If you’re someone who works with me, you may have noticed that I ask to record our Zoom calls more often than I used to. There’s a reason for this. While I can’t justify the cost of a revenue intelligence platform like Gong for my small shop, I made up my own poor man’s version.

Here’s how it works.

• Download and install Descript. (There’s a free version.)

• Hit the record button on a Zoom call and pick the “Record on this computer” option.

• After the Zoom call ends, drag the video file that Zoom spits out into Descript.

• In a few minutes, Descript’s AI will transcribe the audio and even identify and label different speakers.

It’s not perfect. But it’s surprisingly good for near-instant, fully automated transcription.

It’s also been a game-changer for me.

Many of my conversations involve getting a “brain dump” from a really smart person that I will later need to digest and make sense of. But often, what happens is that I jump from that call to the next (and the next…). By the time I revisit the first call, good notetaking only takes me so far.

Now, I just hit record and give the call my full attention. I retain more, since I’m less focused on note-taking. And then, when I sit down to revisit the discussion, I have a transcript that I can search through to replay specific parts of the discussion very efficiently.

It’s kind of a tactical thing, but it’s significantly impacted both my efficiency and work quality.

-Doug

If you’re someone who works with me, you may have noticed that I ask to record our Zoom calls more often than I used to. There’s a reason for this. While I can’t justify the cost of a revenue intelligence platform like Gong for my small shop, I made up my own poor man’s version.

Here’s how it works.

• Download and install Descript. (There’s a free version.)

• Hit the record button on a Zoom call and pick the “Record on this computer” option.

• After the Zoom call ends, drag the video file that Zoom spits out into Descript.

• In a few minutes, Descript’s AI will transcribe the audio and even identify and label different speakers.

It’s not perfect. But it’s surprisingly good for near-instant, fully automated transcription.

It’s also been a game-changer for me.

Many of my conversations involve getting a “brain dump” from a really smart person that I will later need to digest and make sense of. But often, what happens is that I jump from that call to the next (and the next…). By the time I revisit the first call, good notetaking only takes me so far.

Now, I just hit record and give the call my full attention. I retain more, since I’m less focused on note-taking. And then, when I sit down to revisit the discussion, I have a transcript that I can search through to replay specific parts of the discussion very efficiently.

It’s kind of a tactical thing, but it’s significantly impacted both my efficiency and work quality.

-Doug