Talk instead of type
Say a message out loud and watch it appear as written words, in any box on any device, without touching more than one key.
Every keyboard on every phone has a small microphone on it. Press it, speak, and your words appear as writing. It works in messages, in email, in a search box, in a note, in the address bar of a browser.
It is not the shaky voice recognition of twenty years ago that needed an hour of training. It happens inside the phone, in ordinary American English, and it copes with names and place names better than most people expect.
Punctuation is spoken as words. You say “full stop” and a full stop appears. The list is short.
Key points
- Find the microphone on any keyboard and dictate into any box
- Speak punctuation, so a message comes out properly written
- Start dictation on a computer with the Windows key and H
- Read it through before sending, which is the only rule that matters
What to remember
- The microphone key sits on the keyboard itself, so it is available in every app without any setting up.
- Say the name of the mark and you get the mark. That covers all the punctuation you will need.
- On Windows, the Windows key and H start dictation in whatever box the cursor is sitting in.
Try this
Open a note on your own phone, press the small microphone on the keyboard, and say: “This is a test comma and it seems to work full stop”. Seeing your own words appear is the moment most people decide they will use this.
Practice: Talk instead of type. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.