Session 1
Title: “Networking”

Presenter: Pam Coder, CSR

COURSE OBJECTIVE:  Communicating with reporters the importance of staying informed about current legislative matters affecting our positions across the nation, how to get involved in helping firms/clients with the current shortage and being effectual.

Specific topics and design: This session will be in two parts with the group discussion starting us off with matters happening all across the country with regard to reporting and what has been effective and not effective in helping with our career paths.  Part 2 will be a competitive game to see who knows more about what is happening in our industry pitting one side of the room against the other with prizes.  We will discuss current legislation, knowing your worth, dealing with difficult attorneys and situations associated with the shortage of reporters, last minute requests when you are already on overload, rough drafts – what are they, reporting layoffs and how you can help your colleagues, etc.

Session 2
Session Title: “Sound Bites” 

Presenter: Pam Coder, CSR

Learning Outcomes:

Learning objectives include different ways of receiving audio in depositions, court, hearings or arbitrations from small rooms to large rooms.  Different types of sound equipment, cost, where to find it, how to use it.

Content Outline:

This session will introduce various equipment to aid in hearing soft-spoken witnesses, soft-spoken judges and hard-to-hear testimony.

The participants will discover:

•      How to quickly adjust for various settings
•      How to adjust audio settings for a better experience
•      Using different types of equipment for the best hearing experience

Appropriate Methodology:

The session is interactive and combines hands-on instruction with a PowerPoint presentation.  Participants will discuss what works for them in their surroundings and what might work for others in same or similar circumstances.

Session 3
Title: “Can You Repeat That”? Linguistics: Translating, Transcribing or Interpreting?

Presenter: Kathy McDaniel, CSR

About This Program: 

Learning Outcomes:

This session consists of following the rules of verbatim reporting/writing and transcription.

Content outline:

This session will include different “dialects” spoken and will address the most current articles and studies available regarding those dialects and their effects and consequences in the courtroom and beyond.

(Via discussion and PowerPoint presentation)

Participants will learn:

Urban linguistics – The phonetic structure of urban language.

Appropriate methodology:

This session includes PowerPoint group discussion and Q & A open forum.

Session 4
Title: “Ethics-The Art of Ethical Customer Service” 

Presenter: Pam Coder, CSR

Learning outcomes:

Learning objectives include making sure you are following the UFM, making sure you are following the correct rules – Federal or State; video only depos and following correct transcription; games we have to play for coverage; accepting bonuses; possible new business model – can we collect up front.

Content outline:

This session will include an open discussion of our industry with audience participation, a game of can you ethically do that and a PowerPoint presentation.

Participants will discover:

Gift-giving and receiving, the dos and don’ts.  We will discuss the difference between State and Federal rules dealing with signature and method of reporting, as a PowerPoint presentation.  Are bonuses the right way to gain coverage and are too many reporters waiting until a bonus is offered to take the job.  Also, how can we as reporters help law firms understand the importance of scheduling and working with our reporting firms when not receiving gifts and incentives?  Are gifts and incentives really necessary in today’s climate?

Participants will learn:

NCRA Code of Ethics dos and don’ts; the art of gaining clients without gift-giving and incentives; Federal Rules vs. State Rules and how they differ regarding signature and method of reporting.  When does customer service cross the line?  Can you give excerpts to one side without notifying opposing side?  Did you know some states call For The Record/ER/DR people “court reporters?”  Are you sure you are following your state’s rules?  Where to find the rules.  How to decipher them or who to go to if you need help.

Appropriate Methodology:

This session is highly interactive and open to a huge discussion between freelancers and officials.  We will be using games,  open forum discussion, audience participation, PowerPoints, and interaction with the presenter to refresh ourselves on our ethical obligations as reporters not only to attorneys but to the reporting firms who use our services.

Session 5
Session Title: “Grammar and Punctuation Problems Solved” 

Presenter: Pam Coder, CSR and Jeff Justice, CSP

About This Program: 

Learning Outcomes: 

To show the court reporter the proper way to deal with many of the grammar and punctuation problems that they encounter on a daily basis.

Content Outline:

 The session is interactive and combines hands-on instruction. Participants will discuss what works for them in their surroundings and what might work for others in same or similar circumstances.

The participants will discover:

•      When to use and not use capital letters
•      The proper ways to write numbers
•      Many examples of using one word or two
•      How to get homonyms correct
•      General rules for dictionary usage
•      Solutions to verbatim problems
•      A different way to use parentheticals
•      General guidelines for colloquy and Q&A

Appropriate Methodology:

The session is interactive and combines hands-on instruction. Participants will discuss what works for them in their surroundings and what might work for others in same or similar circumstances. They will also correct the examples given in the handouts.