Sony ICD-BP150VTP Dragon Naturally Speaking 5 Users Guide - Page 19

CHAPTER 2 Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Successfully Speak naturally and continuously, but pronounce each word clearly When you talk to another person, you can mumble and run your words together and still be understood most of the time. For example, if you say, "Innit cold?" a person will probably understand that you're asking, "Isn't it cold?" But Dragon NaturallySpeaking has trouble interpreting mumbled or slurred speech. The computer recognizes speech most accurately when it can hear each word distinctly. To understand what it means to speak both clearly and naturally, listen to the way newscasters read the news. If you copy this style when you use Dragon NaturallySpeaking, you should see an improvement in how well the program recognizes what you say. Make it a habit to say each word clearly when you talk to the computer. Avoid leaving out words and making extra sounds (like "um") In conversation with another person, it's okay if you leave out a word here and there. People are good at filling in the blanks in a sentence. Unfortunately, the computer is not very good at this. If you leave out words, Dragon NaturallySpeaking also leaves them out. Another thing people do well is ignore all those "ums" and "ers" that show up in conversation. But the computer has no way of knowing which words are unimportant, so it simply transcribes everything you say. Make it a habit to avoid leaving out words or making extra sounds. It may help to compose your thoughts before you speak. Speak at your normal pace-don't slow down When another person is having trouble understanding you, speaking more slowly usually helps. So it's not surprising that people often slow down and begin sounding out each syllable when Dragon NaturallySpeaking makes mistakes. It doesn't help, however, to speak at an unnatural pace when you're talking to a computer. This is because the program listens for predictable Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide 13