Episode 351: A quick way to create content
How can a simple change drastically improve both your productivity and communication? In this episode, Fiona shares a game-changing tip for boosting productivity in your business. She also discusses how speaking naturally can enhance your written communication. Tune in!
Topics discussed in this episode:
Introduction
Importance of voice-to-text technology in enhancing communication
The importance of natural language in written content creation
Highlighting the efficiency and time-saving benefits of utilizing voice dictation for text-based communication
Conclusion
Get in touch with My Daily Business
Resources and Recommendations mentioned in this episode:
Welcome to episode 351 of the My Daily Business podcast. Today is a quick tip episode, and I can't believe I haven't shared this before because I hate using the word game-changing, but honestly, it is, and I use it all the time, and I just think it is one of the easiest, most helpful ways to get work done in your business. Before we get stuck into that, I want to remind you that if you are keen to get into one-on-one coaching with me, either for the rest of this year or for 2024, please get in touch soon. We do close down around Christmas, and I tend to take a bit of time off in January. If you want to get going, please make sure you've booked in this side of the new year so that you can make sure you've got the dates and the times that you want for your one-on-one coaching. You can find all the packages and details over at mydailybusiness.com/shop.
If you've got any questions about it, you can feel free to book a free consult call. That's a 15-minute call on the phone where you can ask me any questions. We can check if we're a good fit for each other, or if you want to go ahead, you can just sign up there are payment plans available, or if you'd rather pay in full, you can just send us an email and we'll invoice you the full amount. Before we get started, I also want to acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians on the land on which I record these podcasts and do the one-on-one coaching calls, and that is the Wurrung and Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. And I pay my respects to their elders past and present and acknowledge that sovereignty has never been ceded. Let's get into today's quick tip episode.
I have talked at length about using voice-to-text. I use it all the time in notes. I use voice messages a lot in terms of getting back to clients. I use voice messages all the time with friends. We have so many different WhatsApp groups. I have voice notes on Instagram and DMs, I run a podcast and I'm fine with talking. Talking comes pretty naturally to me, as does writing. I'm lucky that my career has helped both of those things emerge, especially as an introvert. I get that talking to people can feel uncomfortable, but when we talk, we use much more natural language. I'm just speaking now. I have absolutely no notes written about this. I tend to very rarely write notes for the podcast, which may help or hinder it. But it allows me to sound a lot more natural because I'm talking without notes.
I'm just talking to you as I would talk to you if we were sitting in the car chatting to each other or having a coffee. When we talk, we are just sounding more natural in most cases, and yet we don't use that enough when it comes to writing content, writing emails, and writing captions for social media. Even if you are using something like ChatGPT or another AI tool, you still need to give it directions. Sometimes, we can sit there stumped as to, how do I explain this in text format? That can ruin a lot of people's engagement with communication and content marketing. One of the things I've recommended in the past is to use the microphone on your notes app on your phone and use it that way.
I have to say that is predominantly how I've used things for writing my Sunday emails or coming up with thoughts or ideas for the podcast. I knew about this, but I had not been using it, and I don't know why that is. I have no idea why I don't use this because I'm somebody who loves voice-to-text technology. But I have a keyboard, it's an Apple keyboard, an external keyboard. I have the way that my desk is set up, I've got a monitor, I've got a laptop, a MacBook Air, an Apple keyboard and a mouse, and the remote keyboard that I have, I don't think this is specific to Apple, it might be, but I would imagine that a lot of keyboards do this now, or even just computers would have some sort of way of doing this.
On the Apple keyboard, you can set up your own shortcuts for a variety of things. One of those is that I can set up a shortcut to just speak and have it dictated without having to type physically. All I do, because I've set it up in a certain way, is hit a particular button twice and the microphone appears on my desktop and I can just talk. Now, why this is so revolutionary for me is that Trello boards are a part of what I offer with one-on-one coaching. If you do one-on-one coaching with me, you don't just get the session, we do the video session. I can see you, I can see all of the nonverbal cues, and then you can record that if you want to. I wrote up some notes afterwards. I'm writing them sometimes as we are talking as well, but having that session and then having a time afterwards where I can just talk to the screen and have those notes written and have them come out in very natural language.
Yes, sometimes I have to edit things. Sometimes it doesn't catch my accent, doesn't spell things correctly, or randomly puts a weird word in there. I'm not saying it's absolutely flawless, but it is so quick to be able to write those notes up. I know there are AI tools and I'm looking at another AI tool that I'll be using with my coaching coming out soon, which is amazing and game-changing. Once I've got to the hang of that, I will definitely be sharing it. But right now, just this tapping of my keyboard and being able to talk directly at the screen is incredible. It's incredible for emails, it's incredible for my trolley boards, it's incredible for my Sunday email when I'm saying emails, just replying to people on email, it is so much quicker for me to be able to say, “Hi, thanks so much for getting in touch. Here's how you would book.”
Or that would be an email that my assistant Yricka sends, but it's something that I could write back very quickly because I'm just speaking and I speak faster than I type, although I'm a pretty fast typer, I am able to get the words out in a way that sometimes I might take longer on my keyboard to physically type everything out. I just wanted to put it out there that if you are using a keyboard, if you're in front of a computer for some of your work, you may not be utilizing your keyboard or the way that your computer works to be able to just talk at the screen and have everything dictated. As I said before, I've used this for years in terms of my notes and using it on my mobile, but I have not been using it to the same degree on my computer.
I know it's nothing new. And not being like, this is revolutionary and it's brand new. But it is absolutely game-changing in what it's been able to allow me to do. Sometimes you can get like, I've gotta do this tedious task now. It's so much easier if you can just talk because then it's done and dusted and it's just making things quicker and more efficient in my own business. I thought I would share it. I would love to know what your kind of quick tips are for your own business. Maybe there's things that maybe you have a magic keyboard like me and you, that's what it's called. It's not me saying it's magic. Maybe you have something and you're like, have you tried this button or have you tried that?
Because so often we can buy these tech tools and just use them in the way that we have always used that particular thing. Like for example, in this instance, a keyboard, rather than fully looking at what else is possible here. I'll leave you with that thought. I would love to know what you took away from this, and if you have a keyboard, if you're going to implement this. You can always send us a DM @mydailybusiness_ where you can find us on TikTok @mydailybusiness. Thanks so much for reading. I'll see you next time. Bye.
