Digital Dictation 101 By: Andrea Cannavina (a/k/a LegalTypist) 1
Why Dictate? Speaking is faster. Don t care how fast you type. You can talk faster. Get more stuff done. It s not just documents when you dictate if you can intelligently formulate a request and speak it you can delegate it. To an in house/digital/virtual assistant a team member whoever you set up your digital workflow to assist you in the business you run. In his groundbreaking work Getting Things Done, David Allen lists "dictation" as one way to get what is in your head out and useable. In fact, speaking is the fastest and most efficient way to get information in some useable form. Why? I remember reading a stat once that said speaking is 7x faster than hand writing and 4x faster than keyboarding for the average typist. In other words, you can speak much faster than you can write or type. So you type fast with more than 4 fingers. Good for you! Do you like being the only person charged with manipulating that software or creating those documents, spreadsheets and what not or do you think a good proof reading before you block/copy/paste into your blog or letterhead or whatever would suffice? However, just because David Allen says it, that is not the only reason dictation is a great way to get your work done. Dictation to transcription has been a business process mainstay literally for centuries. From boss/thinker/employer to assistant/secretary/ person that makes it so for so long as there have been bosses, there have been those running behind taking notes and getting the work done. 2
It was in the 1970 s that the process went from a boss speaking their needs to another human being frantically scribbling in Gregg or Pittman (steno) to recorded on tape. The productivity gains experienced were enormous. By not requiring the presence of their secretary, attorneys and professionals could get their work done from anywhere - so long as they had their recorder, fresh tapes and batteries. The evolution of the dictation/transcription process is to remove the tape and make the dictation digital. 3
Tape vs. Digital As previously stated, tape based dictation was a definite improvement to the business process of dictation/transcription. Not only did it liberate dictators from their offices, assistants were no longer tied up for hours taking dictation and the time consuming task of transcribing could be fit into a generally always hectic day. Other office tasks and responsibilities, including taking calls, speaking with clients/adversaries/clerks and the courts, following up with associates, getting a check for the printer for the Appellate Brief that is supposed to be out the door by noon that kind of stuff took precedent and the other stuff on the tape could wait. If there was a priority, it would get dictated on a fresh tape. So, while recorded dictation was an improvement to the process, it still left one huge problem: the tape. Think about it. When was the last time you saw a new car roll off the assembly with a tape cassette? What about movies at home you using a tape to view them? I don t think so! That s because tapes have issues the first and foremost for this discussion a tape is a physical something that requires the dictator and transcription to at some time be in the same location. Yuck! ;) Of course, there s also the physical things which can happen to a tape it can get mangled or broken which is bad enough as you have to re-dictate the work; however, it can also get lost, which can raise client confidentiality concerns. Last, tapes are not the easiest to work with in terms of managing a workflow whether it is the workflow of one or many. 4
What Do You Need To Get Digital? Unlike many of the legal tech consultants I ve spoken with, I don t think you mold the people to a process. Getting people to change even the device they hold in their hand is hard enough! In my world, you begin by asking or simply noticing how best you or your firm s dictators prefer to work while behind their desks or while on the go. Once you have this piece of the puzzle, what you need to get started is simple and not expensive. Even larger firms can implement digital dictation with very little up front costs; provided the set up is implemented correctly. I. TELEPHONIC OR DIAL IN DICTATION A toll free number is dialed, a pass code punched in and work is dictated into the receiver or speaker of a standard telephone, using the key pad to control the recording functions (play, rewind, insert, etc.). Upon completion of the call, the digital file created is routed through the internet to a secretary, virtual assistant or transcription company. Dial in dictation has many benefits, including: no capital expenditure for equipment or software; no learning curve for portable recorder or dictation software; 24 hour service availability; ability to dictate from anywhere there is a phone, including while traveling; works as well for single professionals as it does for large corporations. 5
II. PORTABLE RECORDERS Portable digital recorders can be located in any electronics or office supply store, catalog or website. They range in price from as little as $50.00 to $500.00 and up. Along with the recorder, software is provided for the transfer of the digital file created by the unit to a computer, generally through a USB cable or a cradle. A user guide and software included with the recorder usually contain instructions and a tutorial. Dictating is fairly straight forward and quite similar to an analog (tape) recorder. When purchasing a unit, note button size, shape and location. Be certain that the unit is not so small, or button placement so awkward that it is uncomfortable to use. Also be certain that the recorder has all the functions needed. Some less expensive models, for instance, do not have the ability to insert - that quick rewind to go over what you just said to say it better. Research all the model's functions before you purchase! Once a digital file is created and uploaded to a PC, it is ready to be sent through a company's network, direct upload to a transcription service provider or over the internet to a virtual assistant. Be careful! Many portable software units require the purchase of proprietary transcription software and equipment such as a foot pedal. Make sure your unit can create a.dss or.wav audio file type. The two recorders I recommend which have a thumb slide switch are the Philips 9600 and Grundig Dicta 420 with its color screen (good for low light viewing). 6
