Multiple Ways To Transcribe Your Audio

by VideoTranslator Support| Jul 25, 2021

Whether you’re attending a meeting or having a sudden burst of inspiration, having a transcription can be very helpful.

The thing with transcribing audio is that… it is such a pain to do one. If you have transcribed audios, you know how long it takes to transcribe a 5-minute conversation, let alone an hour-long meeting. You are stuck in the endless cycle of playing and pausing the audio.

Does transcribing have to be that hard?

Not anymore. Thanks to the advances in technology, we can now let a machine do the grunt work while we finish it off with some touch-ups.

So, how do you make a machine transcribe your audio?

Multiple Ways To Transcribe Your Audio

Transcribe Your Audio With VideoTranslator

Not only that you can transcribe your audio, but VideoTranslator also allows you to transcribe your videos!

VideoTranslator’s tools can come in handy when you have pre-recorded materials.

Here’s how you can transcribe your audio with VideoTranslator:

Log in to your Video Translator account.
Upload your video/audio using the quicktranscribe button.
Select the language and dialect of the video and click the accept button to trigger the transcription. The transcription process will run in the background.
Once the transcription is complete, go through and check the transcription for proper grammar e.g. capitalisation and full stops.
You can also save your transcription as an SRT file if you want to create a subtitle for your video.

The advantage of using VideoTranslator is you get timestamps with your transcription, making it easier to create video subtitles.

Try out VideoTranslator for free here.

Transcribe Your Audio With Microsoft Word

We wish this technology was available when we were still in school. Imagine how many hours we could save from typing our essays and reports.

Microsoft Word has a dictate function where it automatically transcribes your voice.

Here’s how you can do it:

Create a new document in Microsoft Word.
Select the ‘Dictate’ icon on the home page. Don’t forget to allow Microsoft Word to use your microphone.
Press the microphone button to trigger the transcription.

The advantage of using Microsoft Word is it can help you transcribe live audio, such as during a meeting or conference. You can also change the spoken language to different languages such as Mandarin, Japanese, Italian, Korean, Spanish, and many more.

Transcribe Your Audio With Google Docs

Another tool that you have probably used a lot but did not realise that it has a transcription function is Google Docs.

Just like Microsoft Word, Google Docs also has a voice typing function where it automatically transcribes your voice.

Here’s how you can do it:

Create a blank document in Google Docs.
Under the ‘Tools’ dropdown menu, select ‘Voice Typing’ or type cmd/ctrl+shift+s to open the Voice Typing tool.
Press the microphone button to trigger the transcription. Don’t forget to allow Google Docs to use your microphone.

Google Docs offers transcription in a wide range of languages since it also has Google Translate.

To change the language, click on the drop-down icon above the microphone icon. A list of languages will show up.

How To Get Accurate Transcription

The accuracy of your audio depends on your audio quality. So, how can you get an accurate transcription?

1 - Go To A Quiet Room

Noise is the number one enemy when you are trying to transcribe audio. If you can’t figure out what a person is saying in audio, there is also a high chance that the machine doesn’t know how to transcribe the audio.

Therefore, go to a quiet room, away from random noise. Avoid areas prone to background noise, such as the laundry room or balcony. Wind, even a slight breeze, can affect audio quality.

Find out how you can reduce your background noise here.

2 - Speak To Microphone

The closer a person is to a microphone, the clearer the sound can be heard. Make sure that you do not cover your microphone with your hand.

You can also buy additional microphones to have better audio quality, especially if you are recording an audio/video outdoor.

3 - Slow Down

You don’t have to rush when you are speaking to the microphone. Talk in a conversational tone at a normal rate. Getting the dictation done faster is not the goal, quality documentation is.