Dictating Word: How voice input works

Tedious typing was yesterday. Anyone who wants to write a text today can now simply use Word speech recognition on their computer. The word processing program has already had a corresponding function integrated for some time.

With Word's new voice input feature, you can now dictate text instead of typing it yourself.

First Steps: Setting Up Windows Speech Recognition

If you want to use Microsoft Word's dictation feature, then you need a microphone. Usually, your laptop will already have one built in. Optionally, you can connect an external microphone or headset to the computer. Depending on which device you use to access Word, the procedure may differ. Note that you can only use the dictation function in conjunction with a 365 subscription.

1. If you access Word via your browser, the Windows or macOS client, then you can use the same buttons.
2. Open a blank document in Word and click "Start" at the top of the bar. Then select "Dictate" further to the right in the menu bar. You can recognize this by the "Microphone" icon.
3. Whether the "Dictate" button is activated you can see by the fact that a red dot appears next to the icon.
4. Now you can start dictating your text. Punctuation marks you write by naming them, the program recognizes them automatically afterwards.
5. Also if you want to insert a new line or other formatting elements, simply pronounce them, such as "New line".
6. To deactivate the function click again on the "Dictate" icon in the bar.