Transcribe Walk Skill

Purpose: Convert walk recordings into structured research material.

When to Use

After a walk recording is complete, before advancing to OUTLINE stage.

The Workflow

Recording → Transcription → Cleanup → Extraction → Integration

1. Recording

During the walk:

Voice memo app on phone
Walk-and-talk guide visible for reference
Stream of consciousness is fine
Tangents are often the insights

Ideal recording:

20-45 minutes
Captures responses to guide questions
Includes spontaneous thoughts
Natural pauses are fine

2. Transcription

Options:

Method	Pros	Cons
Whisper (local)	Private, free, accurate	Requires setup
Otter.ai	Easy, good quality	Cloud, subscription
Built-in (iOS/Android)	Convenient	Variable quality
Manual	Perfect accuracy	Time-consuming

Whisper command:

whisper recording.m4a --model medium --language en --output_format txt

Output: Raw transcript in pipeline/active/NNN-slug/03-walk-raw.txt

3. Cleanup

The raw transcript needs light editing:

Fix obvious transcription errors
Add paragraph breaks at topic shifts
Mark unclear sections with [?]
Don't over-edit - preserve natural speech

Output: Cleaned transcript in pipeline/active/NNN-slug/03-walk-transcript.md

4. Extraction

Pull out the valuable material:

# Walk Insights: [Article Title]

## Key Quotes
> "[Direct quote that captures something essential]"

> "[Another quote - preserve exact words]"

## Insights Discovered
- [Insight 1: Something they didn't know they knew]
- [Insight 2: Connection they made while walking]
- [Insight 3: Story detail that emerged]

## Emotional Beats
- [Moment of energy/excitement about X]
- [Moment of struggle/difficulty with Y]
- [Moment of realization about Z]

## Story Elements
- **Opening hook possibility:** [Something that could start the article]
- **Core tension:** [What the story is really about]
- **Resolution:** [How it lands]

## Questions Raised
- [New question that emerged]
- [Gap that needs more research]

## Natural Language
[Phrases, metaphors, ways of explaining that should carry into the article]

5. Integration

The extracted material feeds into OUTLINE:

Key quotes become potential pull quotes
Insights become section topics
Emotional beats guide narrative arc
Natural language informs voice
Questions may require returning to RESEARCH

Quality Gate

Gate question: Did you extract the heart of the story?

Checklist:

Common Issues

Issue	Cause	Solution
Recording too short	Guide not engaging	Revisit question design
All surface, no depth	Questions too broad	Add tacit knowledge triggers
Can't hear clearly	Recording quality	Better mic, quieter route
Tangents everywhere	No structure	Guide wasn't used
Nothing new emerged	Already knew the story	Skip walk for this article

When Walk Adds Most Value

Stories with emotional content
Topics where you "know it but can't say it"
Personal journey narratives
Methodology you've internalized

When Walk May Be Skippable

Purely technical content
You've already articulated this clearly
Time pressure
Story is simple and straightforward

The walk surfaces what you know. The transcript preserves it. The extraction makes it usable.

transcribe-walk