Transcripts vs. Summaries
I used to manage a product that provided transcripts and summaries of corporate earnings calls to investors. This was before AI, so the transcripts were produced by stenographers and the summaries were written by lawyers.
The thinking was simple: Stenographers were trained to produce verbatim, sequential output, whereas the lawyers were trained to produce accurate, synthesized briefs.
Here was the bottom line: Investors paid a premium for the summaries, yet they only used the transcripts to reference minor details.
That now-outmoded practice raises a critical question for our everyday communication today: Are you giving people transcripts when they’re looking for summaries?
Following a holiday weekend, it is common to ask colleagues how they spent their time off. Some provide a near transcript (“First we did this, then this, then this happened…”), while others give a summary (“Overall the highlights were… and I loved it because…”).
In the workplace, the transcripts usually come from highly analytical people, like the engineers or accountants who describe how to build a watch when all someone asked them for was the time. Without realizing it, they fall into the trap of the Four Ds I’ve written about before: their communication becomes Dense and Durative.
Delivering a transcript is easy; it requires no filtering. But it is inherently self-focused. Summarizing, on the other hand, is an act of an Others Orientation. It requires you to consider the time, context, and attention span of the person sitting across from you.
I’ve had to train myself to minimize my own tendency toward providing transcripts, and I recently attempted to train my youngest daughter on this exact skill as well. The opportunity came when I asked her about the book she was reading.
“It’s great! Can I tell you about it?”
Five minutes later, my eyes were glazed over.
After I praised her for her reading comprehension and memory, I asked her whether she wants people to actually pay attention to the things she says.
She did, of course.
That’s when I explained the difference between a stenographer and a lawyer—the difference between a transcript and a summary. I invited her to start over.
“Try summarizing the core plot of the book in two minutes or less,” I challenged. And she did it, with pride.
Summarizing is a vital skill for accumulating relationship capital. It informs and entertains people while keeping them engaged. To do it well, you must practice three habits:
- Rephrase the main ideas concisely: Isolate and condense the most important parts of your message.
- Filter out the unnecessary: Understand the interests and context of your audience, then reduce the story to its essence.
- Identify core principles: Give them the takeaways, not the play-by-play.
If you want to build more trust and credibility, you have to be the type of person who synthesizes the brief rather than transcribing the event.
Who in your life needs you to provide a summary rather than a transcript this week?
