What Makes a
Successful Court Reporter?
©
COPYRIGHT HUSEBY, INC. 2008
Court
reporting is a career that people find both financially and
personally rewarding. However
it is also a career that requires exceptional dedication and
focus. The most
successful certified
court reporters have several skills and personal qualities
in common.
Typing
Speed
Court reporters must be able to transcribe the spoken word in
real time no matter how fast people speak. This means reporters
must type faster than speech. A
reporter often has to add documentation beyond the mere words
spoken, such as the name of the speaker and other narrative
information.
Consider a witness who, in response to a question about where he
was injured, points to a part of his body.
Attorneys in television shows say, “Let the record show
he pointed to his right elbow”.
Real attorneys often forget and it is the reporter who
must document the gesture while continuing to record the ensuing
conversation.
People don’t always take turns while speaking, and court
reporters must sometimes document simultaneous speech.
Everything said must be documented and properly
attributed.
Accuracy
of Information
Reporters must not only be fast, but must record everything
correctly. This
means not only correctly distinguishing among words like
“to”, “too”, and “two” but accurately recording the
words of people who speak indistinctly.
Court reporters must have vocabulary beyond almost any other
profession. They
must know obscure or slang words.
They must know legal terminology of course, but also
technical jargon from a variety of fields.
In a case with expert testimony from the coroner, a
police ballistics expert, and a financial analyst, the reporter
must be able to document all of their testimony without
hesitation. Although a reporter can stop the proceedings for
clarification at any time, the better reporters do so
infrequently.
Concentration
and Focus
Court reporting requires exceptional focus.
A second of daydreaming might miss a critical detail in
the proceedings. Reporters have to document testimony that may
affect them emotionally. Reporters
that are documenting trials of an alleged murderer or child
molester can’t let their reactions to lurid testimony
interfere with their ability to create a complete and accurate
record.
A bigger problem is the opposite end of the spectrum: boredom.
Most trials aren’t dramatic.
They are routine proceedings and are quite tedious,
especially for the reporter that’s been at a thousand other
trials.
These are just a few of the characteristics of successful
reporters. Schools
of court reporting have a very high dropout rate, most commonly
attributed to students who were surprised by the level of focus
and detail required of them.
People who have these qualities have a lucrative career
ahead because of the desperate nationwide shortage of certified
court reporters. In
states with particularly dire shortage such as
New York
,
Tennessee,
and
Texas
, court reporters have unprecedented opportunities for
employment and advancement.
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