In many cases with meetings and interviews, a transcription is a possible additional element that could prove useful if the party so takes that option.
For a conference, be it commercial or industry related, the choice of having a transcription is rarely turned down by the most sensible firms that value planning, strategy and organisation.
The reasoning behind this is partly in order to retain important information spoken about at a conference that can't possibly be contained in detail in the memories of those present.
Some studies have actually shown that as little as 10% of what is conveyed at a conference is remembered by those present.
Furthermore, there may be people not in attendance at a conference for whatever reason interested in its proceedings, hence the value of a transcription that can be distributed amongst employees using paper copies or in digital form by email.
Generally it is a good idea to keep a record of conferences so the information can be accessed whenever suits to debated, reviewed and shared.
Conference transcription is a task best left to the professionals, but a number of aspects should be considered in order to select the best possible service: Specialisation The unique nature of a corporate or industry conference requires the attentions of a specialised conference transcription service, which is usually a service on offer by transcription agencies alongside numerous others.
Trained conference transcriptionists will at least understand the nature and format of the relevant conference, possibly even having further knowledge of the topic in question.
Skills of a transcriptionist that they will be prepared to have exercised include dealing with the obstacles of a multi-speaker format, like overlapping and often animated voices.
As for format, an edited transcription or paraphrasing where the key information is captured is often most appropriate for a conference transcription.
Confidentialityand Security Confidentiality should be respected whatever the nature of a transcription, but a conference in which what is detailed could be revealing to industry competitors makes the need for confidentiality agreements even more essential.
File transfers of transcriptions should be encrypted using the latest technology for security.
Fast Turnaround Times Although a conference transcription may be kept and referred to long into the future, it is best to receive it promptly.
The conference is likely still relevant to a particular time and should thus be discussed soon after the event, plus it is ideal that transcriptions are distributed in-house as quickly as possible.