Court Reporting: The Shift From School To Employment
Court Reporting: The Shift From School To Employment by Christine Harrell
In any profession, school is an idealized version of what the work will be like. A career in court transcription is no different. Court reporters can find that transition to a work environment is surprisingly hard if they aren’t prepared.
Before You Start Work
Your court transcription education used the school’s equipment but your machine may be different. Practice with it before heading out on your first job. Set it up, turn on the TV and start writing what you hear. Try to practice as much as possible because it’s going to be a bit nerve wracking the first time you have to set up and use your machine with the eyes of the court on you.
Set up long practice sessions. School might have had you taking mock legal depositions that lasted a few minutes. Real court transcription can require you to stay focused for two hours or longer without a break. In school you were listening to a single speaker at a consistent speed but real people vary speech patterns and you will have to adjust your speed to match theirs.
Always eat a good breakfast the day of an assignment. You never know when or even if you will get a lunch break. Circumstances of the case or deposition may require a long session and you don’t want to be distracted by hunger.
Your First Day of Work
It’s normal to be nervous on your first assignment. Court transcription is a job where you have to hit the ground running. No one is going to slow the proceedings because it’s the court reporter’s first day. It’s your job to keep up not theirs.
New court stenographers are often intimidated and afraid to speak up during a proceeding. Surrounded by judges and attorneys and sometimes, even witnesses with more experience and education, the reporter can feel insignificant. Nothing could be further from the truth.
You are a legal professional with not just the right but also the obligation to interrupt proceedings if you need the witness to speak louder or repeat something. If you didn’t hear the witness, probably the attorney didn’t either. What are you going to say when asked to read back something you didn’t hear clearly?
After It’s All Over
Congratulations. You’ve completed your first day as a court transcriptionist. Whether you realize it or not, you have learned a lot in that one day. Your first day may have been hard but your second will be better.
As you gain more experience, the job will become easier and less stressful. You get more comfortable in the courtroom environment and more confident in your own skills. You will see the rewards of the career and know you made the right choice of profession.
Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information on Court
Transcription, visit http://www.huseby.com/.
Article Source: ArticlesArticles.Net