I am not in Thailand to report a deposition, but to explore, relax, and spend time with my husband and dear friend Christine Randall of Wood & Randall who is becoming a president of her Bakersfield Rotary Club.  Rotary International is holding its annual convention in Bangkok this week.

So you may ask, what does court reporting have to do with me being in Chiang Mai today?

My first trip to Chiang Mai was in 1987.  I was 27 years old and had never been on a plane, never checked into a hotel, and had never been in a taxi.  But I was a court reporter.  One of my clients called one day and asked, “Would you do a deposition in Singapore?”  Without hesitation I answered, “Yes.”

Everything about the trip was very scary to me.  I didn’t know how airports worked, and I ended up misplacing all of my tickets for all of my connecting flights, everything, in the first hour of my trip.  (I think I left the tickets on the airplane in the commuter flight between San Diego and Los Angeles.)  The ticket agent in Los Angeles was not happy and would not guarantee me my seat on any of the flights through to the end.

The most relaxed I was on the whole trip is when I was actually reporting the deposition.  I love writing on my steno machine, and I know I excel as a court reporter no matter where in the world I might find myself.

My travel agent suggested I stop over in Bangkok and Hong Kong as long as I was in Southeast Asia.  Not wanting fear to stop me from ever doing anything, I took her advice and experienced the trip of a lifetime.  And on the advice of a woman in Bangkok, I flew to Chiang Mai for a two-day excursion where I found an exotic world of elephants, wats, and the most kind people I have ever met.

I believe if I had not become a court reporter and was invited to Singapore so many years ago to report a deposition, I would not be in Chiang Mai today.  My family did not travel.  Being a court reporter has allowed me to face many fears – fear of writing realtime and letting others see I am not perfect, fear of writing testimony about cutting-edge science with witnesses who have difficult accents, fear of finding the correct comports on clients’ computers and getting them hooked up, and the fear of traveling to foreign places.

One thing I know for sure, not letting fear stop me has made my life as a court reporter incredibly rich.  My wish for my fellow court reporters is not to let fear get in the way of greatness.

@rosaliekramm  Twitter

Section 2025.470 reads, “The deposition officer may not suspend the taking of testimony without the stipulation of all parties present unless any party attending the deposition, including the deponent, demands that the deposition officer suspend taking the testimony to enable that party or deponent to move for a protective order under Section 2025.420 on the ground that the examination is being conducted in bad faith or in a manner that unreasonably annoys, embarrasses, or oppresses that deponent or party.”

As the deposition officer, the court reporter cannot stop writing unless someone says the words “protective order” or if all parties agree to go off the record.  If the attorney who noticed the deposition insists that she/he is paying for the transcript, and therefore has the right to stop the deposition, the attorney is wrong.

I know of two occasions lately where the court reporter believes everyone is agreeing to go off the record (because of body language or standing up to leave the room), but a comment is made (seems to be innocuous or a side comment, profanity), and the other attorney looks at the court reporter and says, “You got that, right?”  The court reporter says, “I thought we were off the record.”  Then there is nothing but huge problems.

Because this situation can become a nightmare, I have developed the habit (no matter how friendly everyone is) in which every time one attorney says, “Off the record,” I look at the other counsel and say, “Off the record?”  Then when I get any kind of agreement (a nod of the head, whatever) I put my hands up so everyone can see them (palms facing the attorneys).  And say, “We’re off the record.”  I don’t make it a dramatic statement, but a statement of fact.  Sometimes the attorneys smile or tease me about putting my hands up, but the bottom line is there is never any question.

I believe the more proactive a court reporter is, can anticipate potential issues that might arise at a deposition, the better everything will be.

@rosaliekramm  Twitter

Historically, an audio cassette backup was made by legal videographers for the court reporter.  Court reporters own(ed) tape players that had foot pedals to speed up or slow down the audio for proofing.  But, as everyone knows, in modern times the audio cassette is becoming obsolete.  “Digital media is what everyone is using,” says Chris Jordan.

Many court reporters are still using audio cassettes.

Currently, we work with videographers that provide a feed directly to the court reporter’s laptop to use in conjunction with their Computer-Aided Transcription (CAT) software.  The videographer has an audio jack with a mini connector for the court reporter.  Other videographers we work with will provide an MP3 file or wav file at the end of the deposition and copy it onto the court reporter’s laptop.

Court reporters are buying transcription software with foot pedals that attach to their laptop or PC through a USB port.  If you Google the key words, foot pedal audio transcription, you will find a myriad of products on the market.  I invite anyone reading this blog to suggest products that they have been successful in using.

I suggest using an old transcriber and cassette tapes is cumbersome and not efficient.  Being able to scope or proof on your laptop without pulling out another machine (just attaching the foot pedal) makes sense.  With so many hearings being digitally recorded and court reporters being asked to transcribe the audio files (where there is no cassette option)  using new products in the marketplace is smart.

