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What NCRA Means to Me

September 18, 2018 By Lynette Mueller 1 Comment

I love gathering inspiration from others and notable quotes from strong individuals. When I was asked to provide my insight for an article about membership, the following quote from Colin Powell sprung to mind and resonated with me:

“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.”

Now, you may ask: What does that famous quote have to do with membership?

My court reporting career has spanned over 35 years — a long one, for sure. My path has seen many obstacles and wins throughout that time. Providing realtime reporting was my number-one goal in my professional life, and it’s definitely taken a lot of “sweat, determination, and hard work.” One of the major influences and constants over the last 35 years has, and always will be, membership in my professional association — the National Court Reporters Association!

Were it not for NCRA and the many benefits it offers, I would not be the court reporting professional I am today. As we all know, court reporters can sometimes lead a solitary path at times, because a lot of us work from our home-based office. Sure, we have interaction with legal professionals and witnesses. But, for the most part, it is definitely a solitary environment, as the bulk of our transcript production is done at home.

NCRA offers many additional benefits to its members. Some of the most important reasons, in my opinion, for maintaining membership in our organization are the following:

Networking

While most may think of networking as a means of garnering future business, I look at it a little bit differently. I view “networking” with my fellow NCRA members as an excellent resource to gain advice, information, and guidance about many subjects that we face on a daily basis as court reporters. This guidance has helped me greatly to be the successful reporter I am today.

Professional Development

My national certifications are very important to me, and I’ve worked hard to earn them! Those “three little letters” behind my name are a conversation starter with potential new clients. It’s my opportunity to tout my skills and professionalism and to educate the public about court reporters. The testing for certifications has helped me validate my skill as a court reporter and carries clout in our profession.

Updates on Industry Information

NCRA does a fantastic job with recruiting volunteers (myself included) to serve on committees and bring the membership relevant and up-to-date information on technology and other industry standards. It’s so refreshing to be able to have a go-to source for current information. The NCRA.org website, JCR print, and TheJCR.com are fantastic sources of information!

Continuing Education Opportunities

NCRA brings the best and brightest professionals in our industry to share their knowledge and expertise at their Annual Convention, live webinars, and online webinars. NCRA is my go-to source. I chose my profession when I was a sophomore in high school — best decision ever! I urge every court reporter to choose membership in our professional association, the NCRA. Choose your organization wisely. It can further your career in ways beyond your expectations and give you the tools and resources to set you up for future success and gain the leg up over the competition!

Filed Under: Lynette's Blog Tagged With: certified court reporters, court reporters, court reporting, inspiration, JCR, Journal of Court Reporting, NCRA, networking, Professionalism, realtime

Celebrate Certification Month for Court Reporters

May 9, 2018 By Lynette Mueller Leave a Comment

NCRA has designated May as Celebrate Certification Month. The month-long campaign is a way for its members to show pride in the certifications they have earned, are working to earn, or are intending to earn. It is also designed to help encourage those who haven’t considered earning one of the Association’s many nationally recognized certifications to rethink their decisions. The campaign offers members the opportunity to share with their clients and potential customers the reasons why choosing a professional who holds one or more professional certifications helps guarantee the delivery of high quality products and services.

My first time at NCRA headquarters!

NCRA is my association! I’ve been a continuous member for over 35 years. It has given me so much over the years, and I can’t imagine not being a member and holder of several certificates I’ve earned through their testing.

This past weekend I attended and worked with fellow colleagues on the NCRA Written Knowledge Test Committee at NCRA headquarters.  What an awesome experience for me, both professionally and personally, to be in Washington, DC!  The sites around the city were truly inspiring — just to think and reflect on all the amazing minds of history that walked the very same steps I did and to recall all that they accomplished is astounding.

As I am reflecting on my long weekend and the work my colleagues and I completed, I am ever grateful and thankful to be a court reporter!  The single most important step I took at the beginning of my career was to join my professional association — the NCRA.  I am also a member of the Tennessee Court Reporters Association and have developed even deeper bonds with my court reporter colleagues in my home state. There are so many benefits of joining a professional organization.

