Before the interview: record well
| Step | Why |
|---|---|
| Use a quiet room | Noise is the main cause of errors |
| Keep the microphone close | Cleaner voice, fewer mistakes |
| Ask the guest to say name and title | A reference for spelling |
| Avoid talking over each other | Overlapping voices are hard to transcribe |
| Test for ten seconds first | Catches a muted microphone |
Step by step with TooLongToListen
- Open TooLongToListen and drag in the audio or video. For video, the app extracts the audio in your browser; the video stays on your device.
- Tick the subtitles option if you want timestamps.
- Sign in with Google and start. The free plan includes 10 minutes at sign-up.
- Copy the text, or download the SRT or VTT.
- Review: play the audio and read along, correcting as you go.
The review routine
- Read the full text once with the audio playing at normal speed.
- Mark every proper noun, number and technical term. These are where errors cluster.
- Add speaker labels at each turn: Interviewer: and Guest:.
- Remove false starts and filler only if your purpose allows it. For research, keep verbatim text; for publication, light editing is common, but never change meaning.
- Add timestamps at paragraph starts. The SRT gives you the time of each line.
Verbatim, clean or summary?
| Style | What it keeps | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Verbatim | Everything including fillers and false starts | Research, legal |
| Clean | Meaning and wording, without fillers | Journalism, blog posts |
| Summary | Key points | Internal notes |
Pick one before you start and apply it consistently.
Quoting with confidence
Quote only after replaying the audio at that point. Keep a note such as "12:41" next to each quote. If a quote carries a number, a name or a claim, check it twice.
Honest limits
- No speaker separation.
- Up to 3 hours of audio per file; cut longer interviews.
- The speech model detects the language automatically; Portuguese is our main focus and we have not published accuracy figures for other languages.
- Heavy accents, crosstalk and bad lines lower quality in any tool.
Privacy and consent
An interview recording contains personal data. Ask for consent on tape, store files safely, and delete what you no longer need. With TooLongToListen the video stays on your device and the audio is processed on our own server. Read privacy-first transcription for details.
After the transcript
- Turn quotes into an article and keep the audio as evidence.
- Create captions for a video interview with the SRT generator.
- For a series, read transcribe a podcast.
Transcribe your recording
Upload one interview to video to text and check the result.
Sources
- Public style guide for timed text (line and timing rules): https://partnerhelp.netflixstudios.com/hc/en-us/articles/217350977-English-Timed-Text-Style-Guide
- SubRip format overview: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SubRip
Frequently asked questions
What is the fastest way to transcribe an interview?
Run the recording through automatic transcription, then review the text while listening. Reviewing is much faster than typing from scratch, but names, numbers and quotes still need a human check.
Does the transcript say who is speaking?
TooLongToListen does not separate speakers automatically. Add labels such as Interviewer and Guest while reviewing, using the timestamps in the SRT as anchors.
How do I quote accurately from a transcript?
Find the quote in the text, then replay the audio at that time and confirm every word. Keep the SRT times next to the quote so you can verify it later.
How long can the interview file be?
Up to 3 hours of audio per file. Only an interview longer than 3 hours must be cut into parts.
Do I need consent to record an interview?
Laws differ by country and state, and professional codes often require it. Ask for permission on the recording itself. This is not legal advice.
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