Have you ever had an important meeting where you tried to take notes and then later discovered that you missed some important details? Haven’t we all had that experience? Many of us have purchased digital voice recorders to try to capture board meetings or even one-on-one meetings.
Too many cables… until now
The problem with these devices is that it’s difficult to deal with the audio content, once it’s captured.
Most digital voice recorders connect to your PC using a USB cable. You can download the audio onto your
PC and email the audio files around. However, often times those files are quite large. Also, only the
most organized among us has the discipline to save all of the audio files, name them appropriately,
and keep them filed in a system that makes sense.
When does it make sense to capture a meeting in audio form? Our customers currently use Cogi to capture these types of meetings:
Cogi turns your cell phone into a virtual digital voice recorder
Cogi makes capturing your important board meetings and in-person meetings much easier. With Cogi,
you can use your cell phone to record the meeting. It’s a device you are already carrying around
with you anyway. Cogi’s ‘meeting mode’ lets you capture a meeting any time anywhere. All you have
to do is call the Cogi Access number and start your meeting. Cogi captures the audio and immediately
stores it in your Cogi online portfolio.
Highlighting – Cogi takes the notes
One of the benefits of using Cogi is the highlighting feature. During most meetings, there are
critical moments where action items are delegated, resolutions are adopted, or new ideas are formed.
If you are using your phone to capture a meeting, you can use the keypad on that phone to tell
Cogi to mark an important section of your meeting for subsequent audio review and transcription. An
alternate keypad button will “lock on” transcription until you release that button again. The highlight
lock feature is perfect for moments in meetings when an important summary is being given that may
last a few minutes. This feature is especially handy if you are creating board meeting minutes,
as you can highlight resolutions, motions or action items.
Cogi organizes your meeting content in your Cogi online portfolio
Another benefit of using Cogi is that your recorded meetings are automatically stored and organized
in your online portfolio. If you have had all or a portion of your meetings transcribed, you can search
for words within those transcripts, like ‘resolution’ or ‘motion’ or ‘Bob Smith’ or whatever you want.
You can share the audio and transcribed text from a particular meeting with people who were unable to
make the meeting. These “guest” users receive an email with a link to their own, private, Cogi
portfolio where they can play the audio and read the transcript of the meeting they missed. Best of all,
it’s free for them to use!
Use your PC to enhance your ability to mark highlights during a meeting
If you are able to use your laptop computer in a meeting and you have an Internet connection, you
can use the Cogi software to easily mark the highlights. There are several advantages to using the software.
First, you’ll have a visual representation of the meeting in front of you. This can help you mark just the
right parts of the meeting for transcription. These are the moments when you would like to have a
verbatim record of what was said. If you are creating board meeting minutes, you can use the audio
and the highlight text to create very accurate minutes. Cogi gives you a ‘backup’ recording of the
meeting and the highlight transcript so you can refer to them as you create your summary or minutes.
Cogi boosts your productivity by ensuring you won’t forget the details
Have you ever thought about your ROM or “Return on Meeting”? Read this blog post
about how Cogi can help you maximize the effectiveness of your meetings and the associated follow up.
