We all get asked this question from time to time, and I'm sure everyone out there in TV Land has their own opinion as to the definitive answer. Could it be black belt mastery of grammar, spelling and punctuation? Howsabout writing faster than greased owl crap? Most certainly it's gotta be the ability to sit silent for hours on end without losing control of your bladder that separates the wheat from the chaff, right?

I was asked this question by counsel last week, and I came up with: A great court reporter is one smart enough to know what they don't know. We usually don't have a clue day to day what we're gonna be hearing, and we certainly can't be expert in all subjects in the known universe; but it amazes me that someone could put "Two Lane University" (true story) in a transcript rather than floating a few searches and trying to come up with the right answer. If "Zanax" is your best shot, crack the PDR... and look up Ritalin for yourself while you're at it, you freakin' lunkhead!

My point isn't that you should necessarily know every proper name, medical term or third-world country upon first hearing it or even that the preponderance of such terms need to be in your dictionary; but as ambassadors of our profession in the age of Internet instant gratification, for the love of God, people, before you deliver a final transcript, acknowledge where you're blindly guessing and then throw it against Google to see if it sticks.

"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." - Will Durant