Distilling action items from meetings, emails, conferences...

The last few days at Elite Retreat have been fantastic. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of speakers, sponsors, or delegates.

But… I wish I had asked for better weather!

Due to too much wind and rain on a small-ish island airport runway, 30 of our delegates were on planes that were either cancelled or unable to land on the island.

So initially, we hadn’t planned to video the conference, but in a last-minute decision, we set up cameras to capture at least the audio of sessions and provide recordings to those still in transit.

Today, during our first meeting back in the office, we discussed which tool to use to summarise the recordings into actionable takeaways.

Most people now have Zoom note-takers, but what do you use to summarise other types of content?

1. Descript - Descript is a powerful all-in-one audio and video editing platform offering a unique content creation and editing approach. Its standout feature is the ability to edit audio and video by simply editing the transcript, making it incredibly intuitive for users more comfortable with text editing. It now has some really cool summarisation features built-in, which are fantastic time-savers for when you want to upload videos to YouTube (things like automatic chapter markers, show notes and more)

2. Otter.ai Otter.ai is another widespread AI-powered transcription and note-taking tool. It offers real-time transcription for meetings, interviews, and lectures, making capturing and reviewing important information easy. Otter can also compose action item emails, summaries and more.

3. Krisp.ai Krisp has been around for a while and is primarily known as a noise-cancellation tool for audio and video calls. But it also has some superpowers now that include AI-powered meeting assistant capabilities. Krisp can transcribe meetings in real time, generate summaries, and even create action items from your conversations. Its ability to provide clear audio by removing background noise makes it particularly useful for ensuring high-quality transcriptions, even in less-than-ideal recording environments - like the local coffee shop.

Of course, many other tools do similar things, such as Trint, Rev, and Fireflies.ai. Each offers unique features for transcription and summarisation.

But you don’t always need a separate tool now that ChatGPT-4o, Claude, and Gemini, with their bigger context windows, can also summarise longer audio.

Here are some prompts to try:

Paste the transcript and ask your favourite LLM any of the following:

• Executive Summary: Distill the key content into a concise one-paragraph overview

• Key Takeaways: Identify the 3-5 most important points discussed in the session

• Actionable Insights: List specific steps or recommendations that can be implemented from the discussion

• Themes and Trends: Outline overarching themes, trends, or recurring concepts identified throughout the conference

• Questions and Debates: Highlight key questions raised, issues discussed, or contrasting viewpoints presented

• Case Studies and Examples: Describe any significant real-world examples or case studies shared

• Innovative Ideas: Summarise any novel ideas, new methodologies, or emerging technologies introduced

• Unexpected Learnings: Note any surprising facts, perspectives, or thought-provoking moments

• Quotes to Remember: Tell me some of the most memorable quotes or impactful statements…

• Expert Predictions: Highlight any future predictions or potential implications for the real estate industry

• Follow-Up Materials: List additional resources, materials, or references suggested for further exploration.

Of course, the real value of note-taking comes from taking action, so once you have your nuggets of wisdom, don’t forget to do something with them!

Happy Hunting 🚀