How do you correct a misheard word by voice?

To correct a misheard word by voice, select the wrong word and then speak the right one. One eyes-free editing study points to speaking the correct words rather than describing the edit. Windows Voice Access has a "Correct that" command for the last dictated text. In Word, corrections cannot be made fully by voice, so use the suggestions Word shows or the keyboard.

One eyes-free study favors speaking the correct words

In a 2021 study of editing without looking at a screen, the authors' editing techniques "decrease the average failure rate by 54.1%" compared with descriptive commands or re-speaking ¹. The study used earphone buttons and not a desktop, so it supports the principle more than any one product. The principle is still useful: say the word you want, not a description of the change.

The reason correction matters is time. Vertanen's 2006 work on large-vocabulary dictation found that "correcting errors dominates task time" ². In a preliminary 2001 study of dictation, users spent over 65 percent of their time correcting errors ³. That study is old and preliminary, so treat its figure as a sign of how much editing can take, not as a current average.

Re-speaking a misheard word often fails again

The obvious fix is to say the word again, and it often fails. In Vertanen's study, spoken corrections were often misrecognized as well, which cost the user time ⁴. If you have already said a word twice and it came out wrong twice, stop repeating it. Select the word and type the fix, or use the keyboard to correct the spelling.

Each tool has its own correction steps

1. Windows voice typing. Select the wrong words, then dictate the replacement. Voice typing's "Select that" command selects the last spoken word or phrase ( Microsoft: Use voice typing). A word in the middle of a sentence needs a mouse or keyboard selection first. Test whether dictating over a selection replaces it in your app, because Microsoft's pages do not describe that behavior.
2. Windows Voice Access. Say "Correct that" to correct the selected text or the last dictated text ⁵. Voice Access also has a "Correct " command for specific text, which Microsoft's command list shows ( Microsoft: Voice access command list).
3. Microsoft Word. Microsoft says that "At the moment, corrections cannot be made fully with voice" ⁶. Use the suggestions Word marks under words it may have misheard, or the keyboard, and keep the microphone on for the rest of the dictation.

Beginners keep fixing by voice, and experienced users mix methods

Kraal and colleagues say that novice users keep correcting errors by voice, which they read as a sign of an incorrect mental model of dictation ⁷. Users who keep dictating for about 20 hours tend to combine voice correction with keyboard and mouse correction ⁸. The lesson is practical: a mixed approach is a reasonable goal, so you do not need to force yourself to fix everything by voice.

Typing is often faster for good typists

A 1999 CHI study compared correction methods. It found that multimodal correction was slower than correction by typing for users with good typing skills ⁹. That study is old, but it explains why the advice depends on your typing. If you type fast, the keyboard is often the quicker fix for a word in the middle of a sentence.

It depends on the error and on your typing

• A whole phrase is wrong. Select the phrase and dictate it again. This works well when the phrase is at the end.
• One word is wrong, and you type well. Select it with the keyboard and type the fix.
• One word is wrong, and you type slowly. Select it and dictate the replacement. If it fails twice, switch to typing.
• A name or term keeps coming out wrong. Correction does not fix the cause. The question on spelling names correctly covers how to add the word to the vocabulary.

What to do

1. Finish the sentence first. Stopping to fix each error breaks the flow. Correct the draft after you finish the paragraph.
2. Select the wrong words. Use the keyboard or mouse for a word in the middle of a sentence. Microsoft's "Select that" covers only the last spoken word or phrase.
3. Dictate the replacement, or type it. If the replacement fails twice, type it.
4. Check the draft by reading it back. The question on proofreading dictated text covers that step.

The other questions in this guide cover the rest of the editing commands. For deleting, see the question on deleting a word by voice, and for the wider question of which tool to use, see the question on dictation and voice control. The full set of phrases is in the guide to dictation commands, and the dictation mistakes guide explains why recognition errors happen.