I went for a walk in the park. As I walked, I talked.
I attached an $11.99 lapel mic to my phone, and talked for four minutes straight. With Google Docs Voice Typing on my phone, my words were instantly transcribed into a document.
When I got back to the studio, I had a 552 word first draft. And only one error.
Basically, I talked my way through an idea I had been wrestling with in the office. The idea was going nowhere, so I took a walk.
And you know what happens when you take a walk. It’s like taking a shower. A new idea hits you while you’re walking. Instead of letting the idea go, I captured it with my voice.
In only 4 easy minutes, I had captured 552 words. It ate up only 13.79 MB of data. And Google Docs Voice Typing? It made only one mistake, and this mistake was entirely justifiable.
The mistake? I walked across a wooden pedestrian bridge. It had been raining, so the bridge was slick. I unexpectedly slid for about 3 feet.
I made a bit of a screech as I slid. Google interpreted my unintelligible utterance as the word “seat”.
Even with my insane outburst: I logged 552 words, with one 1 error, in 4 minutes. Can your fingers do that? I don’t know about yours, but mine can’t.
If it has been a few years since you’ve tried voice typing, try again. It’s come a long way in the past few years.
Did I look insane as I walked and talked? Probably. But no more crazy than someone who walks and talks on their cell phone. Because that’s literally what I was doing.
The guy throwing Frisbees to his black Labrador didn’t even seem to notice me. Neither did the dog.
How do you feel about walk and talks? Too crazy? Or something you think you might want to try?
Laura Bergells writes, coaches, and teaches. Check out her online courses at LinkedIn Learning. You can also find Laura on Twitter and at YouTube.