To use speech recognition, you need the following:

• A high quality close-talk (headset) microphone with gain adjustment (gain adjustment: A microphone feature that allows your input to be amplified so that it is made louder for use by the system.) support

  (A universal serial bus (USB) microphone is recommended.)

• A 400 megahertz (MHz) or faster computer
• 128 MB or more of memory
• Windows 2000 with Service Pack 3 or Windows XP or later
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 or later

See the Microsoft Office Online Web site for more information about operating system specific requirements or microphone information.

A high quality close-talk (headset) universal serial bus (USB) microphone with gain adjustment (gain adjustment: A microphone feature that allows your input to be amplified so that it is made louder for use by the system.) support is recommended.

Position the microphone so that:

• It is about an inch, or a thumb's width, to the side of your mouth.

• It is not directly in front of your mouth, and you are not breathing directly into it.

Note  If you inadvertently move the microphone as you speak, remember to bring it back to the correct position.

Speech recognition is installed in all Office programs by initially using the feature in Microsoft Word or by doing a custom installation.

After speech recognition is installed, you can increase speech recognition accuracy by taking a few minutes to train the computer to recognize how you speak.

Note  After you have installed speech recognition, you can review the tutorial video by clicking Search on the Start menu, and then searching for the Video.mht file.

Install and train by using Word

Custom installation and training

When speaking to others, you're usually understood whether you whisper or shout, or talk fast or slow. However, a computer understands speech best when spoken to in a more predictable way.

• Speak in a consistent, level tone. Speaking too loudly or too softly makes it difficult for the computer to recognize what you've said.
• Use a consistent rate, without speeding up and slowing down.
• Speak without pausing between words; a phrase is easier for the computer to interpret than just one word.

  For example, the computer has a hard time understanding phrases such as, "This (pause) is (pause) another (pause) example (pause) sentence."

Because we don't usually need to think about how to speak, it can seem a little awkward at first to speak to a computer. However, with a little practice, speaking to a computer will become more natural.

Speech recognition tips

• Start by working in a quiet environment so that the computer hears you instead of the sounds around you, and use a high quality close-talk (headset) microphone.

  If your work environment has a lot of noise or if the noise level varies during the day, try creating different speech recognition profiles for different times of day. If you work in several different environments, create different profiles for each environment.

• Keep the microphone in the same position; try not to move it around once it's adjusted.
• Train your computer to recognize your voice by reading aloud prepared training text in the training wizard. Additional training may increase may speech recognition accuracy.
• As you dictate, don't be concerned if you do not immediately see your words on the screen. Continue speaking and pause at the end of your thought. The computer will display the recognized text on the screen after it finishes processing your voice.
• Pronounce words clearly, but don't separate each syllable in a word. For example, sounding out each syllable in "e-nun-ci-ate" will make it harder for the computer to recognize what you've said.
• Remember to turn the microphone off when you are not using speech recognition. Speech recognition will continue to process sounds until the microphone is turned off.

You can use speech recognition by clicking buttons on the Language bar to switch between two modes— Dictation and Voice Command. The Language bar appears by default in the upper-right corner of the screen of any Office programs.

Language bar with text labels hidden

Note  The Language bar shows text labels beside each button on the bar. You can hide or show the text labels by right-clicking the Language bar, and then clicking Text Labels.

You'll switch between Dictation mode and Voice Command mode less often and save time if you complete dictation first, review your file, and then format text or make corrections.

1. Position your microphone.
2. Click in the program in which you want to use speech recognition.

   If you open a Help topic while you're working or if a message appears on the screen, click again in the program to continue using speech recognition.

3. If the microphone is not already turned on, click Microphone on the Language bar.
4. Switch between Dictation and Voice Command modes as you work:

   Use Dictation mode

   • To turn the words you speak into text, click Dictation on the Language bar.

     As you speak, you'll see a blue bar on the screen that means the computer is processing your voice. As your words are recognized, text is displayed on the screen.

     You can continue to speak while the computer processes your voice; you don't have to wait until the blue bar disappears to speak again.

     

     Previously recognized text

     Blue bar that indicates the computer is processing your voice

   Notes

   • If Dictation is not on the Language bar, see the Speech recognition isn't working section on the Troubleshoot speech recognition Help topic.
   • While the blue bar is on the screen, avoid using your mouse or keyboard to type or take other actions. This will interrupt speech recognition, and your words will not be processed.

   Use Voice Command mode

   • To select menu, toolbar, dialog box (U.S. English only), and task pane (task pane: A window within an Office application that provides commonly used commands. Its location and small size allow you to use these commands while still working on your files.) (U.S. English only) items, click Voice Command on the Language bar.

     For example, to change font format, you can say "font" to open the Font box on the Formatting toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you use to carry out commands. To display a toolbar, click Customize on the Tools menu, and then click the Toolbars tab.), and then say a font name.

     Or to format selected text, say "bold" or "underline."

   Note   If Voice Command is not on the Language bar, see the Speech recognition isn't working section on the Troubleshoot speech recognition Help topic.

5. Turn the microphone off when you are through speaking to the computer by clicking Microphone on the Language bar.

Tips

This feature is available in the Simplified Chinese, English (U.S.), and Japanese language versions of Microsoft Office.

When you use Office speech recognition, you'll switch between working in Voice Command mode and Dictation mode by clicking buttons on the Language bar or by saying "voice command" or "dictation."

Language bar with text labels hidden

Note  The Language bar by default shows text labels beside each button on the bar. You can hide or show the text labels by right-clicking the Language bar, and then clicking Text Labels.

Using Voice Command mode