. It used to be a time-consuming and error-prone process. But now there are a number of automated transcription services that provide high-quality results. As a result, its use-cases are also increasing.
In this blog post, we’ll take a look at how transcription can be used in different industries.
Why Should You Use A Speech To Text Converter
If you have a document that you need to transcribe, simply upload it on an a speech to text converter and let the software do the rest. This can be a huge time-saver, especially if you have a lot of documents to transcribe.
Although the current accuracy of transcriptions from automated speech recognition is 80%, the software’s accuracy is improving constantly. It is being designed to eliminate errors that are often made by human transcribers. With better training of the algorithms, transcriptions will be more accurate in the future. Now is a good time to get used to them.
Perhaps the most obvious benefit is that the software can help you to save money. This is because you will no longer need to hire a professional transcriber to do the job for you. Simply download the finished transcription from the software at a minimal cost.
Similar to speech-to-text converters, there’s also an online text-to-speech converter for people who can’t read. It also helps blind people who can listen to important conversations and speeches. It can also help people who are driving or on the go as they can listen to recordings but can’t look at a physical document or a screen.
Let’s dive into understanding how transcription is being used in multiple industries in 2022:
Academics
In the academic world, converting lectures and seminars can be tiresome, time-consuming, and expensive. It can be very difficult to find someone who is both willing and able to do it for you. This is where online text-to-speech converters come in handy.
Transcription is often used to create lecture transcripts, research interviews, and focus group discussions. Lecture transcripts can be used by students to review for exams or by professors to create course materials. Research interviews can be used to collect data for research papers or theses. And focus group discussions can be used to gather feedback from students or faculty.
Students who missed the lectures can simply read the transcripts. To skim through downloaded transcriptions faster, use “Ctrl+F” to search for keywords in the document. In this way, students can learn better about topics they didn’t understand before.
Media
Some programs are required to provide closed captioning before being broadcasted on television. This is to ensure that people who are deaf or hard of hearing can still enjoy the program. In the past, closed captioning was done manually by someone who would listen to the audio and type out the transcript.
In media, the accuracy of the transcription is of utmost importance. A single mistake could change the meaning of what was said and this could result in a lot of confusion. Thanks to the advances in technology, transcription can now be done automatically. This can double-check the transcription done by professional transcribers.
Medical Industry
Doctors have to take the history of patients when they’re first admitted to the hospital. This usually includes asking about their symptoms, family medical history, and current medications. The information gathered is then used to make a diagnosis and determine the best course of treatment.
In the past, doctors would have to take dictation from patients and transcribe it later. This was a time-consuming process and often resulted in errors. With the help of online text-to-speech converters, patient interviews can now be transcribed in real-time.
In hospitals, transcription is often used to create medical records and discharge summaries. With transcriptions, keeping a record of consultations has also become easier. They basically allow you to have accurate records with fewer mistakes.
Legal Industry
Perhaps transcriptions are the most important in the field of law. Lawyers need written transcripts of depositions, court proceedings, interviews, and client meetings. This is because the transcripts can be used as evidence in court.
Transcription has to be on point keeping all the complex legal terms in mind. Inaccurate transcriptions can result in a mistrial or even a conviction.
Lawyers have high-profile cases on their hands. They have to go to court hearings as a plaintiff. In the hope of winning the case, all sorts of details and evidence are essential to get an edge over the opposition.
Having a transcription tool will give them the edge. It will allow them to search for specific keywords inside the evidence. Instead of hearing the entire prosecutor’s speech, they can read about the relevant parts only in the transcription. This makes them more efficient and even more likely to win the case in a short time.
Business
In important business meetings, there’s a need to write down the minutes of the meeting. This includes all the important decisions that were taken and who is responsible for what task.
In the past, this would have to be done manually by someone who was taking dictation from the person leading the meeting. This was a time-consuming process and often resulted in errors. With the help of online text-to-speech converters, business meetings can now be transcribed in real-time.
Having a written record of the market research, client meetings, and the different ideas while brainstorming for a project can help in the future. Imagine trying to remember what was said in a meeting six months ago. You can go back, search for keywords and get all the information you need without having to listen to the entire recording again.
Agencies
Businesses often opt for third-party services from agencies. They make use of transcription in a variety of ways:
- Agencies conducting market research need to transcribe phone interviews to gather data.
- Agencies providing human resources services use transcription to keep track of employee performance reviews.
- Call centers providing customer service use transcription to monitor calls. They use written speech to identify areas for improvement and improve the quality of their service.
Having a transcription means companies will have a written record of the services they are paying for. Using transcriptions, qualitative analysis can be done. This can help them analyze the services provided by the agencies as well. If the results are not desirable, improvements can be suggested.
Law Enforcement
In the law enforcement world, transcription is often used to create police reports and witness statements. Police reports can be used to document a crime scene or an arrest. Witness statements can be used to identify a suspect or to gather evidence for a trial.
In addition, law enforcement agencies have to maintain a chain of custody of all the recorded evidence. This is to make sure that the evidence is not tampered with and is admissible in court. A transcription service comes in handy to keep important evidence documented.
Wrapping Up
As you can see, the benefits of transcription are not limited to a single industry or sector. Transcription can be used in any industry where there is a need for accurate and reliable written records. It can help you to improve efficiency in your work. You can simply upload your voice recordings and have the converter transcribe them for you.
Having transcriptions also improve accessibility. People who are hard of hearing or have difficulty understanding spoken language can still access the information in the transcriptions. Having a written record of the audio saves time. You can skim through important topics covered and have a glance at the written records when you’re speaking.
Some transcription services also offer time coding. Each section of the audio is labeled with a timecode. It becomes easier to go back and find specific parts of the conversation. In short, a transcription tool is a fairly useful investment.