Guest Author: Lyndsey Bilocerkowec, CSR(A), RPR, HI CSR

Have you ever wondered how stenographers are able to keep up with the spoken word and produce a transcript of the proceedings in real time?

Court stenographers use a stenotype machine with a chorded keyboard to stroke multiple keys at once to spell out entire words and phrases with the assistance of a computer-aided transcription program.

The top is the number bar, the left side of our keyboard is the beginning sound of the word, the right side is for the ending sound, and the bottom row is for the vowels.  Unlike a QWERTY keyboard, not every letter of the alphabet is on the steno keyboard.  Combinations of keys need to be pressed at the same time to create additional letters.  For example, the “P” and “W” keys pressed at the same time creates the letter “B”!

(Image courtesy of www.openstenorproject.org)

For example:

(Image courtesy of Lyndsey Bilocerkowec’s fancy steno machine and software!)

 

In order to become a certified shorthand reporter in Alberta, one must attend an accredited post-secondary institution.  The two-year program I attended at NAIT covered machine shorthand theory, speed-building, English and grammar courses, medical terminology, expert testimony, business law, professional development, and much more.

In the first semester of school, students are taught the fundamentals of writing machine shorthand which, as you can see, is basically a new language of its own!  They start with the basics and gradually move into building whole words and phrases all at once all while gaining speed and endurance at the same time.  It’s one of the most difficult courses out there, and it takes lots of practice to reach 225 words per minute!

In order to graduate, stenographers need to pass three 5-minute Q&A tests at 225 words per minute with an accuracy rate of 95%.  Upon graduation, stenographers start their careers with the goal of being certified after one year of on-the-job training and hands-on experience.  We are also Commissioners for Oaths, and best practice is to be a member of the Alberta Shorthand Reporters Association (ASRA).

The ASRA has yearly spring and fall conferences where stenographers gather to reconnect, learn from each other, and learn from others.  In fact, I’m sure we learn something new every day we’re on the job.  We’re constantly attending different matters involving different subjects, and this enables us to hone our skills and build our dictionary so every single word will translate as we are taking down a job.  One day I’ll be taking down heartbreaking testimony regarding a fatality on a farm, and the next day will be all about baby donkeys.  This job is endlessly fascinating, and stenographers have a ringside seat to it all!

Whether you’re a student-at-law, a junior associate, or even a partner or senior counsel, here’s a few tips and best practices when making the record:

Book Early

• Firstly, to ensure you have a stenographer available for your preferred dates, book your questioning date well in advance! Dates for Questioning book up quickly.  And to ensure you have the gold standard in reporting, make sure you are booking a stenographer, not a digital reporter.  There is a big difference between the two!

Let the court reporting firm know at the time of booking whether you will need the transcripts on an expedited basis!

• While stenographers can make a realtime record of the proceedings instantaneously, getting a certified copy of the transcript out on an expedited basis can take hours of work behind the scenes. We need to review the transcript to ensure there are no inaccuracies and then proofread it all before it goes out! For every hour on the record, it takes an additional one to three hours to finish and certify the transcript.  This varies greatly on the quality of the speech, the speed of speech, accents, difficult terminology, etc.  There’s a common misconception that we get home, press “print,” and, voila, the transcript is done.  Oftentimes stenographers will work in tandem with a scopist and a proofreader to make sure we can deliver expedited transcripts.  It truly takes a team!

Qualified Interpreters

• If you need to use an interpreter, always try to book a court-certified interpreter. Just because someone is bilingual or trilingual, it doesn’t qualify them as an interpreter in legal proceedings — just like having two hands doesn’t automatically make you a pianist!
• Expect the questioning to take two to three times longer than a normal questioning. The interpreter, just like the stenographer, is focussed on being as accurate as possible, and a mental health break about every hour or so will help your interpreter keep up accuracy for the entire day.
• And, to the extent possible, ask short and succinct questions in whole. Depending on the language’s syntax, if you ask the first part of your question, pause for the interpretation, and then ask the last part of your question, it may not translate well in the witness’s language.

Turn Off Notifications

• If you are proceeding virtually, ensure your computer is set to update outside of active hours, turn off any audible notifications so the audio feed is not disrupted, close any applications that you won’t be using during the questioning, and ensure you have a good quality camera and microphone or headset.

Interruptions

• Once the stenographer has sworn or affirmed the witness and we are on the record, we will be fastidiously taking down the testimony. If we have a stone-cold expression on our face, it’s because we are laser focussed on getting down every single word!
• Interruptions mean you have a conscientious stenographer. If we interrupt, it’s to ensure the integrity of the record.  The most common reasons we may interrupt are rapid speech, unintelligible speech, overlapping speakers, nonverbal answers, and the list goes on.

Speed Kills!

• If you know you speak quickly, making a conscious effort to slow down is greatly appreciated. While stenographers can keep up with very fast speech in short bursts, maintaining that speed while also maintaining accuracy all day is very, very difficult.  No bonus points are given for speed-reading! Everyone tends to speed up when they read, but please do read-ins slowly.
• In case you were wondering, the current world record for fastest stenographer is held by Mark Kislingbury. He achieved 360 words per minute with an accuracy rate of 97.23%. Here’s a video of him attempting to beat that record: https://youtu.be/nETlhthG22Q.  It’s also a great example of what our transcripts can look like when we’re writing down testimony at the speed of light and then trying to edit and proofread it after!

