How to use Speak and Read Aloud commands in Microsoft Word

Can Microsoft Word read the document? The answer is yes. The Speak feature has been integrated into Microsoft Office (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.) from version 2003. After that, this feature is called Text to Speech (TTS) and works like the current one. Fortunately, it is very simple to set up and use this feature. Let's find out later!

Add the Speak button to the Quick Access Toolbar

1. Click the Customize arrow on the Quick Access Toolbar .

2. From the drop-down menu, select More Commands.

3. On the Word Options screen , select Customize the Quick Access Toolbar , in Choose Commands From select All Commands, in the right pane, scroll down to find the Speak command .

4. Select the Speak command , click the Add button in the middle of the screen, and then click OK.

5. Word will add the Speak command to the end of the Quick Access Toolbar and be ready to use.

How to use Speak and Read Aloud commands in Microsoft Word Picture 1

Click the Speak button to listen to the text

1. Ensure that the system speaker or audio device is turned on.

2. Black out the text to read, then click the Speak icon in the upper left corner.

3. Word will read any text you highlight, even the entire document. Press Ctrl + A to select the entire document.

4. Click the Speak button once to start the reading session, then click the button again to stop. There is no pause and resume option at this time, but many users have requested this feature, so it will likely appear in future versions.

Select the Read Aloud command

1. Another way for text to be read aloud in Word is to select the Review tab , then click the Read Aloud button .

The biggest benefit of the Read Aloud command compared to the Speak command is:

(a) You do not have to highlight text. Just place the cursor where you want Word to start reading the content and click the Read Aloud button.

(b) When you click the Aloud Read button for the second time, the reading will stop. Click the Read Aloud button again to continue from the moment it stopped. So basically, you have the Pause feature when using the Read Aloud command , and the Speak command is not.

Change the Speak option in Windows Control Panel

The options for the Speak command apply throughout the Windows system, not just Word.

1. Click Start> Windows System> Control Panel .

2. Select Ease of Access> Speech Recognition> Text to Speech and the Speech Properties dialog window will open on the Text to Speech tab.

3. In the Voice Selection section , select MS David Desktop for male voice or MS Zira Desktop for female voice.

4. Click the Preview button to listen to each voice, then make a selection.

5. Use the slider in the Voice Speed section to adjust the speed (slow, normal or fast) of the voice.

6. Click the Audio Output button to specify audio options.

7. Click the Advanced button to select or change the output device.

How to use Speak and Read Aloud commands in Microsoft Word Picture 2

Hope you are succesful.

Marvin Fry

Update 25 May 2019

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