Transcription and on-device AI

Getting better meeting transcripts: microphones, rooms and habits

Practical ways to get more accurate meeting transcripts on a Mac - headphones, the right microphone input, distance, one voice at a time, names spelled out.

By the Notey team at AInject · · · 6 min read

In short

The fastest way to get a better meeting transcript is to improve the audio going in, not to change the transcription engine.

Wear headphones, speak into a microphone that is close to you and away from the keyboard, check that the Mac is using the input you think it is, and take turns. Then spell out the names and numbers that matter, because those are the words every recogniser finds hardest.

This guide goes through each of those in order of how much difference they usually make. For why names and numbers go wrong in the first place, see why meeting transcripts get names and numbers wrong.

1. Wear headphones

On speakers, the sound of the call comes out into your room and your microphone picks it up. Your recording then has the other side twice: once, clean, from the call, and again, faint and echoey, on your microphone. A transcript built from that can put their words on your side, repeat them, or garble both.

Headphones remove the problem at the source. Wired headphones, AirPods or any Bluetooth headphones all work for this, as long as the sound goes to your ears and not the room.

If you have already recorded on speakers, fixing echo in call recordings covers what you can do afterwards.

2. Use a microphone close to your mouth

A recogniser hears your voice against everything else the microphone picks up: the room's echo, the keyboard, the laptop's fans, the street. The closer the microphone is to your mouth, the louder your voice is compared with all of that.

In rough order, from cleanest to least clean:

  1. A headset or lapel microphone, close to your mouth.
  2. A USB desk microphone placed near you and pointed at you.
  3. The Mac's built-in microphone, with you sitting in front of the Mac and not typing much.
  4. The built-in microphone from across the room, which picks up the room as much as you.

You do not need an expensive microphone. Position matters more than price.

3. Check which microphone the Mac is using

Macs switch inputs on their own: plug in a headset, connect AirPods, or open the lid of a docked laptop, and the input can change. The call app has its own microphone setting too, and it does not always agree with the system.

Before an important call, open System Settings, go to Sound, and look at the Input tab to see which device is selected, and speak to see the input level move. Choosing the right microphone on a Mac covers the places the setting lives and what to do when they disagree.

4. Think twice about Bluetooth microphones

Many Bluetooth headsets, including popular earbuds, switch to a lower-quality audio mode while their microphone is in use, because the connection has to carry sound in both directions. Your voice arrives at the Mac with less detail, and the recogniser has less to work with.

A common fix is to listen on the Bluetooth headphones and speak into the Mac's own microphone, or a wired one. Recording a call while wearing AirPods covers how to set that up.

5. Reduce the noise you control

  • Close the window, move away from the fan, and choose a room with soft furnishings over one with bare walls and a hard floor. Echo blurs speech.
  • Type less while you talk. A keyboard next to the microphone is loud.
  • Mute when you are not speaking in a large call. Your microphone track then stays quiet instead of full of background noise, and nothing stray is transcribed on your side.
  • Turn off notification sounds during the meeting.

6. Take turns

When two people speak at once, a recogniser usually follows one voice and loses the other. The same goes for working out who spoke. Meetings with a chair who lets one person finish produce much better transcripts than free-for-alls. On a call, a short pause before answering also helps the call app, which may cut the start of a sentence when two people speak at once.

7. Say names and numbers clearly

Names, figures and jargon are where transcripts go wrong most often, and they are the words people act on.

  • Spell out unusual names the first time: "Northwind, N-O-R-T-H-wind".
  • Say numbers in a way that cannot be misheard. "Fifteen, one-five" rather than a quick "fifteen" that can be heard as "fifty".
  • Repeat the key figures at the end: "So that's 40 licences from 1 November."
  • Ask the other side to repeat a figure if their connection breaks up. It also helps the humans.

The repeat at the end is also the moment to confirm the decision, which makes the notes better whatever tool you use.

8. Check the language

A recogniser listening for English will make a poor job of French. If the meeting is in another language, make sure the tool is set to it and that the language is supported on the device. Which languages a Mac can transcribe on the device lists them.

9. Correct what matters, soon after

However good the audio, check the names, numbers and commitments in the transcript before you send notes or act on them. It is quickest straight after the meeting, while you still remember what was said.

In Notey

Everything above applies to any notetaker. A few Notey specifics:

  • Notey records your microphone and what the Mac plays as two separate tracks and transcribes both on the Mac. See on-device transcription for how that works. Headphones keep the two tracks clean.
  • If your speakers put someone on your side, move the line to the other side.
  • Click a line's timestamp to hear the moment it was said, then correct the words.
  • After an English meeting, Notey reads the recording again on your Mac and keeps the words the recognisers agree on. Good audio helps that pass as much as the live one.

Frequently asked questions

What is the single biggest improvement to a meeting transcript?

Wearing headphones. On speakers, your microphone also hears the other side, so their words leak onto your track with the room's echo. Headphones keep each side clean.

Do I need an expensive microphone for good transcription?

No. What matters most is that the microphone is close to your mouth and away from noise. A basic headset microphone near your mouth usually does better than a good microphone across the desk.

Why is the other side of the call transcribed worse than my side?

Their audio has been through their microphone, their room and the call app's compression before it reaches you. You cannot fix their end, but you can ask them to repeat names and numbers.

Should I use my AirPods microphone for calls I want transcribed?

Often it is better to listen on the AirPods and speak into the Mac's microphone. Many Bluetooth headsets switch to a lower-quality mode while their microphone is in use.