Why this matters
After every meeting, someone spends half an hour writing up what was decided. Or nobody does, and the tasks quietly get lost until someone asks "wait, who was doing that?"
Most meeting tools can already save a transcript. On its own it is too long to read, so it sits in a folder.
In this module you turn a transcript into a short summary, the decisions, an action items table with owners and dates, and a follow-up email, in a few minutes. Then you learn the faster way: upload the file instead of pasting it.
What you’ll build
From the transcript of a team’s Monday meeting: a five-line summary, the decisions, an action items table (task, owner, due date) and the open questions.
You fill in two due dates nobody said out loud, turn the result into a recap email, and repeat it by uploading the transcript file.
What you need
- Nothing to start the practiceThe transcript is already open in a practice Google Doc, and ChatGPT is a practice copy.
- A ChatGPT account, to do it for realA free account at chatgpt.com works. For client meetings, use your company’s approved plan.
- A transcript or rough notesGoogle Meet, Zoom and Teams can save a transcript on some plans. Typed notes work too.
Concepts
3 ideas you’ll use in the practice.
Say what you want before you paste
A transcript with no request gets a vague recap. Name the four things you want pulled out: summary, decisions, action items with owners and dates, open questions.
Add one rule: only use what is in the transcript, and write "Not stated" when something is missing. That stops ChatGPT from filling gaps with guesses that look like facts.
You were in the room, the AI was not
Check the answer against what you remember. When a date says "Not stated", that is the AI being honest, not failing.
Type the missing details into the same chat and ask again. The whole meeting is still there, so there is nothing to re-paste.
Upload the file when you have one
When the transcript arrives as a file, attach it with the + button. Same request, same answer, no copying. It works for Word, PDF and text files.
If a transcript has private client details, check your company’s rules before you share it with any AI tool.
Practice
Do every step yourself in a practice copy of the real tool. It checks your work, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on.
Do it for real
Now repeat it in your own account. Tick each step as you go.
Quick check
3 questions to check you’ve got it.
1. Why add "write Not stated when something is missing" to the request?
- It makes the answer shorter
- It stops ChatGPT from guessing details that look like facts
- ChatGPT requires it
Show the answer
It stops ChatGPT from guessing details that look like facts. Without the rule, a missing due date can come back as a confident, made-up one.
2. Two due dates say "Not stated". What do you do?
- Start a new chat and paste everything again
- Type the dates you know into the same chat and ask again
- Send the email anyway
Show the answer
Type the dates you know into the same chat and ask again. The transcript is still in the chat, so you only add what was missing.
3. What is the faster way when the transcript is a file?
- Upload it with the + button under the same request
- Retype it
- Email it to ChatGPT
Show the answer
Upload it with the + button under the same request. Uploading gives the same answer with no copying.
Reply Faster: Customer Emails
Meetings done. Next is the inbox: turn a messy, upset customer email thread into a checked, friendly reply.
Start module 7 →