In an average day I would attend 3 hours of meetings. I learned quickly that long, consecutive meetings were the most difficult to retain details, even when reviewing meeting notes. Between corrected statements, interruptions, and other common communication issues there are a lot of thoughts to begin processing and actions that need to be taken after the meeting ends. Unfortunately not all meetings can be trimmed to a speedy 25 or 50 minutes, like my digital calendar can suggest.
To solve this problem I take audio recordings (with consent) of long meetings using the Google made “Recorder” application available on Android mobile phones. The application takes the audio recording and transcribes the recording live which both are available for both Sharing to Contacts and Export to Google Drive. The recording is an m4a audio file that can play in any modern web browser and the text is a Google Doc which makes reviewing the audio and converting the transcription into a meeting summary notes or a requirements document simple.
I did not transition overnight and to start I would compliment audio notes with typing bullet points on my laptop but once I became comfortable with my new workflow I was able to engage deeper into my conversations knowing I could reflect on the audio later which would become more valuable based on the depth of conversation.
I’ve easily fit this into my personal life as well. It is especially useful during hikes when I have a thought and I’m only carrying a water bottle, phone and headphones. But, I have found myself using it on the couch while watching a show, at Costco after seeing discounted ski resort tickets, and during a visit of the Chicago Art Institute to remember art and artists I wanted to see again. In general – any time I’m not already on my laptop I use the Recorder application and bring that into my morning review workflow.
The interface is intuitive. When you open the application a thumb-sized red recording icon is at the bottom. Press to begin recording. While recording, swipe from right to left to see the live transcription. Not all words are transcribed correctly. For example in the video below “write” is transcribed as “right” and it can become confusing when getting deeply technical but that’s when I rely on the audio and edit the text myself. When reviewing longer transcriptions I slide the timeline (at the bottom) to advance the recording where I need to review and the highlighted word in the transcription synchronizes to the same spot.
I consider any recording on my phone an open task that needs to be acted on or purged. For a project, a policy, something shared out to the team or any recordings I want to keep long term then I will categorize and archive the recording but for general day-to-day I delete it after I finish the task. To Share or Archive, open the recording and click the 3 vertical dots at the top right and select “Share” or “Save to Google Drive”.