Laying Ground Rules

• The best questionings start off with the questioning lawyer laying some ground rules for the day. Even if witnesses have been prepared ahead of time, they are often nervous because they have never been questioned before, and they imagine it’s going to be like what they see on TV or in the movies.  Some basic questions that I love are:
  • The stenographer is going to need audible answers, so please answer questions verbally, and that means no “mm-hm”s, no nodding, no shrugging, and no pointing.  Can you do that?
  • Since the stenographer is taking down everything we say, it’s very important that you let me finish my question before you answer, and I will do my best to not interrupt you while you are answering.
  • Since we’re proceeding virtually, which sometimes makes it hard to gauge the flow of conversation, can you wait an extra moment for the question to be finished entirely before giving your answer?
  • If my question is difficult to hear or difficult to understand in any way, can you ask me for clarification?
  • If you need a break, let me know, and we’ll pause the proceedings. This isn’t an endurance test. Is that fair?
• And don’t be afraid to remind the witness of the ground rules. Everyone slips up and forgets that it has to be a somewhat artificial conversation where it’s one person speaking at a time.

Breaks

• To help with the mental and physical fatigue of the stenographer’s job, we really appreciate it if we get a midmorning and midafternoon comfort break in addition to the midday break. If you want to “power through lunch,” please check with the stenographer if they’re agreeable with that as well.  Our hands are on our machines at all times, so we need a break to hydrate, eat, stretch, and mentally recharge.  It’s also a great time for you to review your notes, organize your thoughts, process what you have heard so far and then come back refreshed.

(Image courtesy of @Dudewithsign on Instagram)

Are we on or off the record?

• Be clear about going off and back on the record. If you see your court stenographer’s hands somewhere other than on their machine, they are not taking down what is being said.

Exhibits

• When entering exhibits, describe what it is in detail so the record is clear. In person, it’s always handy to have at least three copies of the document you would like to mark: one for you, one for the witness and their counsel to share, and one for the stenographer to mark as an exhibit.  If you are proceeding via Zoom, sending your stenographer the exhibits in separate PDF files is optimal.  We will mark them when we are off the record since it can be a time-consuming exercise, especially if there are numerous exhibits.

Undertakings

• Just like when you enter exhibits, it’s appreciated if you state your requests for undertakings in detail. Making a vague request such as “Can you provide that doctor’s chart” doesn’t specify which doctor, where they practice, or for what time frame you are seeking the chart.

What’s not in the transcript?

• Stenographers only take down what is being said. We do not note tone, sarcasm, gestures, air quotes, sound effects, laughter, etc.  If you hold something up and ask, “Do you see this?,” someone reading the record later will have no idea what “this” refers to.  I’ve also had a lawyer use air quotes all day long.  Those air quotes did not show up in the record.

Objection!

• When you are going to object to a question being asked or someone is objecting to your question, let the entire question be spoken for the record so it can be noted appropriately. Some counsel will place their hand in front of the witness or raise their hand to signify that they will be objecting, and I find that it’s really effective.

The long pause…

• When asking the stenographer for a readback or to mark an exhibit, give us a full second or two to finish writing your request before expecting a response. We’re always about a second or two behind the conversation.

Spellings

• Be prepared for the spelling test that comes at the end of questioning! We often come into the case not knowing what it’s all about.  We might have the pleadings or a copy of an affidavit, but we don’t know all the intricacies of the file like you do.  If you provide spellings as we’re on the record, that’s fabulous!  Some lawyers will make a list to provide to the stenographer while we’re off the record or on a break, and that’s wonderful too.  But if you miss anything, we’ll have a list of spellings at the end of the day to confirm.

Ordering Transcripts

• After the spelling test, the stenographer will take orders for transcripts. Many reporting firms have varying timelines for turnaround of the transcript, but in general, the faster you need it, the more it will cost.  If you need to expedite production of the transcript, let the firm know at the time of booking and before the proceedings commence so they can assign the right stenographer for the job.

I could go on and on about ways to achieve a nearly flawless transcript, but this is a great starting point.

Another great resource is the ASRA website.  It has tons of information about other lines of work open to stenographers such as closed captioning and CART (communication access realtime translation) captioning, and they even have a handy member directory if you’re ever searching for a qualified reporter in your area.

As a final note, almost every stenographer out there loves talking about how they do their job.  People always want to poke around on the machine and see if they can make a word or phrase come out.  If you have any questions about what we do or how we do it, don’t be afraid to ask.

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Guest Author: Lyndsey Bilocerkowec, CSR(A), RPR, HI CSR

Owner + Operator – Bespoke Reporting Services

Lyndsey has been a Certified Shorthand Reporter in Alberta since 2008 and holds her Registered Professional Reporter designation in the US and her Certified Shorthand Reporter designation in Hawaii.  When she is not on the record, she enjoys volunteering her time to promote stenography to whoever will listen.