Using speech recognition software does take some getting used to. People aren’t naturally able to switch to composing their thoughts out loud. It takes quite a bit of practice in order to become more familiar with this input method. You didn’t learn how to type overnight, and similarly the same goes for dictation. The idea of verbalising your thoughts and turning them into content can seem quite daunting. We come across this quite often with new users, who are wanting to harness the time-saving ability of speech recognition software but require some coaching when it comes to getting into the swing of things. The software works best when you speak and phrases, which allows it to get some context in order to make more sense of them.
The easiest way to become more accustomed to the fresh input method of dictating out loud is by starting with things that are easier, such as emails. When you’re dictating emails it’s a bit more casual, doesn’t require you to be too formal and is generally understood to make more allowances for the odd error. This is a great way to get used to dictating and speaking your thoughts out loud.
Being able to say “dear John, I’m just writing to find out how you are today. Yesterday’s meeting went well, I’m sure that we will be able to iron out any of the details you mentioned in the next few weeks, but I would like to just run through a few more things with you over the phone when you get a chance.”
Pretend you’re talking to someone on the telephone, this will help the rewiring you need in order to be able to compose documents by voice. As with anything, doing this a number of times will make the process come to you much more easily. Obviously when a trainer is listening or in the room, there’s more pressure for someone to perform when they are dictating into a microphone. Users shouldn’t feel too embarrassed to make mistakes because we’ve seen it all!
So, in a nutshell – it just is really about stringing words together, getting used to the idea of speaking to create text. Your natural instinct will be to return to simply type in and many people think that the way that they work best is by typing and thinking and typing. This too was a learned habit, when you think of the structure of the QWERTY keyboard, it seems to be a confusing and strange combination of letters.
Yet, by simply using the product over time you will discover that you get used to the new input and your brain through some akin to muscle memory will be able to remember where the keys are that you need to type. This is probably how we get the point that we are able to type without even looking at the keyboard. So, it’s all about baby steps.
Start with emails, try to use Dragon is often as possible and in time the idea of dictating your thoughts out loud will get much more habitual. While we do make allowances for people to simply read documents that were created previously, ideally we would want them to create fresh content. Mimicking the scenario when we aren’t with them is important in order for them to become more independent of us as trainers. Everyone eventually makes the leap, however ingrained they are with the idea of typing and thinking. You will too!