Deposition Reporters– Audio Amplified

Realtime Reporter Jessie Waack

We have all had deposition participants we struggle to hear for various reasons.  You actually have a couple options for monitoring audio during a deposition.

In a video legal deposition, the videographers of Brown & Jones Reporting can run a line from their soundboard which you plug headphones into.  You then have the same audio feed as the videographer does, running through your personal headphones. 

If you tend to be particular about headphones, I would advise carrying your own for comfort.  We have all seen people forget they are wearing microphones.  A sudden sneeze or cough can blow up your eardrums.  A random shuffling of paper can drown out testimony.  By wearing your headphones to the side of your ears, you can diminish the effect the extraneous noises will have.  For this reason, I would recommend avoiding ear buds.  The biggest benefit is that the videographer can turn up a soft spoken person and turn down the loud person so the audio will come out at the same decibel level.

Another option is to monitor your audio through your stenograph machine.  I have an Élan Mira® A3.  On the back of the steno, there is a jack for a microphone and headphones.  I place a glass upside down on the table with Post-Its on top.  I would not recommend putting the microphone directly on the table.  Not only will you hear all the tapping on the table, but you will undoubtedly get paper piled on top of it making this step useless.  The Post-Its are a handy item which prevent the sound from traveling through the glass. 

After the mike is set, I plug my headphones into the back of the steno.  With an audio-capable steno, you can change the steno settings to monitor audio.   I know with the Élan Mira® A3, I can only activate this audio option when I am at the home screen.  For this reason, I always have the steno set with the monitor audio option as “yes.”  You will not use card memory by having this option turned on, although you may use your battery faster.  The downside is I can usually only amplify one person instead of all deposition participants.

After weighing your options, I hope you are able to find one to work for you.  Perhaps this can also inspire you to update an outdated steno to make your depositions a little easier.

Submitted by:

Jessica Waack – Specializing in Realtime Reporting
Registered Diplomate Reporter
Certified Realtime Reporting
Brown & Jones Reporting