Glossary
Voice writing
Voice writing is a transcription method in which a trained writer repeats speech into speech recognition software through a stenomask, a mask that keeps the writer's voice from being heard in the room. It is used in court reporting, medical transcription and captioning.
Updated October 16, 20266 cited facts, each traced to its source
Also called stenomask reporting, speech privacy mask.
Voice writing is a transcription method in which a trained person repeats what they hear into a speech recognition system, and the software produces the text. The writer wears a stenomask, a device that keeps their voice from being heard in the room. The method is used in court reporting, medical transcription, CART (live captioning) and closed captioning 1.
A voice writing system has three parts
According to Wikipedia, a voice writing system consists of a stenomask, an external sound digitizer and speech recognition software 2. The stenomask itself is a handheld device that fits over the reporter's mouth, built around a padded, soundproof enclosure and an internal microphone 3. That description comes from a court reporting company, which is a professional source for its own field.
The microphone inside the mask picks up the writer's voice at close range. The recognizer then turns that repeated speech into text. The writer's job is to repeat the speech accurately, which is a trained skill.
The mask keeps the writer's voice out of the room
In voice writing, the mask prevents the reporter from being heard during the testimony as they repeat it into the recorder 4. That is why the method suits a courtroom or a meeting, where other people are speaking and a repeated voice would be a distraction. The source is an encyclopedia summary and reports no measured noise levels.
Speed claims come from vendors and need care
A court reporting company says a trained voice writer can sustain accuracy above 95 percent at speeds exceeding 180 words per minute 5. Treat that as a vendor claim. No independent test is linked, and it describes trained professionals using a dedicated setup, not an everyday dictation user. Normal speaking speed is about 125 to 150 words per minute 6, so the claim concerns a skilled repeater at a fast pace, not an average speaker.
How voice writing differs from ordinary dictation
Ordinary dictation takes your own voice straight into an app, and the words appear as you speak. Voice writing adds a trained person and a mask between the speaker and the recognizer. The aim is accuracy for a verbatim record, not speed for a personal draft. In a quiet room, a standard microphone may be enough. For a noisy space, a noise-canceling microphone helps, and our guide to dictation and background noise explains the trade-offs.
The method also continues an older tradition. Shorthand was the way to record speech at speaking pace before machines did it, and voice writing is one modern answer to the same problem. Our history of dictation places both in sequence.
When voice writing is the right tool
Voice writing fits settings where a person must produce a verbatim record of speech in a room with other people present. Court reporting is the classic case. Live captioning and medical transcription are others. For a personal note or an email, voice typing on your phone or computer is simpler and free, and our guide to how to dictate explains the technique.
Related terms
- Shorthand: the earlier pen-and-symbol method for the same job.
- Digital dictation: the file-based workflow for recorded speech.
- Noise-canceling microphone: a microphone that favors the speaker's voice.
Evidence
Every number on this page, with where it comes from. Open a fact to see the exact words in its source.
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- 3.A stenomask is a handheld device that fits over the reporter's mouth, with a padded, soundproof enclosure and an internal microphone, which captures the voice for speech recognition and dampens the sound so others in the room cannot hear it.
Grace Johnston, Steno (court reporting company), Steno Brief, 2026 · Original
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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
- Legal Transcription: The Job, Formats and PayGuide
- Dictation and Background Noise: Where and How to DictateGuide
- Stenography and Shorthand: Writing at 225 WPMGuide
- Dictation for Journalists and Content CreatorsGuide
- Does Dictation Change How You Write?Guide
- Can you whisper to dictation software?Question
- Do journalists use dictation software?Question
- Do you need a foot pedal for legal or medical transcription?Question
- Is legal transcription hard?Question
- What is a voice dictation mask?Question
- What is legal transcription?Question
- What is shorthand dictation?Question
- CART captioningGlossary
- Noise-canceling microphoneGlossary
- ShorthandGlossary
- StenotypeGlossary