1.5

145Tips on SpeakingMacSpeech Dictate 1.5
Tips on Speaking
Speechrecognition,whileithasbecomefarfasterandbetteroverthepastseveral
years,doesnotworklikethehumanbrain.Thespeechrecognitionengineidenti-
esthewordsyouspeak,usingitsknowledgeof howyoupronouncesounds,along
witharudimentarynotionof grammaticalandlexicalcontext,butitdoesn’tknow
themeaningof thewords,nordoesithavetheunderstandingof yourspeechthat
apersondoes.
Thus,whilethespeechrecognitionengine’saccuracycanbeimprovedtorespond
totheuniquecharacteristicsof yourvoice,youalsoneedtoletMacSpeechDictate
trainyou.Youruseof MacSpeechDictatewillbemuchmoresuccessfulif you
bearinmind,andputintooperation,afewsimpletips.
train honestLy.Whenyoucreateaprole,youwilluseMicrophoneSetup
tosetyourmicrophoneinputlevel,andthenyouwilluseVoiceTrainingto
readastory.Speakinthesamemannerandchoosethesameenvironmentin
whichyouwillprimarilyuseMacSpeechDictate.
be Consistent.Thistipisacontinuationof thepreviousone.Havingtrained
MacSpeechDictatewithVoiceTraining,youshouldcarryonspeakingthe
sameway,asyouproceedtouseMacSpeechDictate.Stressingyourwords,
orspeakingexpressively,isapttoalteryourpronunciationandmisleadthe
speechrecognitionengine.
Pause.MacSpeechDictatehearsandthinksin“utterances,”whichare
stretchesof speechwithpausesinbetween.Whenyousay ScratchThat ,
MacSpeechDictatedeletesthepreviousutterance.TheRecognitionwindow
displayscompleteutterances.Utterancescanbephrasesorevencomplete
sentences.SinceMacSpeechDictatethinksinutterances,youshouldspeakin
utterances.Pausefairlyoften.