What to look for when it comes to captioning companies

Captioning companies come in all different shapes and sizes, so how do you choose one that’s right for you?

The service that captioning companies provide is quite unique, and as such, you want to make sure you pick the right one for your needs.

Well, you’re in luck, because we’ve picked the 3 main things to look for when it comes to hiring a company to handle your captions and subtitles.

Speed and accuracy

Obviously, this has got to be a priority for anyone looking into captioning companies.

As a rule of thumb, accuracy is more important than speed, but speed can be more important in certain situations.

Accuracy takes priority when it comes to legal matters. Courtroom exchanges, contract negotiations, and legal dispositions all need to be recorded exactly, so in the future, everyone knows what was said and agreed.

Speed is more important when it comes to allowing people to follow along with what’s happening. Live subtitles on speeches or for news reports are examples of how accuracy might take a back seat to speed.

The trick is finding a company that is skilled at both, something only the best captioning companies can do.

Experience

Captioning is akin to learning to play an instrument. The more you do it, the better you get, and this only comes with experience.

Experience isn’t something you can fake – you can either do a good job or you can’t. And just like you can easily tell the difference between a classically trained violinist and someone’s who’s been playing for 6 weeks, you can tell who has experience as a stenographer.

It takes years of practice as well as an appreciation of the deaf community and the hardships faced. Only the top captioning companies will have staff who are both familiar with the disability and are skilled stenographers.

Reputation

Reputation and experience are not the same thing.

A company may have years of experience, but a bad reputation when it comes to customer service.

Captioning companies with a good reputation will be happy to provide you with testimonials and references. If they’re shy about doing so, you might want to look elsewhere.

Happy previous customers are the backbone of a good business, and legit companies will be happy for you to contact them.

Get yourself a company that can do all three!

There are very few captioning companies that tick all these boxes and we are one of them.

The speed and accuracy of our highly skilled court reporters and captioners, all of whom are registered and accredited by internationally-recognised professional associations, is second to none.

When it comes to experience, our founder Tina Lannin has been profoundly deaf from birth, so know a thing or two about the deaf community.

Before setting up 121 Captions, Tina worked as a finance director, expert witness forensic lip reader, C&G ATLA lip reading teacher, deaf awareness trainer, and CEIGHE higher education careers consultant.

Her reputation and that of 121 Captions can not be questioned.

We are the best captioning companies in the industry. Why would you settle for the best for your company?

Contact us today and we will help you in any way you can.