Advanced · Images, sound and media · module 121 of 155
Processing speech and transcriptions
Have recordings transcribed and summarised, and check names, figures and decisions before you share the minutes.
After this lesson
You ask for permission for a recording, check a transcript at error-prone points and turn it into reliable minutes.
In view · Step by step
From recording to reliable minutes
Everyone knows that a recording is being made, what for and how long it will be kept.
Check names, figures, dates and decisions in the recording itself.
Decisions, actions and open questions, first proofread by the participants.
Part 1 of 3 · Consent in advance
Your preference for less movement is on. Choose each part yourself.
Permission and a good recording first
Recording a meeting or conversation and having it transcribed saves time, but a recording contains personal data: voices, names and what people say (lesson 117). Ask all participants for permission in advance and say what you will use the recording for and how long you will keep it. Use a tool your organisation has approved. A good recording prevents many errors: one speaker at a time, little background noise and a microphone close to the speakers.
Where transcriptions often go wrong
Speech recognition often works surprisingly well, but it makes typical errors. Names, technical terms and dialect words are spelled wrongly. Numbers can shift: fifteen and fifty sound almost the same in a poor recording. Speakers are sometimes mixed up, and when people talk over each other, part of what they say disappears. A summary based on such a transcript can present a question as a decision (lesson 38). So a transcript that reads smoothly is not yet a reliable record.
Check it and turn it into minutes
First check the error-prone points: all names, amounts, dates, quantities and decisions. Listen to those fragments again or have the speaker concerned confirm them. Then write the minutes with decisions, actions with owner and deadline, and open questions, and leave unknown information blank (lesson 39). Send the minutes to the participants for checking before they become final. Delete the recording and the raw transcript as agreed once the minutes have been approved.
New practice example
From explanation to a usable result.
A transcript is an easy-to-read draft. You check names, figures and decisions against the recording before you share minutes.
Fictional practice situationFictional transcript of a volunteers’ meeting: “Sarah is sorting out the drinks. The budget is sixty euros. We’ll decide on the date next time.” In the recording the speaker actually says “Sara” and “seventy euros”.
View a possible solution
This is how it can be done
Minutes after checking. Action: Sara sorts out the drinks, deadline still to be set. Budget: €70, confirmed on listening back. Open question: the date, decision at the next meeting. The transcript had the name and amount wrong; without a check, the minutes would have contained a wrong amount.
Why this works
The check focused on the error-prone spots. That way it takes little time and catches the errors with the biggest consequences.
Make it slightly more difficult
What agreement do you make with the team about keeping and deleting the recording?
Extra practice, at your own pace. You do not need to submit anything. This does not count towards an automatic assessment.
Your workplace · learning by doing
Make something. See what changes.
Checking the AI connection… You can already view the written example.
Present your assignment to Ende.
Read the answer, change one thing, and compare.
Previously held
New version
You remain in control
What do you want to improve in your next attempt?
On this device only. AI answers remain only in this page memory. This is self-review, not a grade.
Why this approach works
The check focused on the error-prone spots. That way it takes little time and catches the errors with the biggest consequences.
A step further
What agreement do you make with the team about keeping and deleting the recording?
Try & discover · no obligation
Place source and concept side by side
Adjust the values in the concept. See what difference you would give back to the writer.
Fictional meeting, checked against the recording: Inge requests a quote, the budget is 15.000 euros and no deadline was agreed. Compare with what the automatic transcript wrote.
| Part | Source | Concept | Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who requests the quote? | Inge | Inge | Same |
| Budget | 15.000 euros | 50.000 euros | Difference |
| Deadline | Unknown | vrijdag | Difference |
Targeted feedback you could provide
- Budget: Fifteen and fifty sound almost the same. Listen to the fragment again before the amount goes into the minutes. Ask to retain the source value "15.000 euros", unless a change is confirmed.
- Deadline: This value is not known in the source. Do not fill in the empty field yourself. Ask to leave this as unknown.
You are only changing three fixed fields of a fictitious concept. This is not a full document analysis or a check of a real upload.
This trial works locally with fictitious data and does not count towards your lesson completion. It starts anew with a new lesson or reload.
A prompt to get you started
Below is a fictional, automatically generated transcript of a short meeting. Write minutes with three headings: decisions, actions (with owner and deadline) and open questions. Include only what is in the transcript. Mark every name, every amount and every date with [check], so that I can verify them in the recording. Leave missing owners or deadlines blank. [Paste the transcript here]
Apply it
An AI tool produced minutes of a meeting. They say that a budget of €50,000 was approved. You remember a lower amount, and nobody gave permission for the recording.
Which approach best fits this situation?
- Circulate the minutes; the software recorded the conversation word for word.
- Do not circulate the minutes, have the amount confirmed and from now on arrange permission for recordings in advance.
- Change the amount to what you think it was and send the minutes.
With JavaScript, you can check your approach and receive immediate feedback.
Test your insight
A transcript says “a budget of fifty thousand euros”. You are not sure whether fifteen thousand was said instead. What do you do?
- Follow the transcript, because that is what the software heard.
- Listen to the fragment again or have the speaker confirm it before the amount goes into the minutes.
- Write down the average of both amounts.
Extra practice
With permission, record a short fictional conversation of two minutes, for example about a team outing. Have it transcribed and compare names, figures and decisions with what was actually said.
Decisions: the team outing will go ahead in May [check]. Actions: Inge requests a quote [check]; deadline still to be set. Open question: is the budget €1,500 or €5,000? The transcript says “fifteen hundred”, but the fragment is unclear [check]. On listening again, it turned out to be €1,500. The minutes are only circulated after confirmation by the participants.
