Dictation: how to speak so it works

Two different modes

They're often confused, and the difference matters. Dictation turns your speech into the text of a request; the answer comes back as text. Voice conversation means you speak, the assistant replies aloud, and you get a dialogue.

Dictation is almost always better when you'll use the answer afterwards: copy it, edit it, send it. Voice conversation suits the case where your hands and eyes are busy and you need the answer once, right now.

How to speak so it's recognised

Normal pace, normal words. Slowed-down "dictating" speech is recognised worse — these systems were trained on ordinary speech.
Say the punctuation if structure matters: "full stop", "new line", "colon".
Spell out difficult words. Names, companies, technical terms and addresses are where errors concentrate.
Don't fear stumbling. Say "no, not that" and repeat — the model understands the correction from context.

The technique that saves the most

Don't try to dictate a perfectly phrased request. Say what you're actually thinking, with all the qualifications and repetitions, and add at the end: "work out what I mean and ask me if anything's unclear." The speech comes out messy and the result is better than a polished written request, because you put in more context.

Where dictation loses

Precise text with terms, figures and names. Anything containing addresses, reference numbers, codes. Multi-level lists and tables. Situations where it's noisy or other people can hear you.

Check what was recognised

Reread the text before sending, especially figures and names. A recognition error inside a number looks perfectly normal — "fifteen" became "fifty", and you get a confident answer to a question you never asked.

Insight. Dictate messily, with qualifications, then ask it to work out what you meant. You put in more context than a polished written request carries — and get a better answer.

Common mistake. Slowing your speech down to be recognised better. It works the other way: these systems are trained on normal pace, and drawn-out speech recognises worse.

Pro tip. Always reread recognised numbers before sending. An error in a figure doesn't catch the eye and produces a confident answer to a different question.

Cheat sheet

Dictation if you'll use the answer afterwards.
Voice conversation if your hands are busy.
Normal pace; spell out difficult words.
Always reread numbers and names.

1. When is dictation better than voice conversation?

2. How should you speak for better recognition?

3. What must you reread after dictating?

Task — checked by AI

Dictate the same real work or personal request two ways: (1) messily, aloud, with all your qualifications and a closing request to work out what you meant and ask questions; (2) as a pre-phrased short text. Compare the answers. Separately, dictate a text containing at least 3 numbers and 2 names, and check the recognition — what got distorted. Paste both requests, both answers and the recognition check.

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