C H A P T E R 1 2
Speaking and Dictating
Dragon NaturallySpeaking User’s Guide
144
Because our brains reconstruct missing sounds so easily (especially small,
common words like “a,” “the,” and “of”), in everyday speech we tend
not to pronounce every sound and word.
A computer transcribing speech tries to reconstruct missing sounds, too,
taking its best guess at what you actually said. It often, however, guesses
incorrectly. For accurate transcription, it’s important to make sure every
word you say to the computer is pronounced distinctly and has no
missing words. A sentence that is perfectly understandable to a person
might not be clear enough to a computer.
This change in speaking style might mean that you have to modify your
natural pace. It’s fine to dictate to Dragon NaturallySpeaking
®
as rapidly
as you like, as long as you are speaking clearly and pronouncing each
word distinctly.
Pause if you like
Your friends might think it odd if during an animated conversation you
halt mid-sentence to gather your thoughts. When speaking to the
computer, though, you can pause as long as you like—to think, take a
break, or arrange your notes. Dragon NaturallySpeaking
®
won’t get
bored waiting for you.
Give it context
Your accuracy will increase if you speak in complete sentences because
the software has more context to use in deciphering your sounds.
Speaking one word at a time usually decreases accuracy. So concentrate,
think of the right words, and speak them as a continuous stream.
Leave out the fillers
Dragon NaturallySpeaking
®
may mistake “uh” and “um” for “a,” “of,”
and similar-sounding words. The software may filter out some of these
nonspeech sounds, but it is still advisable to try and dictate without
them. To learn to stop saying “um,” practice being silent instead of
saying something to fill the space.