  • professional development
  • education
  • seminars and conferences
  • support system with colleagues
  • network opportunities
  • find your passion and motivation
  • mentoring opportunities
  • strength in numbers

I am committed to professional and educational development in my goal to be the ultimate in professional reporting.  The commitment to education and certification by testing ensures our clients that the highest level of professionalism is consistently met. Court reporting has pushed me to soar and reach that next certification (RPR, RMR, RDR, CRR, FAPR).  I have grown and evolved because of this profession and the amazing people I’ve met during my career.   It has helped me conquer my fear of putting myself out there when meeting new people.  My colleagues make it fun to learn together and grow together by finding new and better ways to write short, sharing realtime tips, technology and gadget advice, and much more.

What are your goals for certification? Leave a comment and share your story. #NCRAInMay

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Filed Under: Lynette's Blog Tagged With: certified court reporters, continuing education, court reporters, court reporting, Fellowship, inspiration, Memphis court reporters, Mentoring, NCRA, networking, Professionalism, technology

There’s a little fixer-upper in all of us, Court Reporters

October 12, 2016 By Lynette Mueller Leave a Comment

Manual worker. Isolated on white

I’m anxiously awaiting the premier of the hit HGTV show Fixer Upper Season 4! Chip and Joanna Gaines restore and renovate old homes in the Waco, Texas, area. Their design style, working relationship, and positivity are an inspiration to so many people all over the world.

We court reporters can learn valuable lessons and habits from Chip and Joanna when it comes to our daily reporting and realtime goals.

  1. Make time for yourself and family.  During each episode, Chip and Joanna always make time for their cutie kids! It’s paramount to keep in mind what’s truly important, and that is to make family your number-one priority.  When I was a young mom, I always came home from the job, picked up my children, gave them a smooch, and spent time with them until bedtime. After the kiddos were tucked in bed, I headed off to the computer.  Now that I’m an empty nester with no kids, of course, the computer time is done at a more reasonable hour!  My two children are young adults now and thriving in their own careers.  When we reminisce, they remind me that I worked hard during their formative years and how they knew I was always there for them whenever they needed me.
  2. Have faith in yourself. When Chip and Joanna buy old properties, of course there’s always the chance something could go horribly wrong with the renovation: asbestos, old wiring, rusted pipes.  You get the picture.  They stay positive and overcome all obstacles that come their way together. As court reporters, we will always have those bad writing days for several reasons.  There’s the fast talkers, the witness who insists on answering the question before it gets out, the thick foreign accents, or the construction noise just outside the deposition room window.  We need to rely on our foundations that were laid in our training and maintain a great attitude at the same time in order to overcome those unique and particular obstacles in our depositions and/or courtroom settings.  We are human and aren’t perfect. While we only use audio backup as a tool, we are the guardians of the record and need to ensure we capture the verbatim testimony on every case.  Always use courtesy when interrupting the proceedings and explain the rationale for your interruption in a concise and respectful way. More often than not, one always gets a better result when staying positive.
  3. Work hard to be the best you can be. The Gaineses are an extremely hardworking couple, for sure!  In addition to their tv show, they also have their own farm with animals, they now have a bakery, the Silos, new furniture and rug lines, and a magazine, to name a few. Court reporters work hard too. Every day we produce transcripts for our valuable clients in a timely manner and more often than not on an expedited basis.  We should take a hard look at how we can “renovate” our writing and realtime skills so that we can work smarter and not harder to meet the deadlines we are faced with more and more.   Realtime is and has been an in-demand service for attorneys for several years now.  Court reporters (of all experience levels) need to understand that in order to stay relevant in today’s legal environment, we must maintain and continually hone our skills each and every day. From a previous blog post: Being realtime-capable should be the goal of every court reporter now! My realtime goal is to always strive for 99.8% translation rate on every job. The prep work is essential to maintain or exceed that goal.  My writing is constantly evolving (even after 30 years of reporting). Writing short is paramount to the success of my translation rate, for keeping up with the fast talkers, and also being kind to my body — specifically my back and hands. You can read more here to learn some secrets to memorizing brief forms.
  4. You’ll get a higher return on investment. After the homes are renovated on Fixer Upper, the homeowners definitely have a property to be proud of and one that is worth so much more. Once we, as court reporters, invest in our careers, we earn that return as well. The steps and path to being realtime-proficient can be time-consuming but so worth it in the end. When we go out on each job, we don’t always have the luxury of knowing when a rough draft will be requested or an expedited transcript is needed. If your writing is great, you can say with confidence, “Yes, I can get that rough draft to you!” Your “return on investment” is that your editing time is so much less than before and you will earn more dollars for doing less work!  You can shout out loud to yourself with pride and confidence after you hit Send “Nailed it!”  The less editing time means you can go enjoy your hobbies, your family, or just sit on the couch  and watch Fixer Upper!
  5. Trust in colleagues you can go to for help and resources. In order for the homes that Joanna rehabs, she has several go-to friends and colleagues to ensure her rehabs look amazing! There’s Jimmy Don who creates the wonderful and inspirational signs for the homeowners’ kitchens. And then there’s Clint Harp, the craftsman that builds and creates the one-of-a-kind furniture pieces. Court reporters have so many resources and colleagues to help when needed for advice, technology tips, realtime tips, and general help. I’ve found that court reporters are an extremely giving community; one just needs to ask for assistance. There are a multitude of avenues one could use to hone our realtime skills. Here are a few:
  • NCRA website. There’s a plethora of information, tips and tricks, and technology-related articles here.  Go there often to check for new content.
  • JCR. Again, lots of great information all court reporting related.
  • NCRA Webinars. Soak up that knowledge at home in your pajamas if you wish!
  • Create a study group online via Google Hangout, Facebook, or Skype.
  • Regional seminars held by state associations. Learn from colleagues and stay close to home to reduce travel costs.
  • Facebook groups. My gosh, there are Facebook groups for just about any court reporting subject you could imagine.  Just search and find the right one for you. It ranges from software groups, hardware, realtime, brief forms, health, fur babies — the list goes on and on.

