Dragon speech recognition software enables you to convert speech-to-text. Since the product relies quite heavily on sound, there’s lots of speculation as to where it can work. One misconception that’s developed over time is that you have to be in a quiet room or environment in order to use the product. Many of our users are rightfully concerned about their noise level when considering a speech-based software productivity tool like Dragon. If you’re working in an open-plan office space, naturally there are going to be people around you and while Dragon’s becoming more commonplace in offices environments, it’s already a hurdle for people to see you with a headset on. Nevermind the sound of your voice throughout the day.
While these are valid concerns and you don’t want to disrupt those around you, the truth is Dragon can perform amazingly well in most sound environments. It is recommended to find a quiet place or manage your sound environment to establish the best possible conditions, however it’s not a problem if you are in an open-plan office. We speak on the phone, we discuss matters with colleagues at our desks or chat throughout the day. This is what we come to expect. The same is true for dictation. If you’re speaking loudly over the phone, you could just as easily interrupt a co-worker.
If your input is the PC’s on-board microphone, you will probably experience issues since this array input is less discriminating and will try to interpret every noise as speech. The software will alert you to poor sound quality in which case you will need to make adjustments. However, if you’re using a USB headset… which is how we recommend most people start off, the noise-cancelling technology should minimise background noise. Setting up your microphone in this sound environment allows Dragon to calibrate the sound to try and filter out white noise to get the most accurate results.
While it’s preferable to have your own office for personal dictation, especially if you’re dealing with confidential matters, it’s not essential. Being in an open plan environment you could easily move your notebook to a board room to work on a confidential matter if this doesn’t form a large part of your daily routine, otherwise you can set the microphone up so that it responds to you speaking more softly.
We’re taught to project our voices as kids but what you’ll find with Dragon is that you can set up the mic to respond at the level you’re comfortable with. Since the USB headset’s microphone is positioned a thumb’s width away from the corner of your mouth it can pick up dictation at much lower levels with remarkable accuracy.
More on this in our next article…