By the way, “peeking” or looking over the shoulder of the realtime reporter is not an option. Realtime reporters worth their salt work hard to achieve their level of quality, and we include in our professional services the ability to receive the realtime feed, for a fee. Self-proclaimed realtime writers willing to provide realtime for free will often make that old adage come true: You get what you pay for.

The technology of realtime for court reporting enables the court reporter to output their writing directly to laptops in a deposition setting or courtroom. Believe it or not, every court reporter in the country who writes on a computerized machine … and that means 99.9% of all court reporters … have the technological means to provide realtime. They have the means … but not the ability. Of the tens of thousands of court reporters in the country, precious few are skilled enough to provide realtime you’ll be able to read. My advice? Choose wisely when choosing a realtime court reporter.

Back to Elliott’s article, I’ll pull out a few suggestions that also apply to the court reporting world. First and foremost, use a qualified realtime writer with a proven track record of quality realtime writing. Provide that case-specific vocabulary list to the reporter in advance of the deposition. And yes, craft your questions with care! “The record never forgets!” And it’s not a court reporter’s job to clean up the testimony. What you say is what you get.

It goes without saying, but it definitely bears repeating, those basic rules of taking a deposition from the court reporter’s perspective — and Elliott hit them all: Speak loudly and clearly. Don’t let two or three people speak at the same time. Don’t interrupt. And, Elliott, court reporters across the country are loving this suggestion: Watch your pacing! In other words, slow down! Court reporters are trained to write at speeds of 250 words per minute and even higher … but why run full-tilt all day long and use up eight hours of energy in just five or six? Everyone’s exhausted at the end of the day. Pace yourself! Simply put, but so appreciated, Elliott.

Frequent breaks are appreciated by all, Elliott.

And as for your last suggestion about What To Do About Mistakes, I’ll repeat that the use of realtime court reporting technology coupled with a topnotch realtime writer for an interpreted deposition will enable everyone to stay on track, catch mistakes the instant they are made, correct inconsistencies, and enable not only better questions, but more on-point objections.

Excellent suggestions, all, Elliott.

Mary Ann Payonk, CRR-RDR, Certified Realtime Reporter, CCP, CBC, Washington, D.C. http://www.realrealtime.com

For more information and tips legal document translation and court interpreting, please feel free to visit my blog at http://blogs.languagetranslation.com.

In my opinion, the most important tip is # 2 and I would add always use a *credentialed* interpreter whenever possible - that way you have some assurance of quality and ethics. And it’s important not get that confused with a credentialed “translator” - translators work only on *written* communications while interpreters work with *oral* communication. They are not interchangeable.

You can also access a lot of very good information, position papers, links, interpreters directory, etc., on on the website of the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators, at http://www.najit.org.

Judith Kenigson Kristy, USCCI

I’ve got another case coming up where I’ll be questioning a Spanish speaking witness, so I’ll be putting these tips to good use soon. Thanks!

Best regards,

Nina

http://www.languagealliance.com

http://www.translationforlawyers.com