Spell out all names and place names as they come up in the audio (once only required) For interviews, state date, time and who is present at the beginning of the interview recording For group discussions, remind all present not to 'overtalk' each other for the sake of the recording Specify where required -  'para'  'bracket, close bracket' etc It always helps if you have a template we can format from, either by facsimile or email attachment Verbatim transcription essentially means transcribing word for word from the audio file.  This includes 'umms' 'you know' 'sort of' etc and words typed as spoken, for example 'yeah'. Verbatim is commonly used for interview and lecture transcribing, particularly in legal transcribing. Intelligent Verbatim essentially means grammatically corrected transcribing.  This means that repeated phrases such as 'umms' 'you know' 'sort of' etc are omitted from the transcript.  Abbreviations are replaced with complete terms, for example, 'I'm' is replaced with 'I am'.  Intelligent Verbatim is used for seminar and conference transcribing, meetings, etc. Note:  Intelligent Verbatim takes longer to transcribe so the cost will be higher.