When counsel says “off the record” mid-answer without a clear instruction from the noticing attorney, I pause but still end up with overlap that needs to be memorialized precisely. How are you documenting that interruption to preserve accuracy and comply with protocol — do you insert a parenthetical if the witness continues for a few seconds before stopping? This happened in a 7-hour Zoom depo last Thursday and I want to standardize my approach.
“seconds before stopping?” I grab the Zoom timestamp and insert a tight parenthetical — (Counsel requested off the record mid‑answer; witness continued about 4 seconds; I read back on the record and counsel confirmed how to treat it) — so the overlap is memorialized and the agreement is captured. Do you prefer elapsed seconds or an exact timecode like 14:23:11?
I mark the last complete word before the “off the record” call and, when we’re back on, add a brief reporter clarification tying the interruption to that exact word and noting the witness continued about 3–4 seconds, so it’s anchored to language, not just a timestamp. If it’s under a second, I skip the duration and just flag the interruption — do you handle those micro-overlaps any differently?
CAT timecode at the ‘mid-answer’ call; restart A: ‘Continuing’ from last phrase; if they object, I swap to a parenthetical.
And > if they object, I swap to a parenthetical. I anchor the break with an em‑dash at the exact syllable and, when we’re back, I read back the last two words and ask the witness to restart from there; if counsel won’t allow the prompt, I tie a tight parenthetical to that em‑dash — @lambert_f45, any downside to the em‑dash anchor?