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Understanding Transcripts & Speakers

This article will guide you through understanding Transcripts & Speakers, how to correct misidentified speakers and how to add Speakers

Minutes are generated much more accurately if we know the speakers in the meeting.

We try to assign the correct speakers to each transcript line, and we need you to assign the speakers to the dialogues that can’t be matched automatically.

Understanding Speaker Indexes (Speaker 1, 2, 3...)

When a meeting audio file is first processed, the AI detects distinct voices and labels them in chronological order as Speaker 1, Speaker 2, and so on.

  • What the numbers mean: These represent the total number of unique voices identified by the AI.

  • Bulk Renaming: Once you map a speaker index to a real name, every line matching that index will automatically update across the entire transcript.

Navigating the Speaker Dropdown

Clicking on any speaker label (index or name) on a transcript line opens the Speaker Dropdown. This menu is organized into sections:

  • Department Members: A segregated list of municipality members grouped by their respective departments for quick assignment.

  • Add Speaker: A shortcut at the bottom of the menu to create a brand-new speaker profile on the fly.

Manage Speakers Outside the Transcript

You do not have to be actively editing a transcript to add new team members. You can manage your global list of speakers directly from your account settings.

  1. Click on your name in the top right corner of the screen.

  2. Select the Departments page from the menu.

  3. Add your new speakers as department members. From here, you can also manage member roles and permissions.

💡 Notification Tip: If you are adding a speaker purely so their name appears in the transcript dropdown, but you do not want them to receive system emails to access ClerkMinutes, simply omit their email address when creating their profile.

How-To Guides

1. Split a Merged Transcript Line

Sometimes, dialogue from two different speakers is accidentally combined into a single text block. You can split them apart using these steps:

  1. Highlight the Text: Use your cursor to highlight the specific portion of text that belongs to the second speaker.

  2. Click Change Speaker: Click the Change Speaker tooltip that automatically appears directly above your highlighted selection.

  3. Select and Save: In the modal that opens, click the highlighted dropdown to select a new speaker index or speaker name for the transcript line, then click Save. The line will cleanly split into two separate entries.

2. Reassign a Speaker Index for a Specific Transcript Line

If you need to change the anonymous index number (e.g., changing Speaker 1 to Speaker 2) for a single line of text:

  1. Click on the speaker index (e.g., Speaker 1) on the line you want to change to open the speaker dropdown.

  2. Click Change Speaker Number.

3. In the modal that appears, click the dropdown menu located underneath New Speaker.

4. Select your desired speaker index from the list.

5. Click Save to update the speaker index for the transcript line.

3. Reassign a Named Speaker for a Specific Transcript Line

If a line is attributed to the wrong person and you want to switch it to a different or completely new speaker name:

  1. Click the speaker's name on the specific transcript line to open the speaker dropdown.

  2. To choose an existing speaker, select a name directly from the dropdown list.

  3. To add a brand-new speaker, scroll to the bottom of the dropdown and select Add Speaker. A modal will open where you can fill in the new speaker's details.

  4. Click the Add Speaker button inside the modal to save them. Your transcript line will instantly update to the selected person.

4. Edit or Delete a Transcript Line

If you spot a typo or need to remove a line completely, you can update the text directly on the page.

To edit text:

  1. Click directly on the transcript text you want to change.

  2. Type your corrections.

  3. Press Enter (↵) on your keyboard or click anywhere outside the text to save.

To delete a line:

  1. Hover your mouse over the transcript line you wish to remove.

  2. Click the red Trash icon that appears to instantly delete it.

5. Download the Transcript

You can export the finalized transcript to your computer at any time.

  1. Scroll to the bottom of the transcript page.

  2. Click Download Transcript.

  3. Select your preferred file format (Text or CSV) to start the download.

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