When your transcript is ready, ClerkMinutes tries to tell you who said what. This page explains how it works, why some speakers show up as numbers, and how to get more names filled in automatically.
How it works
ClerkMinutes separates the voices. It listens to your recording and works out where each distinct voice speaks. At this stage the voices are labeled Speaker 1, Speaker 2 and so on, in the order they first speak.
It reads your member list. It looks at the departments and members in your account, including their names and titles.
It matches voices to people. Using clues from the recording, such as roll call, people addressing each other by name, and who speaks when, it connects each voice to a person on your list.
Names appear on the transcript. Where there's a match, you'll see the person's name instead of a number.
You don't need to do anything for this to happen. It runs automatically after your transcript is generated.
Why some speakers still show as numbers
ClerkMinutes only names a speaker when it can match them to someone it knows. You'll see "Speaker 1" or "Speaker 2" when:
The person isn't in your member list. This is common for a new account, new officials and public commenters.
There aren't enough clues. If no one says the person's name and they don't appear in the roll call, there's little to go on.
The audio is unclear. Overlapping voices, background noise or distant microphones make voices harder to separate and match.
The meeting is very long. Matching can be less accurate in the later part of long meetings.
When it can't tell, ClerkMinutes leaves the speaker as a number instead of guessing, so you'll sometimes need to add a name yourself. See Review & correct speakers.
How to get more speakers named automatically
Keep your Departments up to date. Add new members and staff, remove people who've left, and check the spelling of names and titles. This is the biggest factor. See Set up your departments & members.
Make sure each person is in the right department. Put people in every board or committee they speak for.
Do a roll call at the start. When the clerk calls names aloud, it gives ClerkMinutes a strong clue about who is in the room.
Use clear audio. See Get better results from your recording.
Fix names once, when you see them. When you assign a name to a speaker, every line from that speaker updates right away. Adding a new person also puts them on your member list for next time.
What ClerkMinutes won't do
It doesn't guess when it's unsure. A number means "I couldn't tell", not "I was wrong".
It doesn't add people to your member list on its own. Only people you add, or choose through Add Speaker, are saved.
Do I need to check every speaker?
No. Focus on the people who matter for your minutes, such as who made a motion, who seconded it and how each person voted. A few unnamed speakers, such as public commenters, don't stop you from generating your minutes.
Next steps
Set up your departments & members: add the people ClerkMinutes should recognize
Review & correct speakers: name or change a speaker
Troubleshooting: if names keep coming out wrong