Voice dictation software is a relatively new tool, but dictating your text is not a new thing. President Theodore Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and author Sidney Sheldon are examples of authors who dictated their works.
According to Roosevelt biographer Edmund Morris, Roosevelt sat in an upstairs room at his home at Sagamore Hill, New York, and dictated to a secretary in the morning. The secretary would then prepare the document for Roosevelt’s review that afternoon.
Churchill, meanwhile, would do his dictation in the late evenings and early mornings. In his study at his home, Chartwell, in southern England, he had a standup desk which would have his latest manuscripts and notes. At that desk, he would dictate to his secretaries. Depending on what was being written, the text might be typeset into book format for Churchill’s review and edit.
One can imagine how much easier it would have been for these men if they had voice dictation software as we do today. It would be interesting to think about how their works would have been different.
Follow these tips to get the most out of your voice dictation software.
1. Speak slowly and clearly.
Software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking has, during the installation phase, a series of exercises or tests to identify and recognize your voice. Still, give the software a chance to work by speaking slowly and clearly.
2. Use voice dictation for first drafts only.
When you have a blank screen, the goal is to get something — anything — down, knowing you will go back and revise it until it’s ready. Voice dictation software can help you with this task because you can use it to think out loud and get those initial thoughts written.
However, sophisticated as the software is, there is no substitute for reviewing your manuscript manually and making the appropriate changes, which can also include formatting and footnotes or endnotes. Manually incorporating your changes helps to ensure that you don’t miss making the necessary corrections.
3. Don’t write what you wouldn’t say, and don’t say what you wouldn’t write.
We have all seen examples of indiscreetly worded emails, or emails sent to people for whom they are not intended. Voice dictation software is helpful for responding to emails, and can speed up the process. But just as we must be mindful of what we write in an email, we must be careful what we say as well.
Think through what you want to say, and carefully review it before pressing the send button.
