To interrupt or not to interrupt, that is the question.
Wow, what a great response to our survey on whether or not and how to interrupt. One thing is for sure, if this is not the # 1 complaint that we all have to deal with from our clients, it is VERY high up there. The overwhelming feeling from the court reporting community so far has been that the attorneys simply do not “get it” and have no clue how difficult it is to be an ACCURATE “keeper of the record.”
If you haven’t taken the survey yet, I encourage you to. If you are an agency owner, please feel free to forward this on to your reporters as I understand many others have. The comments have been amazing, some great insights, and some hysterical stories which will make great content for my future blog addressing this topic.
One thing is for sure, there are plenty of opinions on this, many of them varied and often quite contradictory.
I plan to close out the survey next Friday (so be sure to take the survey by then) and then I will publish all of the anonymous results from the questions and comments. There are some incredible insights, particularly amongst the different opinions on reliance on audio back-up between the newer and more experienced reporters. So get involved and make your voice heard.
Thanks again for all the feedback and be on the lookout for the final results.
Question 1: If someone is speaking extremely fast and you are not getting the complete record, what do you typically do?
“I say Whoa, whoa, whoa.”
“interrupt with style”
“…mostly, interrupting will do nothing but have them call the agency and say “don’t send her again.”
“Please slow down”
“If I know I’m covered with audio back-up, I usually don’t stop even nonvideo.”
“…If I’m not getting it, I better stop to make sure. Audio backup is NOT reliable.”
“…My judge stops them and says, I can’t even hear that fast!”
“It depends on how accepting of interruption the client is. I would not interrupt if it would cause the agency to lose the client.”
Question 2: If multiple parties are speaking at the same time and you are not getting the complete record, what do you typically do?
“mostly rely on backup but if it’s ridiculous I interject with “one at a time, please.” YOU NEVER KNOW WHO YOU’RE GOING TO OFFEND BY DOING THE RIGHT THING. IT’S SICKENING.”
“ …usually they can’t hear me over their yelling! so i raise my hands up and make it obvious…”
Question 3. If you cannot understand one or more of the parties due to their accent or they are speaking too softly and you are not getting the complete record, what do you typically do?
“In this scenario, I know I will NOT BE ABLE TO UNDRESTAND on my audio so I interrupt and don’t give a crap what they’ll think of me.”
“I interrupt, always being careful to be polite and then at break perhaps an explanation of the situation and that I wish to make an accurate record for them. I’ve never had anyone be irritated with me over this.”
“i notice that with the new writer that I got i can put a mike on it and plug in the ear phones and it picks up the voices louder than my normal ear when I am writing”
Question 4: Do you have any suggestions on what court reporters can do to better handle interruptions?
“You must speak from a place of complete confidence that you are an excellent reporter and that the situation is not reportable.
If you lack this confidence, you must upgrade your skills until you can handle your deposition from this place. Do speed drills but remember that true speed is the absence of hesitation. Adopt new outlines or briefs for words that cause you to hesitate.
Also, practicing speed drills write as fast as you possibly can and then drop back for accuracy. Don’t spend time practicing writing garbage. Know what you’re writing and PRESS, do not HIT your keys.”
“In Texas, common practice is NOT to interrupt, and our attorneys are, therefore, spoiled in that regard. Most Texas attorneys have, as a result, become completely inconsiderate of the reporter when it comes to speed and talk-over. I’ve heard many of them complain about out-of-state reporters constantly interrupting. I wish they could be trained in school and in CLE classes to be conscious of the reporter, both in court and in depositions.”
“You might recall Suge Knight, owner of Death Row Records, well, he did ebonics on me for a couple of hours! How in the heck am I supposed to understand what sounded to me like gibberish or pidgeon English. SO THERE YOU HAVE IT.”
“I don’t think there is anything you can do. The reality is that most attorneys and witnesses have no understanding of what we do and how difficult it is. They think we are tape recorders”
“it’s better to interrupt, because you do not want to be asked to read back and you dont have that . that’s a reporter’s worse nightmare. better safe than sorry and if you dont like what i am saying as an agency owner, then you are not instructing your reporters properly. you have to do it with style and not act like a jerk. i am a reporter for 30 years.”
“before a deposition i ask if there are any spellings that i should have. mostly they say no and then i spend every break getting a hundred spellings. it’s the nature of our beast.”
Question 5: Do you have any suggestions on what court reporting agencies can do to help the court reporter limit the need to interrupt (please do not include in your answer providing in advance word lists, words of art, names and previous transcripts).
“What kind of a silly question is this? What the hell can an agency do to control speed-talking and interrupting speakers????? (yes, having a previous transcript, if available, which I go through very carefully, is essential. and BTW a “word list” is useless. I need the transcript so that I can see words, names, phrases, etc.)”
“…The bottom line is nobody likes to interrupt, and it usually doesn’t happen often, but the integrity of the record should be first and foremost and then we worry about the feelings of the guilty parties. There have been times reporters have been instructed by their agencies not to interrupt a certain attorney, which is fine. These attorneys will have to live with their record….”
“Speed. It’s all about speed… Many reporters today are not attaining the speed necessary to make a record with the rate of speech today. The newer generation is speaking faster and faster. Encourage reporters to pass the RMR, something that seems to have gone by the wayside in this decade. Be the best reporter you can be.”
“I have contemplated that very same question for 35 years. Sometimes it is the attorneys themselves who are impossible to understand. I think you are looking for a miracle.”
“The only thing an agency can do is try to educate your clients. Offer “classes” to your clients’ new attorneys on how to make a good record at a deposition or conduct mock depositions. It also gives you an opportunity to show off the latest technology your office can provide along with realtime…”
“BUILD YOUR SPEED. Consistently be able to write at 250 – 260 words per minute, and you’ll find your interruptions taper off immensely.”
“I write merit speeds and still get left behind regularly so I believe it is truly a problem.”
“use more experienced reporters”
“Get clients/lawyers who know how to make a record.”
“provide a proper explanation of what the court reporter does, that it is a person listening and transcribing, not a machine.”
Question 6. What are the craziest/funniest things that have happened to you that are relevant to whether or not to interrupt?
“A friend of mine, on witnessing the squabbling and talking over each other, interrupted the proceedings and asked the attorneys (who were at least 20 years younger than her) for their mother’s phone numbers, saying she was going to call them and report their behavior.”
