Glossary
Push-to-talk
Push-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.
Updated October 16, 20264 cited facts, each traced to its source
Also called PTT, hold to talk.
Push-to-talk is a way to control dictation with one key. You hold the key while you speak, and releasing it ends the dictation. The held key marks the exact span of speech that the software should write, so nothing before or after it is captured.
Some tools hold the key, and some tap it
Dictation tools do not agree on one method. The help page for OpenWhispr, a dictation app, describes both: "Press once to start and again to stop, or hold the key while you speak" 1. The page adds that which of the two you can use depends on your platform, so check the settings on your own computer.
Push-to-talk works in other tools as well. HEX, a Mac dictation app, says you hold a shortcut, speak and release it, and that it transcribes on your Mac and pastes the result into the app you are using 2. Here the key defines the recording, and the text lands where the cursor is.
On a Mac, the Microphone key is not a push-to-talk key
Apple's built-in Dictation works differently. On a Mac, pressing and releasing the Microphone key starts Dictation, while pressing and holding it activates Siri, if Siri is enabled 3. So holding that key does not give you push-to-talk. You start Dictation with a tap, and you stop it with Escape, the Microphone key or the Dictation shortcut 4.
This difference catches people out. If you hold the Microphone key expecting dictation and Siri opens instead, you have not misconfigured the feature. You have used the hold gesture that Apple assigns to Siri.
Why hold the key at all
A held key gives a clear start and a clear end. You know when the software is listening, because you are the one holding the key, and it stops exactly when you let go. That suits short bursts, such as a single sentence in a chat window or a field in a form. Tap-to-start suits longer passages, where holding a key for minutes would be tiring.
Related terms
- Dictation: speaking so that software writes your words as you say them.
- Voice typing: the built-in dictation on Windows and in Google Docs, which uses its own start and stop controls.
- Voice command: a spoken instruction that acts on the text instead of writing it.
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.
- DictationDictation 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Does speech recognition work if you stutter?Question
- Why does dictation keep stopping?Question
- Why is Claude Code voice dictation not working?Question
- DictationGlossary
- Dictation foot pedalGlossary
- False accept (accidental activation)Glossary
- Microphone key (dictation key)Glossary
- Turn detectionGlossary
- Voice commandGlossary
- Voice typingGlossary
- Wake wordGlossary