Well-nigh people tin speak faster than they can type. Take reward of this superpower past dictating your documents! Using speech-to-text is a nifty way to apace go your thoughts downwards in writing. We'll testify you how to dictate documents in Microsoft Word on a computer or your smartphone.

If yous utilize the Mac or Windows desktop version of Word, you won't find the dictate button unless you subscribe to Microsoft 365. However, yous can use the free Microsoft Word spider web app or smartphone apps to dictate to your heart'due south desire. We'll presume yous accept a proficient internet connectedness and a device with a microphone enabled.

How to Apply Dictation in Word on Macs, PCs, or the Web

The steps for dictating documents in Give-and-take are largely the aforementioned, no affair whether y'all're using the desktop app or the browser-based version.

  1. Launch the Word app, either the desktop app on your Mac or PC or the spider web app in Chrome, Firefox, or Edge.
  1. In the Dwelling carte du jour, select the microphone icon.
  1. If prompted, select the button to Let the apply of your microphone.
  1. Web app users will meet a toolbar with controls for your microphone. Select the microphone icon to begin dictating.
  1. Once the microphone icon is activated, y'all can begin speaking, and you lot'll encounter your words announced in the Word document.
  1. Web users can select the gear icon on the dictation toolbar to choose the spoken linguistic communication, select which microphone device they want to apply, and toggle machine-punctuation and the profanity filter on or off.
  1. You lot tin use your keyboard or Word's suggestions to edit your certificate without needing to turn the microphone off.
  2. When you're finished, y'all tin can exit dictation by selecting Close (X) in the dictation toolbar or pressing the microphone push button on the ribbon again.

That's plenty to get started with dictating a Discussion certificate on a computer. Only keep reading for some expert tips and tricks.

How to Use Dictation on Your Smartphone's Give-and-take App

Smartphones are made for dictation. You might feel strange talking to yourself, simply it'southward certainly faster than using your telephone's tiny keyboard.

Start with a new Word document or open an existing one. Tap the screen where yous want to start dictating, and so select the microphone icon. Y'all can choose the microphone icon inside the Give-and-take app itself or the icon on your soft keyboard. Either one volition piece of work.

The benefit of using the Discussion app's microphone icon is that you'll have access to some other dictation tools. You lot'll come across a toolbar with standard punctuation, a spacebar, and a carriage render (new line) push button. Sometimes it's easier to tap those buttons than it is to use voice commands.

You'll likewise have access to the gear icon to adjust the settings like the speech communication, motorcar punctuation, and the profanity filter.

The beginning time you select the microphone icon in the Word app, you may be prompted to grant Word permission to record sound on your phone. You lot tin can cull to either allow it every fourth dimension you utilize the app or only this time.

At whatever indicate, you can always select the Aid push, where you'll discover data on all the phonation commands y'all tin can employ.

Tips and Tricks for Dictating in Microsoft Discussion

Sure, you can dictate the text of a Word document, only did you lot know about all the other things y'all can exercise in Word with phonation commands? You lot can utilise your vocalization to edit, format, create lists, and add a comment.

Punctuation Tips & Tricks

You'll get used to saying the names of punctuation marks and symbols when you dictate.

  • Add punctuation simply by saying the proper noun of the punctuation mark you desire to insert. You tin say things like period, comma, new line, and apostrophe.
  • Say open up quotes and close quotes.
  • You can say ellipsis or dot dot dot… it'south up to you!
  • For punctuation like parentheses, brackets, and braces, you tin can say either left or open bracket (or parentheses or caryatid) and either right or close subclass (or parentheses or brace).
  • If it's a graphic symbol, yous can probably dictate it. Endeavour commands like asterisk, yard-dash, copyright sign, and degree symbol.

Editing Tips & Tricks

Think of it this mode. You lot're the boss and Word is your employee. Just tell Give-and-take what y'all desire information technology to do.

  • If y'all say delete, Word volition delete the concluding word or punctuation mark that appears before the cursor.
  • If you lot say delete that, information technology'll remove the last thing you said.
  • You can tell Word to delete a specific word in the center of a sentence. For instance, let's say you dictated, "You lot tin can't judge a book by its atrocious comprehend." You could say delete awful, and then you'd be left with "Yous can't judge a volume by its cover."
  • Rather than saying backspace repeatedly to go back several spaces, you can simply say backspace [one-100]. In other words, y'all can say backspace twenty.
  • If you make a fault, yous can ever say disengage.

Formatting Tips & Tricks

Like the editing tips, you can utilise vox commands to add formatting to specific words or phrases.

  • For elementary formatting similar assuming, italics, underline, and strikethrough, y'all can pair those commands with words or phrases in your document. For example, in the screencap below, we said, "bold phrases," and it did!
  • To undo all the formatting from the document, say articulate all formatting.
  • Utilize the marshal command to align your text left, correct, or middle.
  • If you lot're not sure a particular command exists, attempt it and find out. For case, you can say, underline last sentence, and Word will know exactly what you mean.
  • Creating lists is easy with commands like start list, start numbered list, and exit list.

Bonus Dictation Tips & Tricks

Earlier you go, check out these final dictation tips and tricks.

  • Say add annotate to create a blank comment box that you tin can type into.
  • Even ameliorate, say something like add annotate I love this paragraph menstruation, and it will insert a annotate with the text "I dear this paragraph."
  • Dictate currency symbols. You can say dollar sign, pound sterling sign (don't forget the "sterling" or it will insert the # sign), euro sign, or yen sign.
  • Insert common emojis like smiley face, winky face, heart emoji, or frowny face.

 If you know of whatsoever more dictation commands in Microsoft Word, leave them in the comments!