Hayley, Western Cape
Our Listener – Hayley, Western Cape
“Finding calm, connection, and meaning in every line transcribed.“
Hayley has been with Way With Words for nearly fourteen years, long enough to see the world of transcription change in profound ways, yet still find herself drawn to the quiet rhythm of listening, interpreting, and shaping sound into sense. Living in a small town in the Western Cape, she discovered Way With Words through a simple conversation, the kind that can unexpectedly alter the course of one’s working life. “The daughter of someone I was working for mentioned it,” she recalls. “I thought I’d be good at that.” She was right.
For more than a decade, Hayley has built a career that fits both her lifestyle and her temperament, which can be described as steady, detail-oriented, and deeply human. Her story is one of quiet consistency: a life that flows between transcription work, the gentle rituals of small-town living, and her love of cooking, audiobooks, and film. It’s an existence grounded in simplicity, but not without depth.
Over the years, she’s seen the rise of automated transcription tools, the encroachment of AI into an industry once powered solely by people. Yet she’s also seen, day after day, why the human ear and heart still matter. “AI is great,” she says with a calm pragmatism, “but humans do it better. We catch the nuances, the emotion, and other things that AI simply cannot.
Human transcribers will also try incredibly hard to understand what is being said. AI just doesn’t.” It’s a conviction that comes from experience. After years of transcribing complex interviews, legal proceedings, and deeply personal testimonies, Hayley has learned that accuracy isn’t only about getting words right, it’s about understanding people. Each speaker brings tone, inflection, hesitation, and emotion that can shift meaning entirely. “The ability to really listen,” she explains, “is what makes a great transcriber.”
That ability is not just technical but emotional. It requires patience, empathy, and persistence. “Patience, quite a bit of that,” she laughs. “Things don’t always play ball.” She believes in the small but significant human acts that shape a great transcript: asking questions when clarity is needed, following instructions carefully, and being observant. To her, transcription is less about typing speed and more about intent. It’s a craft that rewards care over haste, a sentiment that mirrors her life outside of work.
When she’s not transcribing, Hayley finds comfort in the kitchen. Cooking is her way of unwinding, of turning raw ingredients into something meaningful. “I cook to relax,” she says. “Creating new stuff food-wise.” There’s a satisfaction in the process, much like in her work, consisting of assembling details, adjusting flavour or phrasing, and knowing when it all comes together.
She often spends her downtime listening to audiobooks or watching films, simple pleasures that keep her connected to storytelling in another form. “It’s a small, small town,” she says lightly, but her world is far from narrow. Through the recordings she transcribes, she has encountered countless voices, ideas, and experiences from across the globe—people discussing justice, social progress, education, and personal transformation.
One theme that has stayed with her is courage. “Anything to do with progress being made when it comes to domestic abuse and how those abused are treated by the justice system,” she reflects. “Just really hearing how brave some people are.” For Hayley, transcription isn’t just about documenting, it’s about witnessing. She’s spent hours listening to stories of survival and strength, quietly transforming pain into text so that others can read, learn, and act. In her own way, she helps give voice to those who might otherwise remain unheard.
What has kept her with Way With Words all these years is, fittingly, the human connection. “I’ve stayed with WWW in part because of the human side of it,” she says. “The ops managers, and in fact anyone on that side of things. They answer your questions and are always willing to help, or cheer you on when you are trying to get through a really difficult job.” In an increasingly digital world, that sense of community with people helping people, even across distance, matters. It’s what gives the company its warmth, and its contractors a sense of belonging.
Hayley’s story, like many others in this campaign, is one of quiet dedication. It’s about finding pride in unseen work, balance in solitude, and connection through words. In her small town, surrounded by familiar streets and familiar faces, she continues to type out the world’s voices – one file, one phrase, one story at a time.
Our Company – Way With Words
Way With Words provides English-language transcription, audio-to-text, and speech data services for clients worldwide. Our contractors, based across many countries, form the heart of our company, each bringing their own dedication, experience, and humanity to the work we do. Learn more about our people and our services at Way With Words.