Embedded Files
Confidentiality. It is a violation of Speechpad's terms of service to download and distribute any audio or video from the job board. This includes via email, YouTube or other sites.
Contacting any Speechpad customer or anyone referenced in an audio/video file under any circumstance will result in immediate termination of your account.
Worker Support. Please contact worker@speechpad.com with any questions or concerns about your account, ratings, or files.
Allotted Time. If you are running out of time, you can request an extension by clicking on File>Request Extension. If there is no extension, please email us. Be sure to email us when you have at least 30 minutes left on your timer to allow plenty of time for us to grant an extension. We're always here to help.
Reference. Please take note that this style guide is intended to be used alongside the General Transcription Style Guide (Clean Copy).
Responsibilities
Responsibilities
A reviewer is an important member of the transcription team. As a reviewer, you are required to…
proof a prepared transcript to the audio or video from which the transcript was prepared
listen to the audio whilst reading the transcript and correct all mistakes. (i.e. spelling issues, punctuation issues that are not subjective, words typed that are not spoken and vice versa)
Reviewers serve as the final checkpoint before a transcript reaches the customer. Therefore, you play a crucial role in upholding our 99% satisfaction guarantee. It's your responsibility to catch missed and misheard words and ensure the transcript aligns with our style guide (speaker tags, number rules, clean verbatim, etc.).
If you come across a file with challenging audio, strong accents, or complex terminology, it might be a good idea to skip it and wait for a more suitable one.
Human Transcription
Human Transcription
General Guidelines
General Guidelines
We aim to correct anything that might create issues for the customer, particularly misheard or misspelled words, and incorrect punctuation.
Please email us at worker@speechpad.com in the following instances below. Depending on how much time is left, we may be able to send a rework to the transcriber or reprice the review higher for you.
The file has so many mistakes that you're retyping it.
The file is incomplete.
The file missed some instructions from the customer like timestamps, verbatim request, and other special instructions.
Please refrain from making changes to the following:
Contractions. There is no need to change contractions from “we’re” instead of “we are,” “you’re” instead of “you are,” etc., or vice versa.
Slang. There is no need to change slang from “gonna” to “going to,” “wanna” to want to,” etc., or vice versa.
Filler words. If the transcriber did not transcribe filler words and they do not add meaning to the sentence, do not add them back in.
If a sentence begins with "And," "But," or "So" and the transcriber omitted it, these words must be put back in. NEW!
When you find additional instructions in the Job Instructions pop-up, these instructions must always supersede style guide rules. You will find customer preferences, such as specific speaker tags, paragraph breaks, adjustments to slang, etc. Below are some examples:
If the customer requests to clean up slang, then it is necessary to change "gonna" to "going to" in this case.
Sometimes, customers have specific preferences for their speaker tags. If the transcriber followed the general style guide for speaker tags and missed the additional instructions from the customer, please adjust the speaker tags to match the customer's preferences.
Insert Timestamp tool issues:
Check the timestamp format requested by the customer.
[hh:mm:ss] v. [hh:mm:ss.msm]
Do not add milliseconds back in if the customer did not request for them.
Do not remove the milliseconds if the customer did not request for them. All transcribers are expected to use the Insert Timestamp tool as much as possible, and they will automatically include milliseconds.
If the file is a video and has burned-in timecodes with milliseconds, but the customer didn't request milliseconds, do not add them back in.
Either correct any sections marked [inaudible 00:00:00], if at all possible, or confirm that the section of audio is truly inaudible.
Don’t assume the transcriber has double-checked everything. Always verify names, customer-specific or industry terms, and acronyms using a search engine, Wikipedia, or a dictionary. For example, acronyms like NBA, CBS, and FDA don’t need periods.
The best way to find accurate information is by checking the company’s website first, followed by LinkedIn profiles. This ensures you’re using the correct spelling for names and terms. NEW!
Please offer constructive feedback to transcribers and remind them of any rules they may have overlooked in the style guide like conjunctions and fillers mentioned above.
If you come across a transcript of exceptional quality, we'd be delighted to hear about it! Feel free to drop us an email at worker@speechpad.com or select Excellent Quality when leaving feedback upon checkout. We are always looking for skilled transcribers to join our Advanced Qualifications team.
