About 18 months ago, I started using a Livescribe Smartpen to take notes while conducting interviews. If you’re a writer, you should check this out. I have no connection to this product, and I get nothing if you choose to buy. This blog isn’t about affiliate marketing – it’s just an honest recommendation of a product that has changed the way I do things. Yeah – it’s that good.
The pen is a digital recorder that captures everything you hear and write. You use special notebooks that look like any other college ruled notebook, except that the paper is encapsulated with millions of tiny dots. The pen has a built-in camera and voice recorder that captures everything that goes on in a meeting or interview.
I used to take copious notes during an interview, and believe me, it’s hard to listen and write at the same time. Now, I listen more and take fewer notes, because I know I can go back and capture every word spoken and every note jotted. It’s amazing. I learn more during the interview, and my quotes can be backed up with actual audio clips.
Once you’re done with a session, you download the pen into your desktop software. Each page of your notebook is rendered as a clickable image, and you can use your mouse to click anywhere on the page to pick up the audio at that point. Of course, you can do the same thing right in the notebook itself.
I can email the pages to another writer, and I can email the notes as mp3 files to anyone I want. Some people are using this technology as a training tool. Imagine being able to send your boss not only your notes, but also an audio recording of your last sales call.
If you use a Smartpen, always ask your client for permission to record the conversation. I’ve never been refused, but I’ve never interviewed shady characters. I’m sure more than a few of the 60-plus Cuyahoga County employees indicted on corruption charges would balk at this great technology.
Hey, I’ve even used it all alone. Seriously! Sometimes I’ll start writing down ideas for my business and while I’m writing, I’ll talk my way through various ideas. I’ll even make notes about important items to cover at a meeting that might be coming up in the weeks ahead. It’s a great memory refresher before going into a presentation.
A lot of technology seems to just clutter our lives. Not this one. If you’re like me, you’ll wonder how you got along without it. Learn more at livescribe.com.
