Dictate Your Documents in Word
By: Bruce G. Kreeger
Word for Microsoft 365 Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac Word for the web
Dictation lets you use speech-to-text to author content in Office with a microphone and reliable internet connection. It’s a quick and easy way to get your thoughts out, create drafts or outlines, and capture notes.
How to use Dictation
- Sign in to your Microsoft account using Edge, Firefox, or Chrome.
- Go to Home > Dictate. First-time users will be prompted to enable microphone permissions.
- A mic icon will appear – wait for it to turn on to be sure it started listening.
Tip: On Windows, use Alt + ` (backquote) to toggle the mic.
- Insert punctuation any time by saying them explicitly.
- Fix mistakes with your keyboard or Dictation suggestions without having to turn off the mic icon.
- Exit dictation with Close(X) in the Dictation toolbar or pressing the button in the ribbon again.
What can I say?
Try saying “new line”, “delete”, “bold that”, and “start list”. Other supported punctuation, commands, and symbols are below.
Punctuation
| Phrase(s) | Output |
| period, full stop | . |
| comma | , |
| question mark | ? |
| exclamation mark/point | ! |
| new line | new line |
| apostrophe-s | ‘s |
| colon | : |
| semicolon | ; |
| open quotes
close quotes |
” “ |
| hyphen | – |
| ellipsis, dot dot dot | … |
| begin/open single quote
end/close single quote |
‘ ‘ |
| left/open parentheses
right/close parentheses |
( ) |
| left/open bracket
right/close bracket |
[ ] |
| left/open brace
right/close brace |
{ } |
Editing
| undo |
| delete* |
| delete that* |
| delete last [1-100] words/sentences |
| delete [Word or phrase]* |
| insert space |
| backspace |
| backspace [1-100] |
*Tips
- Saying “delete” by itself removes the last Word or punctuation before the cursor.
- Saying “delete that” removes the last spoken utterance.
- An example of using [phrase] would be dictating “what a super nice day” and then saying “delete super.” You would then be left with the phrase “what a nice day.”
Formatting
| bold |
| italics |
| underline |
| strikethrough |
| <format*> [word or phrase] |
| superscript |
| subscript |
| indent |
| decrease indent |
| clear all formatting |
| align [left, center, right] |
*Tips
- You can bold, italicize, underline, or strikethrough a word or phrase. An example would be dictating “review by tomorrow at 5 PM”, then saying “bold tomorrow” which would leave you with “review by tomorrow at 5 PM.”
- Try phrases like “bold last word” or “underline the last sentence.”
Creating lists
| start list |
| start numbered list |
| next line |
| exit list |
Adding comments
| add comment [your message here]* |
*Tips
- Saying “add comment look at this tomorrow” will insert a new comment with the text “Look at this tomorrow” inside it.
- Saying “add comment” by itself will create a blank comment box that can be manually typed into.
While dictating
| show help |
| pause dictation |
| exit dictation* |
*Tips
- To resume Dictation, please use the keyboard shortcut (ALT + `) or press the Mic icon in the floating dictation menu.
Symbols
| Phrase(s) | Output |
| asterisk | * |
| backslash | \ |
| forward slash | / |
| vertical bar sign, pipe character | | |
| backquote, backtick | ` |
| underscore | _ |
| m-dash | — |
| n-dash | – |
| paragraph sign/mark | ¶ |
| section sign | § |
| ampersand, and sign | & |
| at sign | @ |
| copyright sign | © |
| registered sign | ® |
| degree symbol | ° |
| caret symbol | ^ |
Mathematics
| Phrase(s) | Output |
| percent sign | % |
| number/pound sign | # |
| plus sign | + |
| minus sign | – |
| multiplication sign | x |
| plus or minus sign | ± |
| division sign | ÷ |
| equal sign | = |
| less than sign, left angle bracket
greater than sign, right angle bracket |
< > |
Currency
| Phrase(s) | Output |
| dollar sign | $ |
| pound sterling sign | £ |
| euro sign | € |
| yen sign | ¥ |
Emoji/faces
| Phrase(s) | Output |
| smiley face | 🙂 |
| frowny face | 🙁 |
| winky face | 😉 |
| heart emoji | <3 |
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