Court reporters and legal videographers have to be a team in depositions when working together.  The attorneys know when they are working with “the A-Team,” a great videographer and court reporter.  They recognize the synergy.  I love that my videographer has my back, and I have his/hers.

So if you are a court reporter still requesting audio cassettes from the videographer, check out digital.  There is a reason that the audio cassette is becoming obsolete.

@rosaliekramm Twitter

This is the decade of efficiency.  There are tools on the market that will make your life as a court reporter better if you decide you want to participate and use them.   I believe most wifi companies have a gadget that allows a person to share internet activity with one to five people at a time.

Many depositions and arbitrations (meetings) are held in public rooms or hotels that do not provide internet connectivity or charge outrageous rates to be online.  I was court reporting a deposition in Laguna Beach last month, and the hotel wanted to charge $800 per day to allow up to ten people wireless access to the internet.  After I almost fell over when I heard the charge, the gentleman quickly offered the wireless deal for $400 per day.  It was CRAZY.

Offering my Hotspot to the attorneys made me very popular for the day.  As an added piece of advice (a DepoMan tip), have your password for the attorneys to log on be something like, “Kramm Court Reporting is Great” or “I love my court reporter – Linda.”  Having a number as a password is kind of boring, in my opinion, but for a serious crowd of lawyers might be appropriate.

Having my Hotspot I can send a rough draft out no matter where I am.  I can access exhibits on my repository when proofing a transcript or indexing exhibits.

I believe a Hotspot is a great investment for a working court reporter out in the field.

@rosaliekramm  Twitter

After much research I have found the “norm” is for the parties to stipulate that the USA court reporter will give the oath, and counsel will waive any objection to the testimony later based on the oath.

Attorneys stipulating to allowing the USA court reporter give the oath is an excellent way to save costs and time when setting up a deposition in a foreign country.

@rosaliekramm  Twitter

Kislingbury wrote unfamiliar sustained dictation at the conference at 295 words per minute for 30 seconds with two errors.  He stood as he wrote on his Stenovation machine, and I could see he barely moved his fingers.  (FYI – A question was asked if a person should practice on the same machine as they use when on a job.  His answer was as long as you can adjust your machine to have shallow strokes, it doesn’t matter what machine you use, i.e., Diamante or Passport.)    Kislingbury advised everyone we need to warm up with a fast five-minute dictation before every job.  Since we are athletes, it makes sense to warm up on something other than an attorney’s admonitions.

As court reporting athletes, we have to warm up, shorten our strokes, and learn new ways of writing.  I believe Magnum Steno is a great resource for shifting our writing to learn to write short.  Briefing is the key to success.  One of the reporters I work with purposely stacks phrases, questions, and answers.  If an attorney is speaking 300 – 350 words a minute and is right on top of the witness’ answers, moving the fingers faster becomes physically impossible.

Let’s all choose a phrase family we will work on for the month of March and see what happens.  I choose something very basic.  I am embarrassed to admit I write “I don’t know” in three strokes and “I know” in two.  I need to incorporate the YO. It seems crazy to use Y for I and O for do, but I plan on doing it anyway.

Let’s all stroke less in 2012.  Maybe we can work up to competing in the realtime or speed contests.  It is incredibly great we have the option to write faster and be even greater than ever.  Being a court reporter means being an athlete.   As someone that started out as a Herman Miller theory San Diego court reporter, there is plenty of room to grow.

@rosaliekramm  Twitter

Seriously, I feel very sorry for those talented writers.  I understand the fear. I have felt it. I still feel it on days where the deposition is close to being out of control, attorneys are fighting or I am just not on my best game.  Those days I play a mental game with myself, saying, “Knock it off, Rosalie.  Perform.”  I physically shake my hands, my head, and my shoulders.  I power through it.

As Dale Carnegie said, “Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it… That is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear.”

Dale is talking about the fear of realtime court reporting.  If you are a clean writer with a great tran rate, and especially if you are realtime certified, some might argue you have a moral responsibility to your profession to hook in.  You need to be an evangelist for the unique talent only stenographic court reporters can offer.  Siri can’t do what we do; no machine and no one can.

I promise you the first time you hook in, you will not become fatally ill or fall off a cliff or have to speak in public. Your fear is in your mind and the attorneys are not paying that much attention to every word and every comma.  It is true, you have to be a solid writer.   I suggest you start with an easy deposition. Get one under your belt.

Once you face the fear of being a realtime court reporter and then walk (write) through it, you are going to feel a surge of joy.

@rosaliekramm Twitter

I have traveled the country to report depositions, and in some regions it is typical for the videographer to shoot down the table and have the court reporter sitting to the left or right side of the witness with the questioning attorney next to the court reporter.  This is my very least favorite configuration, and when I walk in the room and see the camera on the other end of the table, I am not happy.   If the videographer is hired by our company, we insist the shot be across the table, “over the shoulder” of the questioning attorney with the court reporter at the end of the table between the witness and questioning attorney.

