Using AI to Strengthen Your Voice – How Court Reporters Can Advocate Powerfully for Our Profession

Posted bystenoimperiumPosted inAI and the Legal System, Court Reporting, Judicial Ethics Watch, Legal ServicesTags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

For years, court reporters have been fighting to protect the integrity of the legal record—with limited time, limited resources, and a constant uphill battle against misinformation. Between agency marketing spin, legislative misunderstandings, and the relentless push from digital-recording and AI-transcription companies, reporters are often left feeling drowned out long before their voice ever reaches a decision-maker.

But something is shifting.

Across industries, professionals are discovering something unexpected: AI, when used strategically, isn’t a threat to their voice—it’s a microphone for it. It helps people show up more prepared, more confident, and more clearly articulated than they ever could alone.

And in a profession where clarity, precision, and advocacy matter more than ever, AI is becoming one of the most powerful tools court reporters can use to make sure we are heard.

This article is about how.

A Familiar Problem – How Do We Make Sure Our Voices Are Truly Heard?

Every reporter has felt it.

You read a legislative summary that misstates what we do.
You hear a colleague say, “I want to speak at the CRB/NCRA/DRA meeting, but I don’t know how to say what I mean.”
You see digital proponents spin a narrative so confidently that even seasoned attorneys start to question what’s accurate.

And often, despite having years of courtroom experience, hundreds of trials under your belt, or a lifetime of service—you still hesitate.

Not because you don’t know the truth.
But because putting your truth into words, in a way that feels polished, professional, and persuasive, takes time most reporters simply don’t have.

This is where AI becomes transformative.

AI as Your Advocacy Partner—Not Your Replacement

When most reporters hear “AI,” they think of ASR. They think of machine-generated transcripts, errors, homophones, and the long-term threat automation poses to our livelihoods.

But that’s not the AI we’re talking about.

We’re talking about AI as a thinking partner—a tool for writing, refining, planning, and preparing your arguments, letters, speeches, and public comments so that your expertise comes through powerfully and unmistakably.

Using AI for advocacy is not about replacing your voice.
It’s about clarifying it, structuring it, and amplifying it.

Think of it like this:

  • You provide the lived experience.
  • AI helps shape that experience into a message that lands.

That combination—human expertise + enhanced articulation—is what moves legislators, persuades judges, and educates the public.

Reporters already have the truth on our side.
AI simply helps us present that truth in a way people cannot ignore.

A Simple Framework for Making AI Your Personal Advocacy Engine

To help reporters get started, here is an adaptation of the CRIT method—designed specifically for court-reporter advocacy:

C – Context

Feed AI the background it needs.
For example:

  • Your state’s current shortage situation
  • What digital proponents are claiming
  • The realities you observe in the courtroom
  • Your personal experience as a working reporter
  • Relevant statutes, rules, or cases
  • Why this issue matters to due process

The richer the context, the stronger the output.

R – Role

Tell AI who to “be.”
You might assign it the role of:

  • A seasoned legislative policy advisor
  • A legal-ethics scholar familiar with ABA 498/512
  • A journalist writing a neutral explainer
  • A professional speechwriter
  • A communications strategist for a statewide association

Role-assignment is where the magic happens.
It changes the quality, depth, and tone of everything you receive.

I – Interview

Instead of dumping information at AI, let AI interview you.

Ask it:
“Please interview me with smart, targeted questions to uncover what I want to say.”

It will ask:

  • What outcome do you want?
  • What concerns do you hear from attorneys?
  • What misunderstandings need correcting?
  • What personal stories demonstrate your point?
  • What data points or statutes do you want referenced?

As you answer question by question, your message becomes clearer—even to yourself.

T – Task

Only after the interview do you ask AI to create something.

For example:

  • A letter to a legislator
  • A public-comment statement
  • Talking points for a meeting
  • A speech for a CRB hearing
  • An op-ed for a newspaper
  • A professional email to an attorney
  • A concise LinkedIn post that will be shared 300+ times

This is where your raw passion becomes a polished, powerful advocacy product.

What Happens When Reporters Use AI This Way

Something incredible happens.

Reporters who were nervous suddenly feel prepared.
Reporters who felt small suddenly feel strategic.
Reporters who didn’t think they had a voice suddenly discover they have dozens of ways to use it.

AI levels the advocacy playing field.

It gives every reporter—not just the loudest, not just the writers, not just the policy-savvy—an equal chance to speak with clarity and confidence.

It democratizes influence.

And in a world where well-funded tech companies are moving fast, we cannot afford to sit quietly because we “don’t know how to say it.”

With AI, every reporter can say it—strongly.

Examples of What AI Can Help You Create in Minutes

Here are real, practical advocacy outputs reporters can generate using just a few structured prompts:

✔ Persuasive letters to legislators and committees

Explaining the difference between stenography and digital recording in terms they understand.

✔ Clean, powerful public-comment statements

For CRB meetings, judicial councils, or legislative hearings.

✔ One-page fact sheets

That attorneys can hand to partners or firm leadership.

