Never Miss a Key Detail in Meetings

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Andrew here from The Logical Box, where I break down AI so it’s easy to understand and even easier to use.

Ever walked out of a meeting thinking, "That was great, but what exactly did we decide?"

You’re not alone.

Most people try to balance staying engaged and taking notes, but it’s nearly impossible to do both well.

• If you focus on writing, you miss key moments.

• If you focus on listening, you forget details later.

• If your notes are messy, they’re useless.

That’s why I use Otter.ai, an AI-powered transcription tool that captures every word in real time, so you can stay fully present without worrying about forgetting key details.

Let’s walk through how you can use Otter.ai to improve your meetings, make follow-ups easier, and ensure that every important discussion is documented.

Step 1: Set Up Otter.ai Before Your Meeting

Otter.ai is easy to set up, but a little preparation goes a long way in ensuring you get the best transcription results.

Here’s what to do before your meeting starts:

• Download the Otter.ai app on your phone or open it in a browser on your laptop. This ensures you have access wherever you are.

• Test your microphone settings. Background noise can reduce transcription accuracy. Using an external microphone or ensuring a quiet environment can make a big difference.

• Create a folder for meeting notes. If you attend multiple meetings, keeping them organized by project or client will help you quickly find past discussions.

• Enable speaker identification. This feature helps distinguish between different speakers so that your transcript is easier to follow.

• If your meeting is on Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams, integrate Otter.ai. Otter can automatically join and transcribe virtual meetings, making it even easier to capture everything without manual effort.

This setup takes less than five minutes but saves you from having to reconstruct conversations later.

Step 2: Record and Transcribe in Real Time

Once your meeting starts, Otter.ai begins working immediately.

• Open the Otter.ai app or web version and press “Record.” This starts the live transcription process.

• Monitor the transcript as it appears in real time. This is helpful because you can see if Otter is capturing everything correctly.

• Let Otter run in the background. There’s no need to keep checking it—focus on the conversation instead.

By the time the meeting ends, you’ll have a complete, time-stamped transcript of everything discussed, without having to jot down a single word.

This eliminates the common frustration of realizing halfway through a meeting that you forgot to write something important down.

Step 3: Search, Highlight, and Extract Key Insights

Having a transcript is great, but the real value comes in how you use it.

• Use the search function to find key topics quickly. Instead of scrolling through an hour-long transcript, simply type in a keyword like "budget" or "next steps" to jump straight to the relevant section.

• Highlight important moments for easy reference. If a decision was made or an action item was assigned, highlight it so that it stands out later.

• Add comments to clarify discussion points. If something needs additional context, you can add notes directly in the transcript for your team.

• Share the transcript with colleagues. This is useful if someone missed the meeting or if you want to ensure alignment across the team. Instead of spending time summarizing, you can send them the full discussion in seconds.

Think of Otter.ai as a smart notetaker that ensures no important detail gets lost.

Step 4: Ask Otter.ai Follow-Up Questions to Extract Key Details

Instead of reading through an entire transcript, you can ask Otter.ai specific questions to pull out the most important points.

Here are a few ways to make your transcripts more useful:

Summarizing the Meeting

• “What were the key takeaways from this meeting?”

• “Summarize this meeting in three bullet points.”

• “List the main decisions made in this conversation.”

Identifying Action Items

• “What tasks were assigned, and to whom?”

• “Summarize all next steps discussed.”

• “Who is responsible for each task?”

Extracting Important Discussions

• “Find all mentions of ‘budget’ in this meeting.”

• “Show me everything related to ‘timeline updates.’”

• “Summarize the discussion on marketing strategy.”

Organizing Follow-Ups

• “Draft a follow-up email based on this meeting.”

• “Generate a to-do list from this conversation.”

• “What questions need to be answered in the next meeting?”

These questions allow you to quickly extract and act on important details, saving time and ensuring clarity.

Step 5: Automate Follow-Ups with AI-Generated Summaries

Meetings are only valuable if they lead to action. But how often do you find yourself scrambling to recall what was decided?

Otter.ai makes this process easier by automatically generating:

• Key takeaways from the meeting. Instead of rereading the entire transcript, you’ll get a condensed summary of the most important points.

• Action items assigned during the discussion. These are flagged so that you know exactly what needs to be done next.

• A formatted summary that you can email to your team or integrate into tools like Notion or Google Docs.

Rather than spending extra time writing a recap, you can focus on execution.

This alone can save you hours every week, especially if you’re responsible for multiple projects or teams.

Why This Matters for You

Most professionals waste time either trying to take notes manually or trying to reconstruct what was said after a meeting. Neither is efficient.

With Otter.ai, you:

• Stay fully engaged in discussions without worrying about forgetting details.

• Have an accurate record of every conversation that you can refer back to at any time.

• Save time on meeting follow-ups by automating summaries and action items.

It’s like having a personal assistant in every meeting, making sure you don’t lose track of important ideas.

Your Next Steps: Try Otter.ai in Your Next Meeting

Before your next meeting, take these steps:

1. Set up Otter.ai and test it to ensure clear audio.

2. Hit “Record” and let it transcribe the conversation in real time.

3. After the meeting, use search and highlights to extract key points.

4. Use Otter’s AI-generated summary to create a follow-up plan.

5. Ask follow-up questions to get action items, summaries, or key insights.

Once you try it, you’ll never go back to manual notes.

Want to discuss how AI can improve your business workflows? 

Connect with me on LinkedIn, and let’s talk.

Thanks for reading,

Andrew Keener
Founder of Keen Alliance & Your Guide at The Logical Box