How to Annoy Your Court Reporter

Have you ever sat in a meeting with someone who likes to click their pen or eat almonds when it’s not a lunch meeting? It’s annoying! We like to keep our clients and court reporters happy when they’re working which is why we wanted to tell you about these ways to annoy your court reporter so you can avoid them in your next deposition.

We’re not invisible.

We might be quiet but if you’ve hired us for a deposition, you can’t proceed without us. That’s what makes it so strange that when you order breakfast or lunch for the legal team, you forget to take our order or you forget to take a break so we can eat too. It’s pretty much impossible to eat while taking a deposition so please remember to take breaks so we can rest along with the rest of the team.

Leave the crunchy food at home.

We get it. You’re on a new diet and need to eat every few hours. It doesn’t need to be a lot – nuts, celery, carrot, and apple are great options….except in a deposition. As court reporters, we’re trained to focus on the attorney and witness but when there’s constant chewing and crunching, it can be quite distracting. Choose snacks like cheese or build breaks into proceedings so we can all grab a snack or whatever else we need to do.

Coach the witness.

To make a deposition run smoothly and for us to capture what’s being said, it’s important the witness (and attorneys) speak clearly and keep their hands away from their faces. We think it’s probably a nervous motion but putting your hands on your face for anything except a sneeze or a cough muffles your voice and we have to ask for you to repeat yourself. If it’s an already long day, it can be frustrating for everyone and it will annoy your court reporter.

Keep your court reporter and the rest of the legal team at ease with these simple tips.

For your next deposition, give us a call so we can connect you to the best court reporters in Las Vegas, Chicago, and Minneapolis.