These five lessons I’ve named are just a few to get you started on your personal “fixer-upper.” I’d love to hear about your big “reveal” after you’ve implemented some of these ideas!

Filed Under: Lynette's Blog Tagged With: CAT software, certified court reporters, continuing education, court reporters, court reporting, Facebook, inspiration, JCR, Journal of Court Reporting, legal professionals, Mentoring, NCRA, networking, productivity, Professionalism, realtime, technology

Four Essentials for Continuing Education Seminars

August 19, 2014 By Lynette Mueller 2 Comments

As licensed and certified court reporters, it is mandatory to obtain continuing education points.  Of course, there are many benefits, other than licensure retention, for attending learning events.

  1. Adding to existing knowledge base aids in our everyday work and transcript preparation
  2. Seeing and connecting with colleagues and friends
  3. Meeting and networking with new court reporters can lead to future opportunities
  4. Learning from others on how to handle difficult requests we may face from time to time
  5. Learning from leaders in our industry is total inspiration and offers insight to how each of us can strive to be the best we can be

There are multiple CEU providers and opportunities today that make it easy for court reporters to meet our CEU obligations.  Education can be obtained via in-person mini seminars, state conventions, national conventions, software training, and webinars, just to name a few.

To make the most of your next seminar, you only need a few tools to aid in your notetaking and learning experience.  Here’s what I take with me so I can be productive the entire day:

1. iPhone, of course.  When I’m on the go, it is essential to have my phone with me to monitor email and voicemail.  Court reporters need to stay on top of taking care of our number-one priority, our clients!

2. iPad: I strive to go paperless.  During seminars, it’s an easy thing to take notes during the seminar on my iPad.  My favorite app is Pear Note.

