Here at Transcription City, we like to provide a wide range of transcription services, this includes (but is not limited to) video transcription, interview transcription, logging rushes, subtitling, medical transcription, legal transcription, insurance transcription, corporate transcription, academic transcription and telephone interview transcription.
So we thought we’d look at some of the important things to remember when conducting a telephone interview to ensure that everything runs as smoothly as possible and you are able submit a great audio file for transcription.
Planning and Conducting a Telephone Interview for Transcription
Schedule Your Interviews
If possible schedule your interview at a time when both you and the person you will be speaking with have sufficient time to talk without any distractions or interruptions, as this can ruin an otherwise great interview.
Plan Your Interview Questions
Prepare a list of relevant and interesting questions. Even if you are conducting an informal interview, having a list of questions can help keep your interview interesting, structured and above all relevant. It also helps to avoid long silences, while you try to think of things to ask.
Quality Recording Equipment for Telephone Interviews
Use high quality recording equipment and a reliable phone line connection. Getting cut off midway through a sentence, having excessive feedback or simply having a line where you can hardly hear your interviewee will be a waste of time for both you and the person you’re interviewing. At best it will ruin the flow of the conversation and at worst, the interview will be unusable.
Take Your Time with your Interviews for a Great Transcript
Give your interviewee time to think and speak. If you are new to conducting interviews, it can be tempting to have constant dialogue at all times as many people worry about the dreaded ‘Dead Air’. However, in order to get the best answers, it is always best to give your interviewee time to reflect and ponder your questions. This also helps to avoid over speaking, which can mean that large chunks of dialogue are lost because they simply can’t be heard.
Get Permission To Record your Telephone Interviews (and to get them transcribed)
Please remember that is very important that you get permission to record the interview from the person that you are talking with on the telephone, as this is a legal requirement.
We are offer confidential, accurate and reliable telephone interview transcription services. If you would like to know more about the different transcription services we offer or would like to obtain a free, no obligation quote for your telephone interviews, why not get in touch? We offer free five minute sample transcripts to all new clients and are available to help seven days a week.