I'm literally going bonkers here. I have to do this 4:37 audio, at the same speed, nine times. Its really starting to drive me insane, because not only do some things not make sense like the speaker is intending some poetic crusade on peace but he speaks in a monotone way. Usually all the audio is like this, but this one's really starting to irk me.
Since all of you were students at one point how do you tolerate typing up the same thing over and over again? I know consistency is good for word-placement and memorization, but the same speed, nine times means I'm most likely to go crazy by the time I'm out of the last quarter of theory.
Any hints or words of advice? I'm also fighting really hard to keep it completely verbatim and not correct all their way-too-obvious grammatical mistakes.
Examples in some of the audio are:
| Quote: |
| ...The friend told the man to wait for him. The man did not want to be late so he did not stop. He just went to his car and got in. I could see that this made the other man mad. I said to my pal that I thought we should go because there may be a fight. We did not want to get near a fight. Just as we left, we saw the friend run over the hill and start to hit the first man in the back. The first man hit back. |
What the? The man got in the car. Is it roofless? Is the car a convertible with the top down? How can the second guy run down the hill and hit the guy who's in the car!? It defies logic to me and has no explanation. This is what some of the audio has us students typing. I could write better stuff than this and keep it down only to the principles we have learned just far, and a brain dead monkey probably could too.
Or our latest one with the word "inflation." Everyone in the class admitted to then hating the word "inflation." They gave it to us over two days and its a 2:28 sound file. Two days, nine times over and over again.
| Quote: |
| The income of most of us has been increasing. But there is the danger of inflation. Inflation reduces the worth of our cash. Prices increase and inexpensive things cost more and more. When inflation comes, a dollar doesn't buy as much. In most cases the consumer's purchasing power falls in exact proportion to the inflation. Inflation can lead to incapacitation of the dollar. It can inflict great harm on all the citizens of a nation. It can inhibit investing. To stop inflation, a drive to keep wages and prices down is needed. The program to stop inflation must be in firm hands. These programs must insure that inflation stays under control. Inflation is like an infection. It must be stopped or it will spread. It must be cured or it will kill the inner life of the nation. |
I get it! The paragraph is about inflation. Does anyone else, who has done StenED theory, understand my plight? These paragraphs are read so slowly, so monotone, so repetitive and by the time you've done it the third time you've memorized the damn thing and could probably do it 2x faster by the sixth time. There's only 3 speeds (30/45/60) and I'm in my 60's with this type of dictation.
Anyone know a program that can speed it up?
Hello fellow StenEd student!
ReplyDeleteI remember these dictations well. Boring, aren't they? I think the bad grammar is read on purpose. After all, you have to learn to write verbatim testimony. I asked my instructor once, "What if someone in court says, 'I ain't got no gun'? She replied, "Then you write, 'I ain't got no gun'." I know, painful, isn't it?
Check out my post about speeding up audio here:
http://courtreporting101.blogspot.com/2010/10/adjusting-speeds-in-windows-media.html
Maybe it will help you push through the boredom.
you are way over thinking the dictation.
ReplyDeletedon't think about the story/content, think about the words you are writing. it will be easier for you.
and as for the monotone, again, just focus on the words, not the story or the monotone speaker. Your one and only job is to get the words not rewrite the story or correct the grammar.