How do I record my coaching sessions?
Posted on: 08 Nov 2022
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An updated 2023 version of this article is available here.
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Gone are the days when you had to do a face-to-face session to record it, or buy a piece of equipment – which you had to buy from spy websites – to attach to your telephone!
Nowadays, the best quality recordings come from online conferencing systems which provide either local or cloud recording.
Perhaps the most trusted, reliable and frequently used conferencing system used by coaches is Zoom.us. The free plan allows you to have unlimited meetings of unlimited length with individuals, which can be recorded locally on your own computer. It’s easy to use, even for people who have never used it before – you just set up the meeting and send your client the link (or they can dial in by phone). You can set up one recurring meeting for each client, so that the link/meeting ID never changes, making it a fixed location with little admin required. After COVID-19, there are few people who have not used Zoom, so they have it on their computer and ready to go. As the free plan limits call recordings to your local computer, and calls with more than one person to 40 minutes, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan if you want to share your recordings easily via the Zoom platform or if you want to have group calls for more than 40 minutes. Zoom also has easily accessible resources including video tutorials that are handy references to learn the full functionality of Zoom.
If you prefer an alternative to Zoom, there are a lot of options to choose from:
Skype: Coaches have been using Skype for years. It lost a lot of users some years ago, as the call quality was unreliable and disconnections frequent, but since Microsoft took it over, it’s improved. Skype is easy, as it sits on your desktop and your contacts are all listed there ready to go, just like a regular phone. Skype also now provides an in-built recording option and the recording gets saved in the chat for all parties to access (note – this includes anyone who has access to your skype account, so consider the confidentiality here), but Zoom still seems to achieve better call quality, especially if you have limited bandwidth – Skype seems to still be a bit bandwidth-thirsty!
Google Hangouts: Some coaches are using Google Hangouts for sessions and training. Once you’re signed into your Google account, you just need to go the Google Hangout URL and you’re off. Like Skype, you’ve got your contacts, chat, as well as audio and video calls, but to record your calls, you need the G Suite Enterprise edition. Price is comparable to other web conferencing services, but the bonus is that with the G Suite Enterprise you get much more than just web conferencing – you get the whole Google business suite.
Of course, there are also a range of oldies that coaches have been dabbling with over the years: FreeConference.com, and CISCO Webex, both of which require a paid plan to record; GoToMeeting, has no free plan but several paid plans that offer a lot of features which may include transcription; there are lesser known options like TrueConf, admittedly a little harder to set up, but offering a free plan with recording and multiple participants; Ring Central, offering web conferencing with recordings via a paid plan that includes a whole business phone package; and UberConference, which offers a free plan with recordings and multiple participants but with calls limited to 45 minutes.
In short, Zoom is still the way to go, if it’s just online individual sessions with high quality recording to your local computer that you want, but there’s a great range of other services that offer different features and which you can get for less or more money. The above are just options ReciproCoach has come across. You can click here for an overview of The Best Video Conferencing Software for 2020 from PC Mag, which includes some options we haven’t mentioned here.
If you have experience using any of the above, or any services not mentioned here, please share them with us below: