Trying dictation software

I just purchased dictation software from Dragon. My understanding in the past has been that the software didn’t work very well but I’ve been impressed with the accuracy of newer versions. So far so good.

I’m dictating this blog post right now and I have to say it’s a little awkward. Knowing exactly what I want to type before I say it takes some getting used to. But, it could be a way to be more efficient in communicating. For example, I can imagine being able to write faster by being able to just say things instead of having to type them. I can certainly say things faster than I can type, so this might be a faster way for me to write blog posts, write e-mails and especially write longer documents.

The biggest challenge I can see so far with dictation software is the ability to go back and edit. I don’t always say things initially as efficiently as I might write it. So I can imagine that dictating e-mails and blog posts may still take a fair degree of editing.

However, the main reason I purchased the software was because I’m trying to write a book. I figured that dictating parts of the book might be faster and easier than having to type the entire thing. Time will tell.