Scenario
Following conversations is not always easy, especially when information is being shared quickly. Imagine you are in a Teams meeting, training session, webinar or video call. People may be speaking at different speeds, there might be background noise, the audio quality could be unclear, or someone may have a strong accent.
You are trying to listen, understand what is being discussed, and perhaps take notes at the same time. It is easy to miss important details, decisions or actions, and once the conversation has moved on it can be difficult to catch up.
What is getting in the way?
When information is only available through speech, it can be difficult to process and remember everything that is being said.
You might find it difficult to follow spoken information because of:
- hearing loss or hearing impairment
- background noise or distractions
- poor audio quality
- fatigue or concentration difficulties
- neurodivergent conditions that affect auditory processing
- people speaking quickly or talking over each other
Tools that can help
Depending on what you are using, these built-in tools can help:
- Live captions display spoken words as text on screen in real time, making conversations easier to follow.
- Captions can help you keep track of key points, stay engaged in meetings, and reduce the pressure of trying to remember everything that was said.
- Transcription in Microsoft Teams allows you to review information afterwards and check anything you may have missed.
These tools display spoken words as text on screen, helping you follow conversations in real time and review what was discussed later. You can find out more in our Guide to Live Captions and transcripts.
You do not need to try every tool. Start with one small change and see what helps.
