Dictation for Writing and its Benefits

Writing has a long history as an art form. Writers always used their hands to write with a pen or, type using typewriter and computer. "Handwriting "was the only method available. Now, they take a fresh approach to that process. Feats of modern technology let enhance productivity and at the same time maintain the quality of writing, whether it is an article, essay, or book. Speech recognition software opens up new doors to writers and allows them to write by dictation.

There are two types of software for dictation. The first one lets you dictate directly into the software and converts your voice to written words in real-time. The second type of software is called automatic transcription. You can record your voice and then upload it to that program to get the entire transcript in a matter of minutes. Writers using the first method usually get distracted because they want to correct their mistakes as they speak.  Automatic transcription tools enable searching the transcript with keywords and playing a particular part of the recording by clicking on the word.

Let's check five advantages dictation brings to writing.

  1. You can multitask

To write something using conventional methods, one should focus solely on writing. Conversely, by recording your voice, you can write as you run, drive a car on a long empty road, or when you're doing dishes and laundry. There are no restrictions on when or where you write if you use dictation. You can do it anywhere and anytime, as long as there is an opportunity to multitask.

  1. Save time

Some articles, essays, and especially books consume so much time that it gets frustrating for writers at some point. It is even more stressful if you must comply with specific deadlines. Talking as opposed to typing solves this problem and contributes to your overall productivity.

  1. Health

The most significant disadvantage that new technologies bring is a sedentary lifestyle – a lifestyle that lacks physical activity. The majority of people sit in front of computers either for work or leisure time, and it results in health issues, particularly eye strain (sometimes called Computer Vision Syndrome) and back pain. Writers are among the "victims" of prolonged computer use, as most of them depend on such electronic devices to write. Dictation may reduce the computer usage to a great extent, even though you still need it for editing.

  1. Speed

There is no comparison between the speed of speech and typing. We produce about three times more words through speech compared to handwriting/typing. That's one of the key reasons some writers turn to voice recording and dictation tools.

  1. Less distraction

 If you have a computer, there is a big chance that you also have internet access to accompany it. You have your social media accounts, favourite sites you like to check regularly. Time spent on them usually reduces your writing speed and consumes your precious time. Dictation, recording and transcription tools we have at our disposal may eliminate this issue.

Along with all these perks, there is also one major drawback to these tools. They are not 100% accurate all the time. They may misinterpret some words, but you can correct those errors while editing and proofreading the text.

 

 

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