Otter an essential app (the killer note taker)

Otter has knocked it out of the park.

Do you write?

Are you creative in any capacity?

Are you like me in that you struggle to turn your thoughts into text?

Do you ever feel intimidated by the blank page?

If you don’t want to read the whole post here it is in essence:

Otter is the best audio transcription app I have used. It has helped me write posts, short stories and tweets. Here is my invite link if you want to crack on and try it for yourself.

Full disclosure: If you sign up I get Otter premium for a month.

Here is the anchor episode:

What is Otter?

Otter might just be the best audio transcription app.

Otter has obliterated the fear I’d get when I sat down to write.

I’ve only recently discovered the real potential for a creative writer like myself. Maybe you can benefit from Otter too.

It feels like Otter will serve you even better if you are looking to work on a creative project.

Now I know there are other transcription apps out there, but they pale in comparison to Otter. I’m from Northern Ireland and all the other apps I’ve used kind of struggle with my accent. It gets to the point where I’d be better off just writing it out. Which defeats the purpose.

What’s the most challenging part of a project for you?

There are two areas where I struggle.

Getting started
Finishing.

When I’m actually in the midst of it, I’m having a ball. I’ll write about how to finish a project later but for now, let’s focus on beginnings.

The hardest part of writing is getting started. When you sit down to a blank page. The fear gets into you.

You get those same old thoughts we all experience, “What right do I have to write?” “The world is falling apart, and I’m at my desk dreaming up something,” “I have nothing to say” “My story has been told before, but by someone else, better and more concise.”. Is it just me?

It’s OK, we all have those thoughts. I get them all the time, and I look for ways to work around those feelings.

Once you get going, it becomes easier.

The question is, how do you get through the beginning phases more efficiently?

Enter Otter

Otter is fantastic because it takes your speech and transcribes it word for word.

The accuracy and speed of transcription are what really impressed me.

I opened the app on my phone and talked away for three minutes. When I was done there, it was in a document in front of me.

Ready to export.

I took the text from the note, copied it over to google docs and was able to jump straight into editing.

How do you think I wrote this post?

My mentor and friend, Jose Rosado, put it well. I’m paraphrasing him here, but he said to me “Editing is easy, creating is hard,”. Jose was the one who introduced me to the app, and for that, I am grateful. Would you mind giving him a follow on twitter because he has excellent content that will benefit you.

Otter removes the pain of beginnings. It feels like the accuracy of the transcription removes writing.

Now there might be some purists out there who will say it’s not proper writing. You know what I understand but at the same time, for someone like me who has a lot of projects and post ideas?

Otter has been a game-changer.

Now how can Otter benefit you?

There are obvious applications for Otter. Like if you’re in a meeting with multiple speakers. Otter has the means to distinguish between various speakers. It’ll make the minute taking much more manageable.

What you have to imagine is the possibilities for how you can use Otter to augment the creative process.

Most of my writing is fictional and blog posts like the very one you’re reading right now.

I know you might think I’m going a bit daft over an audio transcription app. Here’s the thing it feels like a whole new world has opened up for me.

And you too.

I’m excited for myself, and I’m excited for you.

How could you fully utilise an app like Otter?

It got me thinking.

The sit-down stand-up

For example, I do a bit of stand-up every once in a while. I’m still getting to grips with the form, I’m still not good.

Put it this way, I can make certain people laugh, but I can’t make many people laugh if that makes sense to you.

What I’m trying to say is whenever I’m coming up with bits and skits and jokes, the best stuff comes organically.

As in I’ll be talking to someone. During a conversation, I’ll come up with a bit or go on a bit of a rant about something. People laugh, and I say to myself, “Kieran make sure to write it down,”

By the time I get to writing it down, something is lost. Either I’ve forgotten what it was or I don’t remember it correctly.

The momentum is gone.

You might argue that it wasn’t funny, to begin with.

Fair.

But think of what this might do for you long term.

Now there’s potential for all kinds of creatives. It feels like stand-up comedians could benefit the most from an app like Otter.

Otter will make you maintain your momentum

With Otter you don’t have to worry about having to stop the conversation midflow to whip out a notepad or type it out on your phone.

With Otter, you can excuse yourself, make a short audio note knowing that you can refer back to it later. The text compliments those harder to hear segments.

For example, I’m coming up with characters for stand up comedy.

I need to get myself into the zone.

The plan is Otter will be able to help me with that. I can mess around and goof about. Don’t have to worry about doing things right the first time.

I can get it out messy and fix it from there.

That’s the idea at least.

I’m excited about the potential that Otter promises.

Even if you’re not a comedian or creative, it is still useful.

For example, I wrote this blog post using Otter. Most of what you’re reading right now is because of Otter.

Here’s another way to use Otter. I journal, have been adding to it over time. I’ve been experimenting with digitising it. Instead of trying to read the scrawl that is my handwriting, I have been using Otter to help me along.

You can read an Otter augmented journal entry here.

Conclusion

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post. I’m going to wrap this post up.

If you write in any capacity and feel intimidated by the blank page, consider giving Otter a chance. You’ll be impressed by how accurate it is.

Thank you, Jose Rosado, for introducing me to the app (Remember to follow him out on twitter because the man is doing great work).

It really has been a game-changer.

Here is my invite link. Would you mind giving it a click? When you sign up, you can get an invite link too. When people sign up through yours, you get to experience premium features for a month.

Hope you found this helpful

Looking forward to you getting more work out quicker with help from Otter.

Thank you.

Have a great day,

Kieran

****

Did you like that?

If you did would you mind signing up to my email because you’re a legend.

Thank you and have a great day,

Kieran