 

  • The most recent seminar I attended, I was having a few issues with concentration because I was suffering with a horrible cold.  Pear Note saved me in this situation.
  • Their app allows you to navigate through your notes you did take (even if there are large gaps) so you can listen to what was going on when you zoned out.
  • Pear Note records audio and synchronizes it to the notes you type, placing them both on a timeline. Since keystrokes are kept on this timeline, you can easily find what was being said during typing.
  • Not only can you jump to anywhere in your recording by using the timeline slider, but you can also use your text notes. Just tap anywhere in the text and playback will jump to the moment you typed that character. Gone are the days of scrubbing through a recording to find what you’re looking for. Just tap on your notes and you’re instantly there. Once you’re there, Pear Note will show you what you typed as you typed it, so you never lose your place in your notes.

3.  Jackery: My husband gifted me this iPhone charger for Mother’s Day, and it’s the best new gadget I own!  It fits easily in any handbag and offers one full charge and instant power of the iPhone for those long seminar days.  Sometimes an electrical outlet just isn’t conveniently located to plug in, so this device is amazing!

4. Bolse 4 Port USB AC Rapid Charger: This is a great alternative if you want to rely on an electrical outlet to charge your smartphone or other USB devices you carry with you.  I love using this gadget to keep my iPad and Fitbit charged up, too.

  • Compatible with iPhone, iPad, HTC phones, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Samsung Galaxy Phone, Samsung Galaxy Note, Blackberry, MP3 players, Digital Camera, & other USB devices.
  • Use your existing USB charging cables to charge most USB powered devices. Easy-to-see LED confirms whether USB charger is properly connected.
  • Highest Power rating at 20W / 4 Amps output, at least twice the power of any other four port charger.
  • Compact Design and Flip Down AC Prongs make it easy to carry on travel.
  • Sophisticated circuit design with over-heated, over-current, over-charging protection. Charging will automatically stop when battery is full.

Happy learning!

Technology is great!

Filed Under: Gadgets, Lynette's Blog Tagged With: certified court reporters, continuing education, court reporters, gadgets, iPad, iPhone, Jackery, networking, Pear Note, smartphone, technology, USB

2014 Court Reporting and Captioning Week

February 2, 2014 By Lynette Mueller Leave a Comment

2014 Court Reporting and Captioning Week
February 16-22, 2014

 

Court Reporting & Captioning Week is set for Feb. 16 – 22.  Each year the National Court Reporting Association honors the unique professions of court reporting and captioningby showcasing to the public the large impact court reporters have had, and do have, on capturing history for posterity, as well as the wonderful services captioners make available to help better the lives for millions of Americans who are deaf and hard of hearing by providing captioning in realtime for live sporting and theater events, church services, movie houses, and many other venues.

Included below are some fun and interesting facts about the court reporting profession.

  • The ampersand (&) is one of the earliest forms of shorthand.
  • There are official court reporters who are employees of the court, freelance court reporters, broadcast captioners, and CART captioners (Communications Access Realtime Translation—often employed in classroom settings to assist students who are deaf and hard of hearing).
  • In an emergency situation, broadcast capitioners can provide vital information to 48 million Americans who are deaf and hard of hearing.
  • Court reporters and captioners use cutting-edge technology to bring the spoken word to text accurately in realtime.
  • The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics considers court reporting a career that will have an increasingly high demand for jobs well into the future and estimates a growth rate of 14 percent between now and 2020.
  • Annual salaries of court reporters and captioners can reach upwards of $80,000.
  • Court reporting and captioning does not require a traditional four-year degree, so students of this career choice are often out in the workforce quicker than their counterparts.
  • Capturing the record of important proceedings dates back to the fourth century B.C.

Omega Reporting, your Memphis court reporters, wishes to invite you to celebrate with us this important time in our profession!

 

Filed Under: Lynette's Blog Tagged With: captioning, certified court reporters, Memphis court reporters, Mentoring, networking

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The Omega Difference - Why Our Clients Love Us The Ultimate in Professional Reporting . . . The need for speed and accuracy is great in today's ever-changing world of technology.  Omega Reporting is here and available to help our clients with their court reporting and transcription needs.  Our team strives to provide the ultimate experience for each of our clients.  The Omega Difference and … READ MORE

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