Glossary
Voice typing
Voice typing is dictation built into an operating system or app, so that speech is typed into a text field as you talk. Talk to text and speech typing are other names for the same act, and each platform uses its own name.
Updated October 16, 20264 cited facts, each traced to its source
Also called talk to text, speech typing.
Voice typing is dictation built into an operating system or a product, rather than a separate app you install. Talk to text and speech typing mean the same act. Which name you see depends on the device or app, not on a different technology.
Each platform uses its own name for it
On Windows 11, you turn on voice typing by pressing the Windows key + H on a hardware keyboard, or the Microphone button on the touch keyboard 1. In Google Docs, you open a document in a supported browser, choose Tools then Voice typing, and click the microphone box that appears 2. On a Mac, the same kind of feature is called Dictation, and you start it with the Microphone key, the Dictation shortcut or Edit > Start Dictation 3.
The label matters when you search for help. A "voice typing not working" question on Windows and a "dictation not working" question on a Mac are usually about the same kind of feature, but the menus and settings have different names.
You stop voice typing by voice or by button
On Windows, you can say a command such as "Stop listening", or press the microphone button on the voice typing menu 4. Saying the stop command is an example of a voice command: the software acts on your words instead of typing them.
The steps to start it differ by device
Each device has its own menus, shortcuts and settings, and they change between operating system versions. The guide on how to turn on voice typing lists the steps for each device. If the feature does not respond, our guide on dictation not working walks through the usual causes, and the guide on dictation and background noise explains where the feature struggles.
Related terms
- Dictation: the general act of speaking words that software writes down.
- Automatic punctuation: marks that the software adds without a spoken command.
- Push-to-talk: holding a key while you speak, as an alternative way to start and stop.
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.
- 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.
Pages that use this term
- Dictation and Voice Typing: How to Talk Instead of TypeTopic
- Google Docs Voice Typing: How to Use It and Its LimitsGuide
- What Is Dictation? Voice Typing and Talk to Text ExplainedGuide
- Windows Voice Typing: How to Dictate with Win+HGuide
- How to Turn On Voice Typing on Every DeviceGuide
- How to Dictate: Techniques for Clean, Usable TextGuide
- Voice Typing on Android: How to Use Talk to TextGuide
- Dictate Emails in Outlook and GmailGuide
- Dictation Commands: How to Edit and Format by VoiceGuide
- Dictate in PowerPoint, OneNote and ExcelGuide
- Dictation Mistakes and How to Make Voice Typing AccurateGuide
- Windows Voice Typing Commands and PunctuationGuide
- Dictation Machines: What They Do and Who Still Uses ThemGuide
- Copilot Voice and Dictation on WindowsGuide
- How to Get Used to Dictation: Weeks, Not HoursGuide
- Voice to Text in Teams, Slack and NotionGuide
- Dictation in Windows Apps: Word, Outlook, BrowsersGuide
- History of Dictation: From Shorthand to Speech RecognitionGuide
- Can Copilot take dictation?Question
- Can Microsoft Word transcribe an audio file?Question
- Can you dictate in Excel?Question
- Can you dictate in Notion?Question
- Can you dictate or voice type in a Zoom meeting?Question
- Can you give voice commands to a Windows PC?Question