Skills a Court Reporter Needs to Have
Court reporters have a really, really important job and it is often an honor to work as a court reporter.
After all, you get to see history being made and every word you write down may, at some point be in text books all over the world! The job of a court reporter is to write down everything that is being said in court.
Job Description As a court reporter you will be required to take notes in shorthand or use a stenotype machine or even a shorthand machine for your convenience.
You should also be able to supply transcripts of all court proceedings when asked to do so by lawyers and judges or sometimes even the general public.
While you're on the job, in court you may have to interrupt proceedings to ask speakers to clarify anything that is inaudible or not clear.
Another instance where you will be required to speak in court is you have to respond to requests by lawyers or the judge to read out portions of the proceedings which have already taken place.
Another part of your job will be to check the authenticity of transcripts by comparing copies of the transcripts with the original.
Skills You Should Have As is already quite obvious, as a court reporter you must possess extremely good listening skills.
In fact, your listening skills must be honed to perfection! Every word that is being spoken in court must be listened to with close attention and recorded.
After all, you don't want to miss out on anything that is being said, do you? You also need to be able to interpret all that is being said as it is being said so that you are better able to take records of what follows.
Sometimes, if it is not clear, as has been already mentioned, you need to verify what has been said.
Time management is another skill which is invaluable in this profession.
You need to have really good time management skills and that means that you need to know not only how to manage your own time, but others' time as well.
Also, you need to posses the ability to accurately record everything that is being said.
This means that you need to have speed on your side.
This comes with lots of practice, but it is not always possible to get time to practice! So, you need to be lightning fast while at work! That means you need to have the natural ability to do so.
Equipment selection is also something that you need to be able to do properly as a court reporter.
You need to know what to use when, so as to do your job as best as you can.
This means a few basic technical skills are also called for if you want to work as a court reporter.
Lastly, a thorough knowledge of English, legal and medical terms is something that is a part of your job as a court reporter.
If you are not proficient in the language and don't possess the required knowledge of terms then you are not eligible to become a court reporter.
After all, you get to see history being made and every word you write down may, at some point be in text books all over the world! The job of a court reporter is to write down everything that is being said in court.
Job Description As a court reporter you will be required to take notes in shorthand or use a stenotype machine or even a shorthand machine for your convenience.
You should also be able to supply transcripts of all court proceedings when asked to do so by lawyers and judges or sometimes even the general public.
While you're on the job, in court you may have to interrupt proceedings to ask speakers to clarify anything that is inaudible or not clear.
Another instance where you will be required to speak in court is you have to respond to requests by lawyers or the judge to read out portions of the proceedings which have already taken place.
Another part of your job will be to check the authenticity of transcripts by comparing copies of the transcripts with the original.
Skills You Should Have As is already quite obvious, as a court reporter you must possess extremely good listening skills.
In fact, your listening skills must be honed to perfection! Every word that is being spoken in court must be listened to with close attention and recorded.
After all, you don't want to miss out on anything that is being said, do you? You also need to be able to interpret all that is being said as it is being said so that you are better able to take records of what follows.
Sometimes, if it is not clear, as has been already mentioned, you need to verify what has been said.
Time management is another skill which is invaluable in this profession.
You need to have really good time management skills and that means that you need to know not only how to manage your own time, but others' time as well.
Also, you need to posses the ability to accurately record everything that is being said.
This means that you need to have speed on your side.
This comes with lots of practice, but it is not always possible to get time to practice! So, you need to be lightning fast while at work! That means you need to have the natural ability to do so.
Equipment selection is also something that you need to be able to do properly as a court reporter.
You need to know what to use when, so as to do your job as best as you can.
This means a few basic technical skills are also called for if you want to work as a court reporter.
Lastly, a thorough knowledge of English, legal and medical terms is something that is a part of your job as a court reporter.
If you are not proficient in the language and don't possess the required knowledge of terms then you are not eligible to become a court reporter.
