Sony ICD-BP150VTP Dragon Naturally Speaking 5 Users Guide - Page 20

CHAPTER 2 Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Successfully sound patterns when matching sounds to words. If you speak in syllables, Dragon NaturallySpeaking is likely to transcribe each syllable as a separate word. Make it a habit to speak at your normal pace, so Dragon NaturallySpeaking can learn your normal pronunciation. Speak in phrases, rather than one word at a time Along with the tendency to speak slowly, people often begin saying just one or two words at a time when Dragon NaturallySpeaking makes mistakes. Surprisingly, speaking in very short phrases or individual words can actually lessen accuracy. This is because Dragon NaturallySpeaking uses the context of a phrase to help it decide what you said. Consider the following phrase: "Dear Mr. Jones." If you were to dictate this phrase one word at a time ("dear" "mister" "jones"), Dragon NaturallySpeaking might type "Deer" or "Gear" instead of "Dear." But if you were to dictate the whole phrase ("dear mister jones"), the program can use context to determine that the word you want is most likely "Dear." Make it a habit to dictate in phrases, so Dragon NaturallySpeaking can use context to help determine what you said. It may help to compose your thoughts before you speak. Speak at your normal volume-don't whisper or speak too loudly When you first started Dragon NaturallySpeaking and read the training text aloud, the program adapted to the pitch and volume of your voice, along with learning your pronunciation. For this reason, you should continue to speak at a normal volume (or slightly louder if this helps). If you shout or whisper, Dragon NaturallySpeaking won't understand you as well. Make it a habit to speak at your normal volume, since Dragon NaturallySpeaking has adjusted to this volume. 14 Dragon NaturallySpeaking User's Guide