July 20th, 2024 – Tips To Ensure A Quality Relationship with Any Court Reporter

There are many different types of people in the world, and there are many different styles people adopt in order to do this job. None of these styles are inherently right or wrong.  You’re going to find that in some working relationships, your working style and that of your court reporter will either mesh very well or not at all.

There is an element of trial and error in these relationships. You can’t always be sure from your first conversation whether you’re going to have a positive working relationship with a new reporter. However, there are several things you can do to ensure you’re preparing as much as possible, and making yourself as transparent to and available for new clients as you can.

Preference Sheets

Preference sheets should be standard practice in today’s age of scoping. I have worked with many different clients with vastly different wants and needs. I can work with any template and set of guidelines, and I can match my editing to the preferences of my reporter. However, if I don’t know what those preferences are, that’s going to cause more issues than I can count.

First, grammar and spelling preferences. As a Canadian, the difference between Canadian and American English is subtle but the spellings are important. Using Canadian spelling with an American client is going to be a problem, and vice versa.

Second, formatting. Your preference sheet should include the different options for formatting, such as on the titles and appearances page. There may also be specific instructions for verbatim, using quotes, or parentheticals.

Third, translation. Court reporters don’t always use the same theory, and therefore they translate words in their steno differently. Knowing which theory your reporter uses can help you to move through their transcript faster, and translate their steno appropriately rather than wracking your brain wondering why the steno doesn’t look right.

Study The Rule Books

A good general rule to follow is always be up to date on the rule books. There are a lot of rules that are standard for editing transcripts, so knowing those rules is going to make this a lot easier for you.

Follow Margie Wakeman Wells. Her book Court Reporting: Bad Grammar/Good Punctuation is standard practice in scoping, and covers the basics of editing for transcript production. She also has a website with a lot of interesting information, courses, and blogs that can clarify any questions or concerns you may have.

Morson’s English Guide for Court Reporters is another book that you want to have a copy of. Written by Lillian L. Morson, it covers the fundamental rules of punctuation, syntax, and grammar.

No matter the style or format that your court reporter will follow, reading these books is going to make you aware of any possible deviations they may want to make. You’ll find the examples in these books, how to use them, and how to integrate them throughout the transcript appropriately.

Communication

One thing I have seen vary across court reporters is how often they want to communicate with their scopist throughout the scoping process. Some reporters want to check in and see your progress, while others are happy to leave you be until the deadline. There are reporters who want you to send in transcripts every few pages rather than the whole document at the end.

In order to be effective for your court reporters, make sure you understand their expectations for communication. These are things that can be included in the preference sheet with a question as simple as, “Would you prefer updates on the transcript? At what intervals?”

It’s not frequent that I have had a court reporter ask me for parts of the transcript as I go along, or even wanting to hear how it’s going throughout the process. However, when I did encounter such a reporter, it was something I wish I had known about from the beginning so I could have better prepared myself during the editing process.

The takeaway here is that you should be prepared to meet their needs. It is their transcript after all and you’re in their house. If they want to know how things are going, tell them! If they want to see how you’re progressing, show them! Being a good support system for your reporter is vital to ensuring a long-term, quality relationship.

Honesty

There is never a time where being dishonest with your court reporter is going to help you. If there is some criteria that is so important to a reporter that they ask you outright, don’t lie about it.

When you are new to scopistry, or you don’t have the schooling, or there is something else that you feel you are lacking and would rather that not overshadow your skills, don’t lie about it. If a reporter asks you directly about this information, do not lie about what you have. Instead, highlight all of your positive qualities.

Be honest about the discrepancies in your background and highlight your current abilities. If a reporter is interested, but has any reservations or concerns, you can offer things like free trials. I don’t suggest doing whole transcripts, but offer to scope 10-15 pages for free so they can see what your abilities are like, and how well you can adapt to their style and preferences.

Piggy backing on this idea, don’t lie about the things you have or have not done in your current role. RealTime is one that a lot of reporters will ask you for or about. If you have not done RealTime, don’t say you have. Instead, highlight that you are familiar with the concept and what would be expected of you, and explain your willingness to learn and try. If that is not enough, then just take the L and move on.

Why is honesty so important?

There are a few reasons I don’t condone lying about your experience in your conversations with reporters.

First, it sets a bad precedent. You’re trying to have a long-term, successful working relationship with this person. Starting off with a lie is a toxic foundation that will cause a toxic relationship to grow. If they find out later that you lied about something in the beginning, it’s going to make it hard for them to trust and believe anything you said after that. You are no longer a supportive member of their team, and as a scopist, your role is to support the court reporter.

Second, you’re putting the reporter at risk. Saying you have experience in an area that you do not makes you more susceptible to mistakes and missteps. These could cause errors in the transcript or in the proceedings. This is on the reporter to rectify. Never make someone else responsible for fixing your messes.

Third, it’s unnecessary. Remember that “no” is a full sentence. Sometimes a court reporter has a need for a scopist with a specific amount of experience, background, or education. It’s not your place to demand to know why or expect them to change their mind and make an exception for you. There are other jobs, there are other reporters, and there are other opportunities. Don’t force yourself into places you are not wanted. Take the L, move on, find someone who wants to take a chance on your skills.

In Conclusion

As I said before, there is no guarantee you are going to have a positive working relationship with everyone. But if finding work and being a successful scopist is important to you, these are things I suggest doing to make yourself the most available and attractive candidate to as many court reporters as you can.

I hope you found this information helpful!  If you liked this post or want to share your own experiences and tips, make sure to leave a comment down below. If you want to see more, check out the last post below or the previous posts on the blog. And if you’re interested in learning more scopist, proofreading, or transcription information, make sure to check back for a new post on the Next Step Scopist blog!

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