III. DIGITAL DICTATION SOFTWARE As with many types of software, development of digital dictation applications range from basic to the extremely comprehensive and industry specific. Most dictation software has a free trial period (usually thirty days) and can be downloaded directly from a developer's website. In a nutshell, digital dictation software turns a computer's microphone, speakers, mouse and monitor into a dictation machine. Just as with a portable unit, when the file is complete, it is ready for transfer through your company's network or over the internet to your transcription provider. Should you invest in a portable recorder, PC-based software, or use a transcription service and toll free number? Each situation is unique and requires consideration of many factors, including your company's needs, size, volume of work and technology comfort level. Of course, everyone already cares for, charges and carries around so many devices so you should check with the manufacturer of your portable mobile device to see if they have an app for dictation. The only item you need to address is making sure the information is transferred from that device to your assistant securely. 7
How To Dictate: What about those who have never dictated? Think you can t learn?? My largest client went from a little over 50 to over 75 attorneys during the years when everyone else was laying attorneys off. The first thing they do is sit new hires down with a recorder and explain how every job not matter how big or small if it goes out on firm letterhead, it s dictated. Attorneys and in house staff are to be proof reading and finalizing documents not typing them. Now, I m not saying this one client s success is because of the process I helped put in place to get the work done but I m sure that my process is a part of the overall reasons for the success of the firm. So back to those who may never have dictated. Just as you do not innately know how to use a computer, or write, dictation is a learned skill and it can be put to good use by anyone to increase their personal productivity. For those just starting out, here are a few tips: Organize your thoughts and documents before you begin. Some find it helpful to make an outline prior to starting their dictations. Do not begin speaking for at least 1-2 seconds after you have pressed the record button and do not press the stop button for at least 1-2 seconds after you have completed your final syllable. 8
Begin your dictation by letting the typist know what s/he can expect. Specify the type of document you would like prepared and how you would like that document to be formatted (as a letter, memo to file, pleading, etc.) Speak clearly and slowly and be sure to clearly articulate unfamiliar words, names or terms d art. Which you should also spell. When spelling out words, say the word, spell it, then say it again. When it comes to spelling, it is important to articulate letters in the alphabet that sound similar, such as m and n. Any special commands, such as underlining or bold, say before the words. So give the command: begin bold blah blah blah and to end the command, say: end bold. Example: This is an example. You would say: bold centered this is an example period end bold. It is better to give commands before the words you want affected. So Getting Things Done would be dictated as: begin italics, initial cap, getting things done end italics. Dictate punctuation such as period, comma and new paragraph. When dictating numbers always say zero instead of o. 9
Dictating Numbers 0 is always zero not o or oh 1,000 one thousand 1967 nineteen sixty seven 3.17 three point one seven 52,487 fifty two thousand four hundred eighty seven Common Dictation Commands:. period ( open parentheses, comma ) close parentheses : colon ; semicolon new paragraph Indent @ at symbol & ampersand section symbol / slash Special formatting: Headings: TO GET THIS HEADING STYLE Say: heading bold centered underlined all caps Here s where your words go new paragraph 10
Numbered Paragraphs Numbered paragraphs are common, especially in legal transcription. You can say: Next numbered paragraph rather than keeping track of each paragraph. Additionally, you should instruct your typist to use automatic paragraph numbering Please use automatic paragraph numbering will suffice. This way, should you make revisions that impact the numbers, the document will automatically adjust. Cites: Legal case sites are either underlined or italicized. If you explain your preference at the start of the dictation, your transcriptionist will already know which to use and you can just dictate each cite without the instructions. Quotes A quote is usually surrounded by quotation marks. If this is what I wanted. I would say open quote if this is what I wanted period end quote If a quote is more than a line and half long, it should be indented. Once indented, a quote does not require quotation marks. All quotes should give a cite. This cite is not contained within the indent. For example: I m quoting myself saying this stuff to you. I ve decided to ramble on much longer than a line in explaining this concept. Now I ve created a quote too long to be left as part of the text. This is what it looks like when it s indented. Andrea Cannavina, Digital Dictation 101. To get this type of quote, you d say: Quote. Single space, indent both margins. Here s where the language of your quote goes return to margin. Andrea Cannavina, Digital Dictation 101. 11
Additionally, once you establish a relationship with the person(s) doing the transcription, you are not limited to dictating straight text/documents. When it s a live, thinking brain on the other end, you can dictate instructions, billing notations, calendar entries almost anything you need done. With time every dictator improves and becomes comfortable dictating. The practice of law itself generates a great deal of paperwork even in a firm of one! Single attorney practices and small firms can t help but to generate large amounts of specialized documents. Digital dictation is the way to work in the here and now and all the way into the future. It can help modernize and simplify your entire document workflow. Going digital saves your business time and money, and increases the efficiency of each attorney. Free your firm dictators from so much more than just tapes use reliable, secure, scalable, easy to implement and cost saving digital dictation technology to free your firm s attorneys from their desks and offices too! 12