Guidelines for successful conference recording & transcription

If you are planning to record the proceedings of a conference or a seminar, you might find this article helpful. Why do we need recording of conference or seminar proceedings? Some conferences are significantly important, specifically corporate meetings and their proceedings need to be transcribed and preserved as important data for future purposes.  

Some board meetings are recorded and printed for distributing among the board members who may be present in the meeting or not, for their records and future reference. Some professional conferences like legal or medical seminars are conducted in different parts of the world where experts from different countries participate and share their views and opinions on specific topics. These conferences are recorded for transcription and distribution among the participants who take these minutes to their respective countries for making further study and research on the subjected topic.  

Such conferences are generally held in big board rooms or even in some auditorium. It is very important that the proceedings of such conferences are recorded very carefully and efficiently. These recordings must be most accurately done so that transcriptionists are able to transcribe the data in most efficient and error-free manner.  

There are some established guidelines and when followed they give the best and proven results. They are listed as under: 

1. Recording process should start only after ensuring each participant is ready for it and there is noise-free environment before actually starting the recording.  
2. If the seminar is being held in a board room or conference hall, make sure recording device is placed in right position and at the right place. Speaker's sitting position must be carefully planned to make the sound pass into the microphone and not over it. It will be ideal that the speakers come on the dais, turn by turn, to share their views.

3. If it is an interview involving only the interviewer and the interviewee, it should be conducted in an environment free from background noise. Cell phones should be switched off during the interview. It will help in improving the recording quality.

4. Speaker should be at a closest possible distance from the microphone. This will ensure clarity of the voice and will help the transcriptionist to transcribe the proceedings of the seminar with maximum accuracy.  

5. Speakers should follow a set sequence which should be stated in the agenda. This will help the transcriptionist to identify the speaker at the time of transcription.

6. Background noise plays a significant role in determining the recording quality. Sometime a transcriptionist finds it very difficult to follow the spoken words due to background noise. After repeated listening to a particular piece of text, a transcriptionist is sometimes compelled to guess about the contents, which may not be correct. Peaceful atmosphere, attentive listening to the speaker, switched-off cell phones are some measures which can minimize background noise in a conference recording process. 
 
7. The volume, tone and pitch of speaker's voice can also significantly affect the recording quality which, subsequently, will adversely affect the quality of the transcript.

8. Right type and quality of recording device must be used for recording of important conferences and seminars. Check the quality and functionality of your tapes or tape recorders before starting the recording process.