While researching Menorca Slowly, some of the best stories emerged once I stopped taking notes and started truly listening. Here's how the Plaud Note Pro and NotePin S reshaped my interview process — letting me stay present in conversations across Spanish, Catalan, and English, and revisit every detail later without missing a word
|Ana Salort
Plaud Review: From Conversations to Chapters | She Visits Places
Paid collaboration with Plaud
Writing a book about a place requires much more than visiting it.
While researching Menorca Slowly, some of the most valuable moments have happened while sitting across from someone and simply listening. I’ve spoken with artisans, producers, chefs, hoteliers and people whose families and work are deeply connected to the island. Sometimes I arrive with a list of questions. But very often, the most interesting stories are the ones I never thought to ask about.
In the past, interviews also meant constantly taking notes. I would listen while simultaneously trying to write down a name, a date, a phrase I didn’t want to forget, or an anecdote I knew I might want to use later.
And I realized something during my interviews in Menorca: when I stopped worrying about taking notes, I became a better listener.
That’s where Plaud became part of my writing process.
Less note-taking, more conversation
I used both the Plaud Note Pro and the Plaud NotePin S while working on the book. For interviews, I particularly enjoyed wearing the NotePin S with the wristband. Once the conversation started, I barely had to think about the device. I could listen, make eye contact and follow the conversation wherever it went.
The Note Pro felt equally natural in a different way. I kept it with my phone, placed the phone on the table and started talking.
What surprised me most wasn't simply how much easier this was for me. The people I interviewed seemed more relaxed too.
Without constantly looking down at a notebook or moving through questions like a traditional Q&A, the interviews often felt more like conversations. People elaborated. They remembered another story. One anecdote led naturally to another.
For a book like Menorca Slowly, those moments matter.
Going back to the conversation
The second part of the process happens when I return to my computer.
Plaud lets me access the recording, transcription and AI-generated summaries through its app and web platform. I can customize the type of summary I need, identify different speakers and return to the original transcript when I want more context.
Instead of relying entirely on what I managed to write in a notebook, I can revisit the conversation.
That has been especially helpful when someone shares a particular expression, detail or anecdote that I remember weeks later while working on a chapter.
And then there are the languages
Researching a book in Menorca also means listening in more than one language.
Some of my conversations are in Spanish. Others are in Catalan. Being able to capture multilingual conversations and later work with and translate that material has been one of the most useful parts of the experience for me.
A little more room to listen
Ultimately, Plaud hasn't replaced my questions, my research or my writing.
It has simply allowed me to spend less time worrying about remembering everything and more time doing what I went to Menorca to do in the first place:
listen.
And slowly, those conversations become chapters in Menorca Slowly — coming soon.
@shevisitsplaces | Menorca Slowly · Ana Salort