Voice Input Best Practices

Voice Input Best Practices

Mastering voice dictation in Whisperit can dramatically increase your productivity. These best practices will help you achieve accurate transcriptions and efficient workflow.

Before You Start Dictating

Environment Setup: • Choose a quiet location with minimal background noise • Close windows and doors to reduce external sounds • Turn off fans, radios, or other noise sources • Inform colleagues you'll be dictating to avoid interruptions • Use headphones to monitor your audio quality

Equipment Preparation: • Select a quality microphone in Audio Settings • Position microphone 6-12 inches from your mouth • Test your microphone before important sessions • Ensure stable internet connection • Check battery levels on wireless devices

Speaking Techniques

Clarity and Pace: • Speak clearly and naturally • Maintain a moderate, consistent pace • Avoid speaking too fast or too slow • Enunciate words distinctly, especially legal terms • Pause briefly between sentences

Volume and Tone: • Maintain consistent volume throughout • Speak at a normal conversational level • Avoid shouting or whispering • Keep your mouth at consistent distance from microphone • Monitor audio levels if available

Punctuation and Formatting: • Say "period" for. • Say "comma" for , • Say "question mark" for ? • Say "exclamation point" for ! • Say "new paragraph" to start new paragraph • Say "new line" for line break

Optimizing Accuracy

Use Smart Transcription: • Enable Smart Transcription for better formatting • Let it handle automatic punctuation • Review and edit after dictating • Learn which terms it recognizes well

Legal Terminology: • Spell out uncommon legal terms when needed • Create a personal glossary of frequently used terms • Practice dictating complex legal phrases • Use standard legal vocabulary when possible • Verify proper names and case citations

Workflow Strategies

Plan Before You Speak: • Outline your document mentally first • Know your main points before dictating • Have reference materials ready • Organize thoughts into logical sections

Dictation Sessions: • Start with shorter sessions (10-15 minutes) • Take breaks to rest your voice • Review and edit after each section • Save your work frequently • Use templates for repeated document types

Editing Strategy: • Do a first pass while dictating • Complete a thorough review afterward • Read aloud to catch errors • Check legal citations carefully • Verify client names and case numbers

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Don't: • Eat or drink while dictating • Dictate in noisy environments • Speak too close or too far from microphone • Rush through complex terms • Forget to pause between thoughts • Neglect to review transcriptions • Assume 100% accuracy without checking

Professional Tips

For Legal Documents: • Use consistent terminology • Spell out ambiguous terms • Double-check case citations • Verify dates and numbers • Review formatting carefully

For Long Documents: • Break into manageable sections • Use document templates • Save drafts frequently • Take vocal breaks every 20 minutes • Review as you go

Troubleshooting Poor Results

If accuracy is low: • Check microphone positioning • Reduce background noise • Speak more clearly and slower • Enable Smart Transcription • Upgrade microphone quality

If words are missing: • Ensure stable internet connection • Check microphone is working • Speak louder or closer to mic • Avoid long pauses mid-sentence

Advanced Techniques

Macro Phrases: • Develop standard phrases for common content • Use consistent language for repeated sections • Create mental templates for document types

Voice Warm-up: • Do vocal exercises before long sessions • Stay hydrated • Practice difficult terms beforehand • Start with easier content to warm up

Practice Exercises

Beginners: • Start with short emails • Practice punctuation commands • Dictate simple memos • Review and identify error patterns

Intermediate: • Dictate full letters • Practice legal terminology • Work on longer documents • Develop personal style

Advanced: • Dictate complex legal briefs • Use templates efficiently • Minimize editing time • Achieve high accuracy rates