Because
I have a great love of language and can visualize words on a page while people
are speaking, I am an exceptional at transcriber. And because I had plentiful
experience as a freelance journalist, writing up interviews from mostly musicians
and celebrities, I also had a lot of transcribing under my belt.
As a
journalist, my transcribing tools weren’t as highly functional as in an office
where they had the almighty DictaPhone machine. It was like a tape player but
had a foot pedal attachment with a play, rewind, and fast forward function. You
could also adjust the speed on your DictaPhone console so that it played at a
good rhythm that you could type as fast or slow as your speed and keep up with
the words.
A note
on my typing speed: For years, I couldn’t get up to 45 wpm. The better, higher
paying hourly jobs went to those who typed 55 wpm and over, so that was an
obstacle I needed to surmount. I practiced very hard for a few weeks, then
called Accurate about retesting my typing speed.
Because
Denise had a soft spot for brash, funny little me, I re-tested and just made
it: 56 wpm. My rate increased by $2 per hour! Oh boy, I was on my way to
riches, then!
Anyway,
when the bosses wanted me to “Take a letter,” I’d explain that I didn’t know
shorthand but could make do with a fast longhand. I’d scribble away on a steno
pad, then rush to the typewriter to type what the boss had just dictated
relying on scribbled phrases and memory. After a few edits back and forth, the
letters could be typed in final draft, on company stationery, signed, Xeroxed
for the files, and sent. Whew!
On the
days where I had to mostly take dictation, transcribe, and write . . . as the
saying goes, “I’d be laughing. . .” It was something I was really good at, and
don’t we love feeling good about what we do well?
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