Fact · Dictation
1inch
Nuance's Dragon guidance for a headset microphone is to keep the microphone element about an inch from the side of the mouth, but not touching it.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“Keep the microphone element about an inch from the side of your mouth, but not touching it.”
Microphone placement (Dragon for Mac help), Nuance Communications, Nuance Communications, Dragon for Mac online help, n.d., Positioning a headset microphone.
Open the original- What it measures
- The Nuance help page for Dragon for Mac, section on placing a headset microphone. The same section says to place the element to the side of the mouth to avoid noise from breathing.
- What it does not show
- Dragon's guidance, written for speech recognition software, not a universal rule for all dictation. Headset designs differ, so the distance is a starting point for testing.
Source
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