Review a Transcript Without Inventing Words the Speaker Did Not Say

An automated transcript is a working text, not a perfect record of speech. When a word is unclear, the most fluent completion may be wrong. Review the audio where permitted and preserve uncertainty rather than silently rewriting the speaker's meaning.

Set up the example

Begin with a short segment whose use is authorised. Keep timestamps for uncertain passages. Check names, technical terms, numbers and negations first because a small change in those places can alter the meaning of an otherwise readable sentence.

Create a correction list containing timestamp, original transcription, proposed correction and confidence note. Listen to the relevant passage with its surrounding sentence. If the audio remains unclear, use an uncertainty marker or seek clarification rather than selecting the word that fits your preferred interpretation.

Review before using the result

Separate verbatim transcription from edited reading copy. Removing repeated words or rearranging sentences may improve readability, but label that result as edited. Do not present a cleaned paraphrase as an exact quotation.

Before publication, replay quotations against the audio and check that surrounding context has not reversed their meaning. Preserve the source and reviewed version according to the permissions and retention rules that apply to the recording. This workflow addresses textual fidelity; it does not grant permission to record, upload or publish another person's voice.