How to Get a YouTube Video Transcript

Introduction

YouTube transcripts can help you quickly find information and better understand what a video's about. A transcript of a YouTube video also promotes greater accessibility, appealing to visual learners and various hearing abilities. Discover how to get a transcript from a YouTube video.

Why Turn On Transcripts and Captions in YouTube Videos?

If you’re looking to make learning on YouTube easier, turning on transcripts and captions can be helpful. Here’s why:

1. Improved Focus and Retention: Reading along with the audio can make it easy to follow and remember information. This is particularly useful if you are a visual learner who benefits from both seeing and hearing the content you are learning.

2. Better Accessibility: Captions make videos more accessible for people who are hard of hearing or non-native speakers. They’re also useful if you’re in a noisy environment or need to keep the sound off.

3. Convenient for Review: With transcripts, you can quickly revisit specific parts of a video without needing to search through it. This can be useful for note-taking or quickly finding the information you need.

4. Language Learning Aid: For those learning a new language, transcripts offer a way to follow along with the spoken language, helping with pronunciation, sentence structure, and vocabulary.

5. Pace Control: Transcripts allow you to read at your own speed. Some people may find they absorb information more easily through reading, while others prefer reading along with the video.

6. Search Benefits for Creators: If you’re creating content, having transcripts can make videos more searchable, potentially helping more viewers find your content.

Transcripts and captions make YouTube videos more accessible and flexible, whether you’re watching to learn or sharing information.

How to get the transcript of a YouTube video on a computer?

The below are the steps to follow if you’re using YouTube via a web browser on your desktop or laptop:

1. Select the Video

Navigate to YouTube on your desktop. Search for a video you want the transcript of. Most long-form content has a transcript compared to shorts and music videos which usually don’t provide transcripts.

2. Click on “...More”

Go to the video description box. Find the ‘...more’ link, and click it to expand the section as per the video snippet below.

3. Select “Show Transcript”

Then, scroll down to the end of the description box until you find the 'Show transcript' option in the description. Click on the 'Show Transcript' button, and the transcript will appear at the right of the video you're watching.

You’ll see that the transcript defaults to display timestamps and in some cases, part sentences. Click the three vertical dots to disable timestamps if needed.

Conclusion

Using transcripts and captions in YouTube videos adds a layer of accessibility, flexibility, and convenience that benefits both viewers and content creators. Whether you’re trying to learn, follow along, or quickly review key points, transcripts can make the experience more effective. For creators, captions and transcripts help reach a broader audience by making content easier to find and more accessible to all viewers. Overall, they offer a straightforward way to get more out of video content, making it a valuable tool for anyone focused on learning or sharing information.