Having the option to use your iPhone or smartphone as a recording device can be great when it comes to conducting interviews on the fly and is ideal for recording dictations. Provided that you speak slowly and clearly in a quiet environment, there is often little need to use an external microphone or fancy recording equipment. With that in mind, here are some tips on making recordings for transcription on your iPhone.
Recording Dictations On Your iPhone
Generally speaking, you can use the voice memo facility on your iPhone to make single speaker recordings with relative ease. It is important to speak clearly into the microphone in a quiet setting. The voice memo facility should be able to make recordings of a couple of hours, although this will be dependent on the memory available on your iPhone, so be sure to check on this before you make your recordings. You should find that iPhone dictations are of a similar quality to making a recording on a Dictaphone.
Recording Interviews On Your iPhone
Recording interviews on your iPhone can be tricky, if you are not conscious of background noise and iPhone placement. You should not attempt to record more than two speakers using you phone, as it will result in a low quality recording that will be difficult to transcribe. We recommend that if you choose to record a one to one interview using your iPhone, that you follow these important guidelines, to avoid being left with a low quality sound file.
- Make sure you have sufficient memory available on your iPhone for the length of your recording.
- Don’t record more than two speakers (one to one interviews).
- Ensure that you make your recording in a quiet environment, with little or no background noise.
- Place your iPhone at equal distance, close to both speakers.
- Do not position your iPhone in a place that muffles the sound (such as your pocket, in a drawer or close to any other appliances).
Transferring your Recordings to Your Computer or Mac For Transcription
Firstly take your iPhone and connect it to your computer or Mac using a USB cable.
Open up iTunes and click on the iPhone icon, (available in the menu bar).
Then select the ‘Music’ option, and check ‘Sync Voice memo’.
This will begin to sync your voice memo into iTunes and from there you can save the sound file in a convenient place on your computer, ready to send to your chosen transcription company.
iPhone Apps For Making Recordings
If you do not wish to sync you iPhone to the computer every time you make a new recording, then there are apps available that will allow you to send your recordings to your chosen transcription services provider via you iPhone. We suggest that you shop around, but have found that Dictate + Connect (Dictamus) app has been useful, as it allows you to sync via several platforms, including Dropbox.
If you would like more information about our transcription services or any of the other online secretarial services we offer, why not get in touch? We are available 7 days a week and always happy to help.
