As most court reporters are well aware, selling value-added services is an effective way to increase your bottom line. But are you selling a service that actually has value?
Seeing rough draft transcripts everyday, I can attest that most reporters make the attempt to present a rough draft that is usable by clients. But here are a few tips for making sure no one ever questions your rough draft.
1. Clean up your notes
If you are someone who makes a lot of notes to yourself during the job, take the time to search your notes and clean up those sections in advance.
2. Proofread against the audio
Take the time to proofread the first 10-15 pages against your audio. Counsel shouldn’t have to pay for your warm-up session, so by taking this step, the reader can immediately feel confident in the product you’re selling.
3. Turn off your timestamps
Be sure to turn off timestamps before submitting your rough draft. If you had a significant drop for any reason, your timestamps on the rough draft will give you away.
4. Spell Check
Be sure to spell check, you write for a living and nothing looks worse than misspelled words through a professional type up. You may be surprised what spell check finds and will save you embarrassment later.