The Wisdom Letters w/ John Obidi

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How to Enable Live Captions for Our YouTube Live Sessions

Making sure that everyone in our community can follow our sessions is a priority.

Whether you have a hearing impairment, are in a noisy environment, or simply prefer to read along while you listen, live captions are a powerful tool to help you get the most out of every video.

While we are working on enabling native captions within the YouTube platform, you don’t have to wait.

There are built-in features on your computer and mobile devices that can generate captions for you in real-time.

Here is how to set them up.

1. On Your Computer (Google Chrome)

If you watch our sessions on a laptop or desktop using the Chrome browser, you can use its built-in accessibility feature to transcribe any audio instantly.

  • Step 1: Click the three vertical dots (⋮) in the top-right corner of Chrome.

  • Step 2: Select Settings.

  • Step 3: On the left-hand sidebar, click Accessibility.

  • Step 4: Toggle Live Caption to ON.

Chrome will download a small file for speech recognition.

Once that's done, a transcription box will appear at the bottom of your browser whenever audio is playing.

2. On Android Phones

Most modern Android devices allow you to toggle captions on and off with just one tap.

  • Step 1: While watching a video, press either of the Volume buttons on the side of your phone.

  • Step 2: Under the volume slider that appears on your screen, tap the Caption icon (a small square with horizontal lines inside).

  • Step 3: Captions will immediately begin appearing over the video.

3. On iPhone and iPad (iOS 16+)

Apple provides a "Live Captions" feature that works across all apps, including YouTube.

  • Step 1: Go to your iPhone Settings.

  • Step 2: Tap Accessibility.

  • Step 3: Scroll down to the "Hearing" section and tap Live Captions.

  • Step 4: Toggle Live Captions to ON.

A small gray bar will appear on your screen.

You can move this bar anywhere you like to view the real-time text.

A Note on Accuracy and Vernacular

These tools use Artificial Intelligence to transcribe speech in real-time.

Because of this, please be aware that the software may occasionally be slightly inaccurate.

In particular, the AI may struggle with:

  • Nigerian names

  • Specific local locations

  • Vernacular or Pidgin terms

While it may not be 100% perfect for every local reference, it is highly effective for the core content of our sessions and will help you follow along much more easily.

I look forward to seeing you in the next stream.

Best regards,

Never Miss a Single Letter!

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About this blog

Modern Wisdom for Navigating the Modern World.

Created by John Obidi

Copyright © 2023 John Obidi