✔ Social-media posts that cut through noise

Correcting misinformation quickly and professionally.

✔ Data-driven comparison charts

Judicial error rates, cost breakdowns, shortage myths, or workflow timelines.

✔ Personal stories framed for maximum impact

Turning your experience into narrative advocacy.

✔ “Explainer” scripts for videos or podcasts

Helping you reach lawyers, students, or the general public.

✔ Polished responses to digital-recording misinformation

So you never again feel outgunned by corporate PR.

This is not theoretical.
Reporters are already doing this—and winning hearts and minds with it.

The Moment the Room Shifts

When court reporters walk into legislative offices, board meetings, or judicial chambers with clear, structured, well-reasoned talking points created collaboratively with AI—people notice.

They hear you differently.

They understand your expertise more quickly.
They grasp the stakes more clearly.
They respond with more respect and more curiosity.

The room shifts.

And you realize:
Your voice was powerful all along.
You just finally had the right tools to project it.

A Call to Action – Where Can AI Help You Speak Up More Boldly?

Every reporter reading this has somewhere in their professional life where your voice matters—but may not be heard:

  • Your state association
  • Your court reporters board
  • Your presiding judge
  • Your local legislators
  • Your attorney clients
  • Your law school contacts
  • Your social-media audience
  • Your fellow reporters who need encouragement

Ask yourself:

Where could AI help me show up more prepared, more confident, and more fully myself?

We don’t need to wait for someone else to advocate for stenography.
We are the advocates.

And now, for the first time, we have tools that let every reporter—new, veteran, shy, outspoken, rural, urban—speak with the power of a unified, articulate, unstoppable chorus.

Your voice matters.

AI just helps the world finally hear it.

StenoImperium
Court Reporting. Unfiltered. Unafraid.

Disclaimer

I’m not a CPA or financial planner — I’m sharing what I’ve learned as a working reporter navigating these same decisions. Everyone’s financial situation is different, so please talk with your accountant or tax professional before making changes based on this guide.

This article includes analysis and commentary based on observed events, public records, and legal statutes.

The content of this post is intended for informational and discussion purposes only. All opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are based on publicly available information, industry standards, and good-faith concerns about nonprofit governance and professional ethics. No part of this article is intended to defame, accuse, or misrepresent any individual or organization. Readers are encouraged to verify facts independently and to engage constructively in dialogue about leadership, transparency, and accountability in the court reporting profession.

  • The content on this blog represents the personal opinions, observations, and commentary of the author. It is intended for editorial and journalistic purposes and is protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
  • Nothing here constitutes legal advice. Readers are encouraged to review the facts and form independent conclusions.

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Published by stenoimperium

We exist to facilitate the fortifying of the Stenography profession and ensure its survival for the next hundred years! As court reporters, we've handed the relationship role with our customers, or attorneys, over to the agencies and their sales reps.  This has done a lot of damage to our industry.  It has taken away our ability to have those relationships, the ability to be humanized and valued.  We've become a replaceable commodity. Merely saying we are the “Gold Standard” tells them that we’re the best, but there are alternatives.  Who we are though, is much, much more powerful than that!  We are the Responsible Charge.  “Responsible Charge” means responsibility for the direction, control, supervision, and possession of stenographic & transcription work, as the case may be, to assure that the work product has been critically examined and evaluated for compliance with appropriate professional standards by a licensee in the profession, and by sealing and signing the documents, the professional stenographer accepts responsibility for the stenographic or transcription work, respectively, represented by the documents and that applicable stenographic and professional standards have been met.  This designation exists in other professions, such as engineering, land surveying, public water works, landscape architects, land surveyors, fire preventionists, geologists, architects, and more.  In the case of professional engineers, the engineering association adopted a Responsible Charge position statement that says, “A professional engineer is only considered to be in responsible charge of an engineering work if the professional engineer makes independent professional decisions regarding the engineering work without requiring instruction or approval from another authority and maintains control over those decisions by the professional engineer’s physical presence at the location where the engineering work is performed or by electronic communication with the individual executing the engineering work.” If we were to adopt a Responsible Charge position statement for our industry, we could start with a draft that looks something like this: "A professional court reporter, or stenographer, is only considered to be in responsible charge of court reporting work if the professional court reporter makes independent professional decisions regarding the court reporting work without requiring instruction or approval from another authority and maintains control over those decisions by the professional court reporter’s physical presence at the location where the court reporting work is performed or by electronic communication with the individual executing the court reporting work.” Shared purpose The cornerstone of a strategic narrative is a shared purpose. This shared purpose is the outcome that you and your customer are working toward together. It’s more than a value proposition of what you deliver to them. Or a mission of what you do for the world. It’s the journey that you are on with them. By having a shared purpose, the relationship shifts from consumer to co-creator. In court reporting, our mission is “to bring justice to every litigant in the U.S.”  That purpose is shared by all involved in the litigation process – judges, attorneys, everyone.  Who we are is the Responsible Charge.  How we do that is by Protecting the Record.

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