How to use Microsoft Word's voice typing feature

If you're someone who spends a lot of time writing, Word's dictation tool is a game-changer. You can write without distraction and focus on the flow of your ideas instead of getting caught up in the mechanics of typing.

Enable and use Voice Typing in Word

Getting started with Microsoft Word's Voice Typing feature is easy, and the process is the same whether you're using the Word app on your PC or in your web browser. All you have to do is navigate to the Home tab and click the Dictate button . There's an even faster way to launch the tool: Press the Alt + ` shortcut in Word.

Once you enable the dictation tool, just start speaking and Word will take care of the rest. It transcribes words in real time and even handles punctuation if you include it in your speech. For example, if you say "Hello comma how are you question mark", Word will type: Hello, how are you?

Note : Microsoft Word's dictation tool requires a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Automatic punctuation and dictation in multiple languages

One really useful dictation feature is auto-punctuation, which you can enable by clicking the gear icon on the dictation tool and switching to Enable auto-punctuation . Keep this turned on as it's incredibly accurate and saves you from having to spell out punctuation.

When this setting is turned on, Word automatically adds periods, commas, and other punctuation wherever they normally appear. This way, you can focus on your thoughts instead of worrying about where to put commas or periods.

Another standout feature is how well Word supports dictation in multiple languages. Switching languages ​​is simple: Go to the dictation tool settings, select Language , and choose from a variety of options, including Hindi, French, German, Italian, and more.

Voice text formatting

What many people love about Microsoft Word's voice typing feature isn't just the ability to dictate plain text - Word also allows for voice formatting. If you want to emphasize a word, just say "bold this word" to apply bold formatting.

For example, if you dictate the sentence "Windows is better than Mac" and then say "bold Mac", it will automatically bold the word "Mac" in the sentence. This feature also works to italicize or underline words.

But it doesn't stop there - you can also easily create lists. Just say "start list" or "start numbered list" and Word will format your text as bullets or numbers. When you're done, just say "exit list" and the formatting will return to normal text.

What's even better is that you can combine voice typing with traditional typing. This feature allows you to dictate a paragraph while typing specific parts of the text that you want more control over or need detailed formatting.

Lesley Montoya

Update 06 February 2025