What happens to everything that gets said in your in-person meetings?
If you run your meetings on Zoom or Teams, you probably already have transcripts and summaries without thinking about it. The face-to-face meetings — the client sessions, the workshops, the conversations that often matter most — get nothing. Whatever you managed to write down while trying to stay present is what you’re left with.
The Plaud NotePin S is a small wearable recording device designed to close that gap. It records in-person conversations and turns them into a transcript and summary through a companion app. This article walks through how it works, what the outputs look like, and a few things worth thinking about before you use it in a real client meeting.
What Plaud actually is
The simplest way to describe it: a digital dictaphone with a layer of AI on top. You record a conversation, and the app gives you a transcript and a full summary afterward. That’s the pitch.
The NotePin S is a small wearable device that clips on or hangs around your neck via a lanyard. It pairs with an app on your phone. There’s no complicated setup — once it’s paired, recording is a single button press.
How to start and stop a recording
Hold the middle button on the device. It vibrates and turns red — you’re recording. When the conversation is done, hold the same button again to stop. The recording is then processed through the Plaud app.
One thing worth building into your workflow before you hit record: ask permission. It’s not about legal cover — it’s the right way to do it. Frame it naturally, and in most cases people won’t hesitate.
What you get in the app
Once a recording has been processed, the app gives you several things to work with:
- Transcript — a full text transcript of the conversation, with audio clips linked to each section so you can listen back to specific moments
- Summary — a visual overview of the key points covered
- Actions — a list of agreed next steps from the conversation
- Mind map — a visual distillation of the key themes
- Meeting minutes — a structured record of the conversation
For meetings with more than one person, the app can identify and separate different speakers. You can assign names to each voice, making it straightforward to see who said what. It handles multiple speakers and strong regional accents well — the one situation where it struggles is when people talk over each other.
As Andy notes in the video: “Being quite candid, I often get better quality of notes from my Plaud in-person meetings than sometimes I do from my online meetings.”
The transcription credit system
The device is a one-off purchase, but transcription minutes are subject to a monthly limit. The starter plan covers 300 minutes per month. If you need unlimited minutes, there’s an additional subscription fee.
Whether that’s worth it depends on how many in-person meetings you’re running. For most consultants and advisors with a moderate client load, 300 minutes a month is likely sufficient. For those running frequent workshops or back-to-back client sessions, the unlimited option is worth considering.
Three things to know before using it with clients
Recording changes the room. People behave differently when they know they’re being recorded. That’s not a reason not to use it — but it’s a dynamic to be aware of, particularly in sensitive conversations.
Always ask permission. Make it part of how you set up the session, not an afterthought. Frame it naturally and it rarely causes friction.
It’s one more tool — that’s all. The Plaud NotePin S earns its place because it does one job well: it captures what happened in the room and gives you something useful afterward. If in-person meetings are a significant part of your work, it’s worth having.
Is it worth it?
For coaches, consultants, advisors, and trainers who regularly meet clients face to face, the answer is likely yes. The gap between what you capture in online meetings and what you capture in person is real — and getting wider as AI tools for video calls improve. Plaud is a practical way to close it.
The link to the product is in the video description.
