How to Transcribe Meeting Minutes

Meeting minutes are an essential practice in many organizations. They provide a record of what's been discussed and decided in a meeting, holding people accountable and keeping important projects moving forward.

But taking minutes can be a real challenge. If you're the designated minutes-taker, the pressure is on to take rapid notes throughout the meeting and provide everyone with an accurate summary soon after the meeting has ended. It can be hard to keep up. Difficult to join in with conversations. And all too easy to miss important details.

That's why recording and transcribing meeting minutes is a great alternative. Meeting transcriptions give you thorough and accurate notes, without the stress of manual note-taking.

This guide will walk you through how to transcribe meeting minutes. In just four simple steps, you'll have detailed and reliable meeting minutes to share with colleagues, keeping everyone on the same page.

Jump to:

• How to transcribe meeting minutes in 4 simple steps

  • Step 1: Record your meeting

  • Step 2: Transcribe your recording using a transcription tool

  • Step 3: Edit and summarize your transcribed meeting minutes

  • Step 4: Share your meeting minutes

• Why transcribe meeting minutes?

• How to record and transcribe meeting minutes for free

How to transcribe meeting minutes in 4 simple steps

Step 1: Record your meeting

Recording the meeting is the first step. For online meetings, many platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet have built-in recording features. Ensure you have the necessary permissions to record, and inform all participants that the meeting is being recorded.

For in-person meetings, use a reliable digital recorder or a smartphone app capable of capturing clear audio. Position the recording device centrally to ensure all voices are equally captured.

In all cases, take care to ensure that voices can be clearly heard, speakers don't talk over one another and there's no background noise or echo. The clearer your audio recording is, the more accurate the transcription of your meeting minutes will be.

Step 2: Transcribe your recording using a transcription tool

Once your meeting is recorded, the next step is to transcribe the audio or video file. You could, of course, transcribe the audio manually, however this is incredibly time consuming, especially for lengthy meetings.

Instead, turn to a transcription tool like Transcribe. With AI-powered technology, Transcribe simplifies the process of converting your spoken words into written text, and you'll get an accurate meeting minutes transcript in a matter of, well, minutes!

Here's how to use Transcribe to transcribe meeting minutes:

1. Download the Transcribe app or launch the online editor

2. Upload your audio or video file

You can import your recording from any app or cloud storage system, including Google Drive and Dropbox. Supported file formats include mp3, m4a, wav, m4v, mp4, mov and avi. You can also integrate with Zoom for quick and easy transcriptions of Zoom meetings.

If you prefer, you can transcribe your meetings in real time with our real-time transcription service.

3. Choose your language

Select the language of your recording from more than 120 languages and dialects.

4. Start the transcription process

We'll send you a notification when your transcription is complete - you won't be waiting long!

5. Your transcription is ready

Which means you can move on to step three...

Step 3: Edit and summarize your transcribed meeting minutes

Once you've got your transcribed meeting minutes, it's time to edit and summarize the transcript. With Transcribe, you can proofread and polish the text in the app, online or in your preferred file format - with or without timestamps.

Review the text to make sure everything's accurate, making any edits as needed. Then summarize your notes into clear and succinct meeting minutes. Focus on the key points from the meeting, and avoid getting bogged down in unnecessary details. Think about what's most useful for people to refer back to - the more concise your notes, the easier it is for people to skim them to quickly find important information.

Check out our guide on how to take meeting notes effectively for more information on exactly what should be included in your minutes.

Step 4: Share your meeting minutes

When you're happy that your meeting minutes are clear and thorough, share the document with all meeting participants and relevant stakeholders. That way, everyone is informed and can refer back to the minutes for future reference or action.

Time is of the essence so be sure to send your meeting minutes promptly. That way, participants can clarify any misunderstanding or add extra information while it's still fresh in their mind. And any actionable items can be acted on without delay.

Why transcribe meeting minutes?

So why should you transcribe your meeting minutes? What are the benefits of transcribing them rather than taking down notes during the meeting itself?

Here are three key reasons:

• Stay focused during meetings

By recording and transcribing meetings, you can concentrate fully on the discussion happening in the meeting, rather than dividing your attention with note-taking. That way, you can stay engaged and contribute to conversations.

• Capture every detail

Transcription ensures that every detail of the meeting is captured. So when you're summarizing your notes, you can rest assured that there's nothing important missing.

• Save time

Transcribing meeting minutes saves you significant time and effort compared to manual note-taking and transcription. This means you can focus more on the parts of your job that you love, and less on boring admin.

How to record and transcribe meeting minutes for free

If budgets are tight, it's understandable that you'd want a free option for recording or transcribing your meeting minutes. There are plenty of free voice recorders available, including the built-in recording features on platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. Your phone will also have a free voice recording tool.

To transcribe your meeting minutes for free, you could transcribe the meeting manually yourself. However, whether it's a truly free option depends on the value of your time.

With Transcribe, you can enjoy the first 15 minutes of transcription time for free, so if your meeting recording is on the shorter side then this could work out as an entirely free option. Once you've used this time up and seen for yourself whether our service meets your needs, you can buy additional credit for $5/hour, or save money by buying 10 hours for just $30. Alternatively, upgrade to our PRO service for $14.99/month or $99.99/year, and you'll receive an additional 5 hours of free transcription time each month.

Ready to transcribe meeting minutes?

By following the simple four-step process for transcribing meeting minutes, you'll save yourself time, allow yourself to stay focused during meetings, and ensure your meeting minutes are as accurate as possible.

Download the Transcribe app or launch the online editor to get started.