How to dictate on Mac

Turn on Dictation

1. Open the Apple menu, choose System Settings, then Keyboard. You may need to scroll the sidebar.
2. Find Dictation and switch it on. Choose Enable when macOS asks.
3. macOS may ask whether to help improve Siri and Dictation by sharing audio recordings. Not Now declines. You can change this later in Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements.

Below the Dictation switch, macOS says whether your dictation is processed on your device. Read it if privacy matters to you; it depends on your Mac and language.

Start and stop dictating

Put the cursor in any text field, then start dictation in one of three ways:

• Press the Microphone key in the top row of the keyboard, if your Mac has one.
• Use the Dictation shortcut chosen in Keyboard settings. Options include pressing Fn twice or a key combination such as Option-Z.
• Choose Edit > Start Dictation in the menu bar.

Speak normally. To stop, press Escape, the Microphone key or your shortcut. Dictation also stops by itself after 30 seconds without speech. There is no overall time limit while you keep talking.

Choose your languages

In Keyboard settings, use Edit next to Languages to add or remove dictation languages. While dictating, click the language label next to the cursor, or press the Globe key, to switch.

Useful habits

• Say punctuation out loud: "comma", "period", "new line".
• Dictate in short bursts and read back each one.
• Keep the microphone close; the built-in microphone on a laptop works, a headset works better in noisy rooms.

When built-in dictation is not enough

Apple Dictation types live at the cursor and moves on. That is perfect for a quick reply. It is less helpful when:

• the text comes out wrong and you want to hear what you actually said;
• you think out loud and want to keep the result as a note, not paste it into a field;
• names and product terms keep coming out misspelled;
• you want a different speech model for your language.

A dictation app such as Talki records first and transcribes second. The recording is saved in a library on your Mac, the transcript and your edited text sit next to it, and you choose the model. Compare Talki and Apple Dictation.

Dictate with Talki

1. Install Talki and allow microphone access when macOS asks.
2. Press ⌘ ⇧ Space, or click the small floating control in the lower right corner, and speak.
3. Press the shortcut again to finish. Talki saves the recording, transcribes it and copies the text. In the direct edition it pastes into the field you started from.
4. Open the library to replay the recording, edit the text or move it into a project.

Dictation stopped working? See Mac dictation not working.