Guide
Verbatim or clean verbatim: which transcript do you need?
Transcription styles differ in what they keep. Choosing the right one up front saves editing later, and in research and legal work it can matter for how the transcript is used.
The three styles
Full (strict) verbatim keeps everything: every word, hesitation sounds such as um and uh, false starts, repetitions, and often non-speech sounds such as [laughs]. It is the most faithful and the slowest to read.
Clean verbatim removes hesitation sounds and false starts and may lightly tidy grammar. It reads well, but some of what was said is no longer on the page.
Verbatim without fillers sits in between: every word that was spoken is kept, including repetitions and false starts, and only hesitation sounds (um, uh, er, ah, hmm) are removed. This is Soundtoscript's house style.
An example
Spoken: "Um, so we, we went to the, uh, the clinic on Monday."
Full verbatim: "Um, so we, we went to the, uh, the clinic on Monday." Verbatim without fillers: "So we, we went to the, the clinic on Monday." Clean verbatim: "So we went to the clinic on Monday."
Which one to choose
Qualitative research: verbatim without fillers keeps the participant's words intact for analysis while staying readable. If your method studies hesitation itself (conversation or discourse analysis), ask for full verbatim.
Legal and evidence work: keep every word. Hesitations can matter in testimony, so tell your provider if they must be kept.
Business meetings, podcasts and media: verbatim without fillers or clean verbatim, depending on whether you will quote people directly.