⭐ Brackets for Non-Speech Sounds: The Correct Way to Use Them in Transcription

 


⭐ Brackets for Non-Speech Sounds: The Correct Way to Use Them in Transcription

Title: How to Use Brackets in Transcription (Clean Verbatim Non-Speech Tags)
Essential for TranscribeMe exam prep

Introduction

In transcription, not every sound is spoken words. People laugh, cough, interrupt each other, slam doors, shuffle papers — and all of that has to be marked correctly. Beginners often get brackets wrong by:

  • making up their own tags

  • using parentheses

  • describing sounds too literally

  • forgetting to use brackets altogether

This guide shows you exactly how to use brackets the way TranscribeMe requires.

✔ 1. Always Use Square Brackets [ ]

Never use:

  • (parentheses)

  • {curly braces}

  • <angle brackets>

Only this:

[laughs]

Wrong examples:

❌ (laughs)
❌ <laugh>
❌ [laughter happens]

✔ 2. Use Pre-Approved Tags Only

TranscribeMe uses a simple, short list of allowed tags.
Do NOT write what you think the noise sounds like.

Correct tags:

  • [laughs]

  • [coughs]

  • [sighs]

  • [gasps]

  • [clears throat]

  • [inaudible]

  • [crosstalk]

  • [music]

  • [silence] (rare)

DO NOT write:

❌ [door slams loudly in background]
❌ [papers rustling while speaker moves]
❌ [speaker breathing heavily]
❌ [long pause]

Keep it simple and standardized.

✔ 3. Place Brackets on Their Own When NOT Part of a Sentence

If the noise is separate from speech, it gets its own line or its own moment.

Example:

A: I wasn’t sure if—
B: [coughs]
A: —if I heard you correctly.

This keeps everything clean.

✔ 4. Brackets Can Appear Inside a Speaker’s Line (When Appropriate)

Example:

A: I went home after that [laughs], but it wasn’t my idea.

Use this when:

  • The speaker keeps talking

  • The sound occurs mid-sentence

  • It doesn’t interrupt the flow

✔ 5. Use [inaudible] for Unclear Words

If you cannot understand a word after replaying multiple times, use:

[inaudible]

Example:

B: Yeah, I went to the [inaudible] store after work.

Don’t guess.
Don’t spell it incorrectly.
Don’t force it.

Accuracy > guessing.

✔ 6. Use [crosstalk] Only for Overlapping Speech

Do NOT use it for interruptions.
Use it when two or more people speak at the same time in a way that makes it hard to hear one of them.

Example:

A: I told him--
B: [crosstalk] No, you didn’t!
A: —that I was coming over.

✔ 7. Never Describe the Sound in Detail

This is a major beginner mistake.

Wrong:

❌ [child laughing in hallway]
❌ [dog barks loudly three times]
❌ [chair scrapes across the floor]

Right:

✔ [laughs]
✔ [barks] (if dogs appear in exam audio)
✔ [noise] or [crosstalk] (depending on context)

Short.
Simple.
Standardized.

✔ 8. Quick Practice: Fix the Brackets

Correct the following:

  1. A: (laughing) I can’t believe it.

  2. B: The dog <barks> every morning.

  3. A: I went to the [store?] I think.

  4. B: That’s what I was (thinking too).

Answers:

  1. A: [laughs] I can’t believe it.

  2. B: The dog [barks] every morning.

  3. A: I went to the [inaudible] I think.

  4. B: That’s what I was thinking too. (remove bracket completely — no non-speech sound)

Conclusion

Brackets are one of the simplest parts of transcription, but also one of the most commonly misused by beginners. Once you learn the approved tags and where they belong, they become second nature — and your transcripts look much more professional.

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