You can type on your computer by dictation or as if you’re talking to Alexa. Instead of having a secretary write whatever you’re saying, you can dictate your words to a Google Docs and have it appear on the document.
Do you wish to use your voice or your microphone in order to dictate to the computer what you want to type instead of having to use a keyboard to type it? Do you speak faster than you type? Nowadays, people text more than they call.
However, some of us communicate better by voice than by typing, which makes a speech to text a boon for them. In any case, let’s talk about how to activate voice typing in google docs.
Why Should You Activate Voice Typing in Google Docs?
Google Docs—Google’s web-based, cloud-based answer to Microsoft Word and various other writing applications—has an audio-to-text transcription feature you can use to talk you way into making that school essay or daily work report.
You can even use this handy feature to transcribe audio for you instead of having to type it yourself, record meetings in text form, or to simply write words faster than you can type.
How to Activate Voice Typing in Google Docs
Step 1: Open a new Google Docs document for us to use. To be able to activate voice typing, your PC needs the Google Chrome browser and a built-in microphone.
Most modern pre-built PCs and laptops include microphones. Otherwise, buy an external USB mic yourself. Also, make sure you have a Google or Gmail account.
Step 2: Now click on the “Tools” menu and then select “Voice Typing”. You can also access it via the keyboard shortcut of Ctrl + Shift + S.
Step 3: A microphone icon on the left side of the document should appear. Do as it says. Click on it in order to speak and start transcribing your spoken word into the written word!
Step 4: You’ll be asked permission to allow Google Docs to access your microphone or not (if you haven’t approved of its use already). Click “Allow” to proceed.
Step 5: Start speaking when the gray microphone turns red. Do so in a deliberate manner. Pause for a bit to indicate a full stop for your sentence. Or you can just keep speaking then edit out what you’ve said later for clarity if you have to.
Step 6: Once you’re done, click on the microphone to “stop recording” or finish transcribing your sentences.
Step 7: It might miss out some words if you don’t speak clearly enough for the microphone to pick up your words. Even then, it will miss out one or two words here and there, but that’s where editing comes in!
If you’re coming up with a new article, you can type up a storm from what has been transcribed into your Google Docs, with the jumbled words serving as your idea, guide, article, or story’s foundation.
For some people, even with its imperfections, this is the faster way to put their thoughts into writing. For other people, the technology isn’t there yet and there’s too much to edit for it to be useful.
From Across the Board
Using voice typing couldn’t be simpler, especially if you’re speaking up a storm or you’re actually brainstorming some sort of idea or set of ideas. It works best by talking clearly to your desktop or laptop PC microphone (added to many modern PCs for chatting purposes).
References:
- “Type with your voice“, Google.com Support, Retrieved June 16, 2022
- GCFLearnFree.org, “Google Docs: Voice Typing“, YouTube, June 18, 2020
- Abigail Abesamis Demarest, “How to use voice typing in Google Docs to dictate your text“, Business Insider, October 2, 2021