Glossary
Dictation
Dictation is speaking your words so that software writes them as text, usually into the app that has the cursor. Phones and computers now include it, and people also call it voice dictation or voice typing.
Updated October 16, 20264 cited facts, each traced to its source
Also called voice dictation.
Dictation is speaking so that your words are written down as you say them. Dictionaries define it as the act or manner of uttering words to be transcribed 1. Today the writer is usually software. A speech recognizer turns your voice into text, and that text appears in whatever field has the cursor.
Dictation writes text as you speak
Dictation differs from recording and transcription. A recording is kept as audio and converted later. Dictation writes the words as you say them, into the app you are using. Apple says that with Dictation on a Mac you can speak to enter text anywhere you can type it 2.
Speaking is faster than typing for many people
In a controlled study on an iPhone, English text entered by speech reached 153 words per minute, against 52 words per minute on the built-in keyboard 3. The speed counts the finished text, including time spent correcting errors. The study used short phrases in a laboratory, so treat it as evidence for short messages rather than for a full day of writing.
Novices can learn quickly. In IBM's 1978 study, novice dictators learned within a few hours to dictate letters as fast and as well as they wrote them 4.
Dictation suits drafts and messages better than precise editing
Dictation is strongest for getting a first draft down quickly. It is weaker when you need exact control over every mark and word, because you have to say each correction aloud. A common workflow is to draft by voice, then read and fix the text by keyboard or by voice command. Our guide on how to dictate describes that workflow, and the question on whether speech to text is the same as dictation covers the difference between the two names.
Related terms
- Voice typing: the name Microsoft and Google use for dictation built into their products.
- Spoken punctuation and automatic punctuation: the two ways dictated text receives its marks.
- Voice command: a spoken instruction, such as delete, that acts on text instead of writing it.
- Push-to-talk: a key you hold while you speak.
Guides that cover it
Evidence
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Related terms
- Dictation and Voice Typing: How to Talk Instead of TypeThe topic this term belongs to
- Automatic punctuationAutomatic punctuation is when speech software infers commas, periods and question marks from your speech and inserts them without a spoken command. It can be switched on or off, and it works only in supported languages.
- DictaphoneA Dictaphone is a machine that records a speaker's voice so that another person can play it back and type it later. The name began as a brand, and it became the everyday word for dictation machines.
- Dictation foot pedalA dictation foot pedal is a footswitch that controls playback of a recording, so a typist can start, pause and rewind audio without using their hands. It is the traditional control for transcribing dictation.
- Digital dictationDigital dictation is recording speech as digital audio, then sending the file to a typist or to speech recognition software for transcription. It replaced tape with files that can be encrypted, uploaded or routed for processing.
- Filler wordsFiller words are sounds and words such as um, uh, like and you know that speakers produce while they plan what to say next, without adding content. Many dictation tools can remove them automatically, and research on transcripts found they can be deleted without compromising meaning.
- HomophoneA homophone is a word pronounced the same as another word but different in meaning, spelling or both, such as to, too and two. Dictation software has to choose the right spelling from context, so homophones are one of the most common errors in dictated text.
- Noise-canceling microphoneA noise-canceling microphone is designed to filter ambient noise, so it picks up mainly the speaker's voice. It can help dictation in noisy rooms, but it does not remove all noise, and it is different from the active noise cancellation in headphones.
- Oral compositionOral composition is working out and shaping a text by speaking it, whether to a dictation tool, to a recorder or silently in thought. Research on letters finds that planning takes most of the time, however the text is produced, so speaking mainly changes how the words get onto the page.
- Push-to-talkPush-to-talk is a dictation mode in which you hold a key while you speak and release it to stop, so the software writes only the speech made while the key is down. Some tools also offer tap-to-start and tap-to-stop.
- ShorthandShorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases the speed of writing compared with longhand. Trained writers used it to take dictation before recording machines, and it still underpins court reporting.
- Spoken punctuationSpoken punctuation is saying the name of a punctuation mark, such as comma or question mark, so that dictation software writes that mark into the text. It is the manual alternative to automatic punctuation.
- Voice commandA voice command is a spoken instruction that the software carries out, such as delete or stop listening, rather than writing the words as text. Dictation tools must separate commands from dictated words, and the rules differ by product.
Pages that use this term
- Dictation and Voice Typing: How to Talk Instead of TypeTopic
- What Is Dictation? Voice Typing and Talk to Text ExplainedGuide
- Free Dictation Software: The Best Free OptionsGuide
- How to Dictate Into Any App: Built-in vs System-WideGuide
- Dictation Not Working? How to Fix It on Any DeviceGuide
- AI Medical Scribes and Ambient Clinical DocumentationGuide
- Dictation Punctuation: How to Say Commas, Periods and MoreGuide
- Dictation Mistakes and How to Make Voice Typing AccurateGuide
- Dictation vs Voice Control vs Siri on a MacGuide
- Best Microphone for Dictation: What Actually MattersGuide
- Dictation for Language Learning: How and Why It WorksGuide
- Copilot Voice and Dictation on WindowsGuide
- How to Get Used to Dictation: Weeks, Not HoursGuide
- Dictation and Background Noise: Where and How to DictateGuide
- Does Dictation Change How You Write?Guide
- History of Dictation: From Shorthand to Speech RecognitionGuide
- Can Copilot take dictation?Question
- Can Copilot transcribe audio to text?Question
- Can dictating all day strain your voice?Question
- Can Google Docs transcribe an audio file?Question
- Can Microsoft Word transcribe an audio file?Question
- Can Siri take dictation on a Mac?Question
- Can you dictate on an iPhone and send the text to a Mac?Question
- Can you dictate or voice type in a Zoom meeting?Question