Tips on using Dragon Naturally Speaking?

Have you tried the apps available for the iPad?

The more you use Dragon the better it recognizes your quirks and the more you will anticipate its. It is really excellent for putting alot of text together and then you just go back and edit.

Definitely agree the hickups will drive you a bit bonkers!

Don't talk at your normal speed. You need to slow down a little and enunciate. It seems to dislike smaller words and I think you will always have to edit. But give it time. It does help.

Invest in a HIGH quality microphone. Your results will be 100 times better. Two that I have found that work very well are the Logitech h800 and the Plantronics DSP-400

Re's
Rob Whisonant

Another vote for Plantronics headsets. I have the Plantronics 355 and am very happy with it. It has more of a headphone/playback focus, but the mic works very well...

In my experience, it certainly does help to speak at a normal speed (which yes, may be slightly slower than you normally speak) and most importantly, speak CLEARLY. Pretend you're up in front of an audience and you don't want them to misunderstand a single word you're saying to them. Also, eliminate any background noise and try not to shuffle around too much. It'll improve as you use it more over time.

Tried this software, but for a non-native it's almost impossible to get good results. Seems my accent is in they way

Yes, make sure you "train" it properly anytime it types out word the wrong way. While this is a pain in the arse the first week (or two) once you got it trained properly it will work pretty seamlessly.

Secondly, when you first installed it did you go through the training where you read a bunch of paragraphs so that DNS gets to learn the nuances in your pronounciations? If not, you may want to uninstall it then reinstall it and go through the training portion from beginning all the way to the end.

RoD

I'm not convinced it saves any time by the time you have to fix all of the mistakes.

I had an outsourcer go AWOL on me and I needed the transcripts done. I used DNS to help with 4 hours of audio and I was going insane by the time I was complete. And yes, I went through all of the training stories and paragraphs before using the software to "train" it.

I think that Dragon Naturally Speaking is only good for people with no fingers.

Hi Roosevelt,

I'm been trying to get a hold of you. We haven't talked since the mastermind in Colorado. Please give me a pm so we can get back in touch.

Best regards,
Steve Yakim

I love Dragon and have been using it for 2 years. But, It does take both training and a little patience, which will definitely pay off.

My big ah-ha was to SPEAK IN SHORT PHRASES. If you go too slow, 'word by word' it's not as accurate as speaking in 'bursts' or phrases. Dragon understands at least some context, so saying 'here' is understood differently than saying, "Did you 'hear' what he said".

I'm a terrible typist so Dragon has been a great tool for a writer and product developer.
_____
Bruce

I love DNS for doing transcriptions but find it difficult to eliminate the 'umm' or 'err' noises that I use when I'm thinking at the same time as trying to dictate. I prefer to type most of the time.

So for me, DNS is only used when I'm reading from a script.

I find it very accurate but that is maybe becasue I've used it for a long time and it is used to the way I speak.

On average I can use DNS to type words at about 125 wpm (my own typing is about 85 wpm). Since I have to go back and do editing anyway, I have found it extremely valuable for:

* writing articles
* creating reports
* creating e-books

Yes, it can be a pain in the left ear lobe in the beginning, but to me it has been invaluable in terms of productivity. Most of my VA writers use it (there are a couple that won't use it) and most of them really like it too.

RoD

You must speak the language of a robot.

I've been doing that since day 1 and Dragon has rewarded me very well for it.

You must put your mind in the head of a robot. Understand who they are, what they feel, how they process emotions.

They don't!!!

So don't use emotions when you speak.

You need to pace your speech, don't speak fast than slow. Don't speak loud one moment than soft. All your inflection/articulation should be focused on syllables, rather than conveying any emotion when you speak.

Like the word "and".

Always be sure to articulate the "d", so it doesn't mistake it for "an". Don't say "and" slowly like many people do. Example: "annnnnnd I was at the supermarket the other day" etc etc.

Also, I found that taking sips of tea or water will help. Like I'll take a sip every few minutes as I'm speaking, this will keep your mouth wet, and reduce friction/mumbling.

Most importantly, make corrections! The Dragon has a mind of its own and will learn what words its more prone to getting wrong, if you consistently correct mistakes.

One last thing, use a great mic. I use the same mic I use in my recording studio for music, and I get less mistakes than when I type. Plus the dragon is about 3xs as fast overall. So for me, it was a great investment!

-Red

Warriors,

Thank you so much for all your help and the great suggestions. Dragon has been very nice to my accent and I'm having a great time ever since I started to use Dragon pretty much every day. The tip that helped me the most was getting a new microphone. I swapped the original Dragon microphone for Logitech G930 and this microphone and Dragon has been working perfectly.

To my disbelief my writing speed has gone up to 300 words per minute and I remain about 95 to 98% accuracy rate. I don't know whether it's because of my speaking style, microphone, alien ware computer, or the professional version of Dragon but I'm completely blown away with the amount of difference it has been making lately.

I feel that changing the microphone and constantly using the software did the trick.
If you have more tips or suggestions then please feel free to keep adding them.

If you use OSX 10.8 (mountain lion) there is a built in dictation feature that I've had great results with. Just press the fn key twice to launch it while having Word or TextEdit open.