How To Record an Audio Interview with an iPhone

6 min readAug 11, 2020

One of the most useful tools that the iPhone has is the Voice Memos app. With the Voice Memos app, iPhone users can record voice memos. This is a great app to use as it allows iPhone users to edit the voice memos made as well as share the voice memos with other people.

The Voice Memos app on the iPhone is an accessible tool. Anyone who wants to record audio with it can do so in a matter of minutes as it is simple to set up.

We’ve put together this tutorial so you can learn how to use this app and produce high-quality recordings — particularly for conversations/interviews.

Setting Up the Voice Memos App

The Voice Memos app uses the iPhone’s built-in microphone located at the top and bottom of the device.

Follow these steps to create your recording:

Before you record the conversation/interview, you must decide whether you would like to use the iPhone’s built-in microphone or if you would like to use an external stereo microphone. If you decide to use an external stereo microphone, you must choose one that fits your needs and budget.
Open the Voice Memos app. The Voice Memos app icon resembles red-and-white sound waves on a black background. You can use Siri to open it by saying, “Hey Siri, open Voice Memos”.
When it opens, you will see a black background with a red record button located at the bottom of the phone screen. Once this button is pressed, it prompts Voice Memos to begin recording.
If it is your first time using the Voice Memos app, it would be helpful to practice using it first before you commence to record the conversation/interview. Also, remember to select a room where it is quiet and there are no distractions as noise can affect the quality of the recording.

Recording a Voice Memo

Once you have set up the external stereo microphone, found a location to record, and feel you are ready to use the Voice Memos App, you can begin to record the conversation/interview.

Keep in mind that if you are using the iPhone’s built-in microphone to record, it is located at the top and bottom of the device, so point one end of the iPhone toward the audio source that you want to record.

When the red record button is pressed, the app will begin recording. On the screen, you will see that the app is recording as evident by the soundwaves moving as words are spoken and noise is made.

The length of time of the recording is displayed on the screen as well. You have the option of expanding the recording menu to find more tools. To expand the menu, tap the grey horizontal bar at the top of the recording menu, which is about halfway up the screen.

When you do, you will see the actual time and the name of the memo, which will appear as “New Recording #” The name of the recording can be changed after the editing process.

If you feel the need to pause your recording to catch your breath, take a break, or ask a private question to the person you are interviewing, you have the option to do so.

You can pause the recording by tapping the red “Pause” icon at the bottom of the screen. Once you are ready to keep recording, just tap the “Resume” icon at the bottom of the screen.

Edit a Voice Memo

Once you have finished recording the conversation/interview, you can tap the “Done” icon at the bottom, right of the screen.

Before you do so, you should change the name of the recording. This can be done by tapping the title of the recording, which by default has the name “New Recording #” to the title of your choosing. Once you’ve written the title of your choice, you can tap “Return” in the keyboard, then tap “Done”.

Now, that the recording of the conversation/interview has been completed, you can edit it to your liking. There are several tools that the Voice Memos app provides its users. These tools make it easy to replace a section, trim the recording, or delete part of it.

With this being said, you must become familiar with the tools and learn how to use them. You should first listen to the recording and then decide what needs to be edited.

How to Replace Part of a Voice Memo

The recording of the conversation/interview that you have just completed can be seen on the main page of the Voice Memos App. If you would like to replace a part of the conversation/interview you can do so. Just tap the blue ellipsis icon (…) at the lower left of the recording.

Tap on the “Edit Recording” button and there you can select which part of the conversation/interview you would like to replace. Just make sure that the blue playhead icon is positioned at the beginning of the part that you want to replace.

Once ready, you can tap on “Replace” and re-record over the existing section. When finished, tap “Done” so the changes can be saved.

How to Trim from the Beginning or End of a Memo

If you would like to trim any part of the conversation/interview, you have the option to do so. If you would like to do so, tap the blue ellipsis icon (…) at the lower left of the recording and then tap the crop icon on the screen.

After selecting this option, you will see yellow handles with arrows appear on each end of the memo in the lower recording graph. Move either end of the yellow handles to the section you would like to trim.

Then tap the “Trim” icon. Remember to tap “Done” when you have finished trimming the conversation/interview, so the changes can be saved.

How to Delete Part of a Memo

If you would like to delete a section of the conversation/interview you can do so by tapping the blue ellipsis icon (…) at the lower left of the recording.

The recording strip will be encompassed between yellow handles. Surround the part of the conversation/interview that you want to delete and tap the “Delete” icon.

Again, remember to tap “Done” so the changes will take effect.

Share Your Audio

Once you complete the recording of the conversation/interview you can proceed to share the recording with others.

You can do this by tapping the blue ellipsis icon (…) at the lower left of the recording.

Here you will find the share option, which lets you share the recording by Airdrop, text message, and email. If you would like to save it to your Dropbox, Files, or other cloud storage options you can do so.

Start Recording!

The recording of the conversation/interview that you plan to record will be of high quality. This iPhone app is a simple, yet effective way to record conversations/interviews.

Most importantly, you no longer have to pay for an expensive service as you have the knowledge needed to do it on your own with your iPhone.

If you are simply using the Voice Memo app to record a lecture at school or are using it to record a podcast, this is the right choice for you.