Skype Transcription: How to Effortlessly Transcribe Skype and Skype for Business Calls

Video chats require a higher level of concentration than face-to-face chat. Consequently, the participants' non-verbal cues, such as the tone of the voice, body language, and facial expressions, may be more challenging to interpret. As a result, in an important Skype meeting, for example, it's usually more challenging to focus on the context of the meeting, and fairly easy to get distracted. These distractions can make one miss critical details, so recording and transcribing the meeting sounds like a good idea.

How to Get a Perfect Skype Transcript

You may also use these transcriptions as accurate material for letters and reports you can send to your clients, customers, and shareholders. Video conferencing software like Skype has recording capabilities that allow you to record, store, and download your conversations. As amazing as the software is, it's not possible to transcribe Skype calls on the platform. Fortunately, that is not a cause for concern because there are many transcription services available for Skype transcription. Here's how you can record a Skype call. 

How to Record a Skype Call

Recording audio or video calls on Skype has never been easier. Until a few years, you had to use a third-party program, but now Skype has a built-in recording feature for desktop, mobile applications, and the web. 

Once a Skype call is in progress, you can start recording. You can start a call recording by clicking the "More Options" button at the bottom of the screen and selecting "Start Recording". On both desktop and mobile, a banner appears on your Skype screen to let everyone know you've started recording the call. After the call ends, you can stop recording. The recording will be posted on your chat and made available for 30 days. To save a call on desktop, go to your chat, click the "More Options" button, and then select "Save to Downloads" to save the recording to your Downloads folder.

How to Record a Skype for Business Call

When recording a Skype for Business meeting, you can capture audio, video, instant messaging (IM), screen sharing, PowerPoint slides, whiteboard activity, and polling. Once the call starts, click the "More Options" button and select "Start Recording". Once the meeting is over, you can click "Stop Recording". Skype for Business shows a notification when the recording is ready. Click on "Tools", then "Recording Manager". Publish lets you rename the recording and save it to a different location.

How to Transcribe Your Skype Calls

Once you have downloaded your Skype or Skype for Business recording, you will now be able to transcribe it. There are a lot of options when looking at Skype transcription, from automated tools to professional services. It's important to note that these will vary in terms of processing time, accuracy, pricing, and language support. Here are some of the best transcription services that can be used for Skype transcription.  

Automated Transcription 

With AI-powered transcription, there is no human element involved in the process. You can usually get your transcription within minutes. However, these platforms require very clear audio to be accurate, so they may not be ideal for transcribing Skype meetings with a lot of chatter, strong accents, or inaudible parts. AI doesn't distinguish different voices.

Additionally, a recording with many speakers or strong accents and dialects will be complicated to transcribe and might not yield accurate results. Grammar and punctuation errors are also widespread with automated transcripts, so clients usually have to hire proofreaders and editors to improve the quality of the transcript. As a result, the quick processing time sometimes serves little purpose. All in all, automated transcripts cannot match the accuracy and quality of work produced by a seasoned human transcriptionist.   

Human Transcription 

The significant thing about "traditional" human transcription services is the high accuracy level, but the downside is that these will take longer to do. There are a lot of services dedicated to this. With all of them, skilled professionals take care of your transcription. The end result is far superior thanks to a high level of quality control, going through reviews and edits before reaching the client.

GoTranscript is one of the best human transcription services and is perfect for Skype meeting transcription because of the high level of accuracy. Founded in 2005 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the company is one of the fastest-growing transcription services online, with over 10,000 active clients. They have a global team of nearly 20,000 professional transcriptionists, proofreaders, and customer support specialists.  

Why Is Human Transcription Better?

Transcribing Skype calls is a great way to repurpose existing content or simplify the creation of video or blog descriptions. It can also be an excellent tool for people with hearing problems, allowing them to experience Skype conversations. Depending on your budget and desired level of accuracy, there are a decent number of options on how to transcribe Skype and Skype for Business calls. However, without any doubt, you will get more accurate results from human transcription.

Don't waste time taking notes or transcribing your Skype calls on your own. Create an account on GoTranscript today, enjoy 99% accuracy, quick turnaround times, and options to fit any budget. Finally, you'll get your first minutes transcribed free of charge!