Real time reporting is the hot topic among court reporters today. Reporters who haven't made the transition yet may be wondering what the appeal is. Is it the fad of the moment or an important evolution of the profession? Reporters who have acquired realtime skills have discovered the many benefits of this specialty.

Realtime Court Reporters Are Invaluable

Georgia court reporters know that a tape recorder cannot provide the same level of service a qualified and experienced reporter can. However it can be challenging to explain that to court systems or attorneys trying to save money. With real time reporting, the advantages are much more apparent.

A certified court reporter is an active listener, something an analog or digital recording system can never be. Thick accents or slurred speech can make witnesses, or even attorneys, difficult to understand. Reporters are trained to hear what is really being said and record it accurately.

This leads to one of the great strengths of realtime court reporters: instant transcripts. If attorneys or judges have trouble understanding a witness, they can refer to the transcript immediately to clarify what was said.

Realtime Makes the Job More Interesting

In any profession, duties eventually become routine. Deposition reporters soon learn that most testimony sounds the same and taking down yet another statement can become tedious. In even the best reporters, boredom can lead to sloppy reporting with the idea that mistakes can be fixed later. Yet sloppy reporting leads to more boredom.

Most Georgia court reporters say that real time makes them better at their job. Sloppy isn't acceptable because mistakes are put into the transcript immediately. The challenge of producing a perfect transcript makes the job more exciting. It becomes a game to keep mistakes as rare as possible with the ultimate goal of a perfect transcript. The difficulty of the work pushes reporters to excel, reaching new heights in their abilities.

Real time Court Reporters Make More Money

Learning realtime court reporting makes good financial sense. The demand for realtime reporters is at the highest level ever and should continue to increase. The specialized skills of real time reporters allow them to command fees greater than reporters still using traditional techniques.

The benefits of real time court reporting carry over into other reporting jobs. Realtime court reporters find they produce cleaner transcripts when doing non-realtime work. Depositions require less editing and that means fewer hours to produce the same work and earn the same fee. This greater hourly rate improves the quality of a reporter's time. They can take on more projects and make more money per month, or they can spend time outside work and have more time to relax.

Realtime court reporting is a challenging occupation, but with dedication and perseverance it is an achievable goal for nearly any reporter.