Providing Feedback
Providing Feedback
The purpose of providing feedback is to address misunderstandings, offer guidance, and enhance performance. This objective is best achieved through constructive and respectful communication, rather than through harsh, critical, or offensive remarks.
Tips for giving effective feedback
Be specific and give examples so that the recipient can take concrete next steps. Make sure you tell the transcriber what is expected of them.
Examples:
☓ “Please proofread before submitting.”
✓ “Please proofread your work before submitting to avoid unnecessary errors. If you need more time to proofread, please email worker@speechpad.com for a time extension.”
When giving corrective feedback, you may sandwich corrective feedback between positive feedback. However, please take note that this technique may also backfire. Oftentimes it makes the positive feedback seem insincere, and lead the recipient to disregard the positives while dwelling on the negatives. It also tends to make recipients wait for or look for the negative any time you deliver positive feedback.
Examples:
☓ “Good job, overall, but…”
✓ “Good job, overall! Here are some pointers to make your next transcript great.”
Present the negative feedback in a way that we communicate respect to the recipient and that we inspire, not discourage.
Examples:
☓ “Instead of guessing...”
✓ “We recommend...”
☓ “Review the style guide often.”
☓ “Please read the style guide well because mistakes are always repeating.”
✓ “We recommend that you review our style guides often for anything you've missed or for updates.”
✓ “Please take the time to go over the corrections made to your transcript. Comparatives are there for you to use to your advantage and going over them helps you avoid making similar mistakes in future transcripts.”
AI-Generated Transcription NEW!
AI-Generated Transcription NEW!
Overview
Overview
We have been testing whether AI is more accurate than entry-level transcribers for certain file types. Our goal is to determine if AI is reliable enough to justify investing in developing scripts for more precise speaker tokens, timestamps, and other enhancements.
Our tests have consistently shown that AI performs at a higher quality compared to many entry-level transcribers. As a result, we have started assigning some customer files to our internal AI system.
When you come across AI-generated transcripts, please review the first 5 minutes to evaluate the quality.
General Guidelines
General Guidelines
Please review AI-generated transcripts thoroughly.
If you are making extensive edits and run into the following issues listed below, please email worker@speechpad.com. Depending on how much time is left, we may be able to relist it to the queue for another transcriber or reprice the review higher for you.
Inaccurate timestamps
Lack of punctuation
Excessive instances of incorrect speaker attribution, especially for multispeaker files
Excessive missing sentences
Only a portion of the recording has been transcribed
If there are missing minutes in the transcript, you have the following options:
(1) Transcribe the missing content and email us the total minutes. We’ll be happy to provide a bonus for the additional work.
(2) Request a re-transcription via email; however, please note there will be no reprice.
This rule for missing content also applies to missing/incorrect timestamps. Add the timestamps and we will provide a bonus.
If the AI-generated transcript is entirely unusable, please email us before returning it. We need to reject the file, and you then have two options:
(1) Transcribe the file yourself from scratch.
(2) Assign the transcription to another transcriber and either take on the review yourself or release it.
Below are common issues you will find in AI-generated transcripts but can easily fix.
Speaker tags
From the worker console, simply Ctrl+F and Find & Replace the speaker tags.
When reviewing in Word, make sure the Match Case option is selected. This prevents the speaker tags from being converted to uppercase.
Filler words
Use the Find & Replace tool to add commas around filler words. Make sure to include spaces before and after the words to target only the fillers that don't already have commas.
It's best to complete this step before editing the transcript to avoid having to double-check for unnecessary commas later.
Hallucinations
These occur when AI generates text not present in the audio, often repeating words or phrases.
Fix: Delete any hallucinated text that doesn’t match the audio. The transcription will usually pick up correctly after the error.
Stutters
AI-generated transcripts are fully verbatim, but most will have um's and ah's removed. When using Find & Replace for stutters, make sure to include spaces around the words, as shown in the image below. This prevents you from accidentally changing other words.
For example, without spaces, "I like this brand, and I would love to buy it someday." would become "I like this brand I would love to buy it someday."
Resources NEW!
Resources NEW!
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