Speech recognition models are trained on huge amounts of audio, but they still struggle with the same things human listeners do: noise, echo, mumbling and people talking over each other. Cleaner audio means fewer corrections later. Here are seven habits that make the biggest difference.
1. Get the microphone close
Distance is the biggest enemy of clear audio. A cheap clip-on (lavalier) mic a few centimetres from your mouth beats an expensive camera microphone two metres away. If you're recording on a phone, keep it close or use a wired or wireless lapel mic.
2. Choose a soft room
Bare walls, tiles and glass create echo that blurs words together. Record in a room with curtains, carpet, a sofa or a wardrobe full of clothes. Even hanging a blanket behind the camera helps.
3. Kill background noise
Turn off fans, air conditioners and notifications. Close the window. Background music is especially tricky — add it in editing rather than playing it in the room while you talk, so the transcription only hears your voice.
4. Speak clearly — not slowly
You don't need to sound like a robot. Just finish your words, avoid mumbling the ends of sentences, and leave tiny pauses between ideas. Those pauses also help captions break into natural lines.
5. One speaker at a time
When people talk over each other, both humans and AI lose track. In interviews and podcasts, agree to let each person finish before replying.
6. Check your levels
Audio that's too quiet gets buried in noise; audio that's too loud distorts. Do a 10-second test recording and listen back with headphones before filming the full video.
7. Spell out unusual words in the edit
Brand names, usernames and rare terms are the most common transcription mistakes. Keep a list of the words you use often and check them in the transcript editor before you export.
TheTextFlow detects the spoken language automatically, so you can record in whatever language feels natural — the cleaner the audio, the better the captions.