There are two reasons why I prefer the shot across the table.  One, the witness is looking into the camera, not looking at the attorney with the camera focused on the side of the witness’ face.  Two, as the court reporter, I can watch the mouths of the witness and attorneys as they speak and physically face both speakers without twisting my body.  Sitting in a twisted position after a couple of hours is incredibly hard on the neck and lower back.

Because the steno machine needs to be in front of the court reporter, the reporter has to be three or four feet away from the table, and if the reporter sits next to the questioning attorney, the reporter is either behind the questioning attorney (so the court reporter has to lean forward trying to see the attorney’s mouth and hear) or sitting alongside and having to twist to see/hear the attorney. (Typically court reporters choose to face the witness rather than the attorney.)

I believe the CLVS training by NCRA teaches the down-the-table method to videographers.  I wish they would reconsider their teaching.  Our clients have been educated and prefer the over-the-shoulder method.  The only time we would shoot down the table is when there is no choice because of the room and/or table, which is about .0005% of the time.

The videographers around the country that I have had the pleasure to work with are always very considerate of the court reporter, and I salute them.   Whether shooting across the table or down the table, I look at the legal videographer as an ally and respected professional in the world of depositions.

@rosaliekramm  Twitter

Wires were demanded in one situation because the subject matter of the job was “top secret” and the client was worried that someone could pick up a wireless feed in another room…  I know court reporters reading this will be rolling their eyes, but as the saying goes, “The client is always right.”

Another law firm we work with won’t allow wireless realtime for their attorneys because once, four years ago, a court reporter’s feed stopped, and testimony was dropped on the attorney’s screen.  The firm does not allow wireless realtime and won’t allow the necessary drivers to be loaded onto the computers.

Chris Jordan is always a part of every buying decision my court reporting firm makes when it comes to computers and technology.  When I need to buy a new laptop as a court reporter, Chris insists I purchase the laptop from my CAT vendor so it is built for the job.  I spend more money than a reporter buying a laptop from a Fry’s or BestBuy, but I have a serial port, a PCMCIA card slot, as well as USB ports.  Many would argue PCM cards and serial ports are outdated technology, and they would be right, but in our world, we need serial ports.

I love using Stenocast.  If I can get a driver loaded on an attorney’s computer, it is so much easier to have a successful hook-in, not having to deal with USB-to-serial dongles and their drivers.  BUT if an attorney needs to use wires, I have to be ready.  My advice:  Don’t throw away or lose your realtime wires/box.  One day you might get the GREAT JOB because you can write as a retro-realtime court reporter.

@rosaliekramm  Twitter

Achor begins his article with statistics from the Conference Board Survey and CNNMoney that 84% of the working population is unhappy with their jobs and that employees are the unhappiest they have been in the past 22 years since the Board started tracking job happiness.  He goes on to state, “the single greatest advantage in the modern economy is a happy and engaged workforce.  A decade of research proves that happiness raises every business and educational outcome:  raising sales by 37%, productivity by 31%, and accuracy on tasks (important for court reporters) by 19%, as well as a myriad of health and quality of life improvements.”

Given Achor’s research, the question is not whether happiness should matter to firms, but what can a firm do to raise the level of happiness of their staff and court reporters/videographers?

“The first thing for everyone to do is recognize that happiness is an advantage at work.”  As Achor states, “This will encourage you to seek happiness in the present instead of waiting for a future success.”  And he goes on, “You can literally train your brain for higher levels of happiness at work by creating habits to increase job satisfaction.”  Here are five suggestions on how to change your happiness factor:

1. Write down three new things you are grateful for each day
2. Write two minutes a day describing one positive experience you had over the past 24 hours
3. Exercise for at least ten minutes a day
4. Meditate for two minutes, focusing on your breath in and out (breathe from stomach)
5. Write one quick email first thing in the morning thanking or praising a member on your team

From reading Achor’s article, I have come to the conclusion that happiness can become a habit, and one of the keys to success is becoming conscious of the good things in your life and appreciating others around you.  I don’t believe anyone wants to be miserable at work or on the job.  Sometimes things come up that are beyond your control (tough witness that speaks with a heavy accent about new technology) or court reporters turn in their work with wrong dates or email addresses, and the production team has to send it back and/or re-print a job.  But I bet during those days when things seem to be extra difficult or jobs come in with lots of little mistakes, there is probably a positive thing that happened as well, and that is what needs to be focused on.  (Another suggestion is to play happy music when it is an extra tough day.)

As Achor writes, “investing in happiness pays great.”  I wish for all court reporters, legal videographers, and court reporting staff a happy 2012 and thus much prosperity.

@rosaliekramm  Twitter