9 Recording Tips for More Accurate Transcriptions
· 6 min read
Modern speech recognition is remarkably accurate, often above 95% on clean speech. Most mistakes in automatic transcripts come from the recording, not the software. The good news is that small changes in how you record make a big difference.
1. Get the microphone close
Distance is the single biggest factor. A cheap lapel microphone clipped to a shirt beats an expensive camera microphone three metres away, because the voice is much louder than the room around it.
2. Choose a quiet, soft room
Hard walls and bare floors create echo, which smears words together. Rooms with curtains, carpets, sofas and bookshelves sound much drier. Turn off fans and air conditioning while recording if you can.
3. Avoid music under speech
Background music is great for viewers but hard for transcription. If you edit videos, transcribe the voice track before you add music, or export a voice-only version for transcription.
4. One person at a time
Overlapping speech is difficult for both humans and machines. In interviews and meetings, let people finish before replying.
5. Record each speaker separately when possible
For podcasts and remote interviews, tools like Riverside, Zencastr or a multitrack recorder capture each person on their own track. Clean individual tracks give the best transcripts.
6. Set the right language
Auto-detect works well for long recordings in one language, but choosing the language yourself avoids mistakes on short clips, heavy accents or recordings that start with music or silence.
7. Check your levels
Audio that is too quiet gets lost in noise; audio that is too loud distorts. Aim for speech peaking around -12 dB to -6 dB on your recorder's meter.
8. Speak clearly, not slowly
You do not need to talk like a robot. Normal, clearly pronounced speech at a natural pace is ideal. Mumbling and trailing off at the end of sentences cause most errors.
9. Proofread names and numbers
Even with perfect audio, uncommon names, brand names and figures are the most likely words to be wrong. A quick search through the transcript for these is usually all the editing you need.