How to Speak Your Text Messages Instead of Typing Them

The little microphone that does the typing for you

Remember dictating a letter to a secretary, or leaving a message on the family answering machine? Your iPhone can do something similar. You speak — it types.

If your fingers feel clumsy on that small glass keyboard, or you just find it slow going, this one trick can change how you use your phone. It's called dictation, and it's been hiding in plain sight on your keyboard the whole time.

Finding the microphone button

Open your Messages app and tap on a conversation, the way you normally would to send a text. Tap the white area where you'd type your message. The keyboard pops up from the bottom of the screen.

Now look carefully at that keyboard. Near the bottom-right corner — usually just to the right of the space bar, or tucked in beside it — you'll see a small picture of a microphone. It looks like the kind of microphone a singer might hold.

That little microphone is your secretary. Tap it once.

Speak naturally — it's listening

When you tap the microphone, you'll see a wavy line appear where your words will go. That's the phone's way of saying, "I'm ready." Now just talk in your normal voice.

Try something like: "Hi Margaret, I'll meet you at the diner at noon tomorrow."

You'll see the words appear on the screen as you say them. It's a little like watching a stenographer at work. When you're finished, tap the keyboard icon (it looks like a tiny keyboard) to stop dictating, or just stop talking and tap somewhere else.

A few words about punctuation

Here's the part most people don't know: you have to *say* the punctuation out loud. The phone won't guess where commas and periods go.

So instead of just talking and hoping for the best, say the marks like this:

- "Hi Margaret comma I'll meet you at the diner at noon tomorrow period" - "Are you feeling better question mark" - "Thanks so much exclamation point"

It feels a little odd at first, like reading a letter aloud to a typist. After a day or two, it becomes second nature.

If you want to start a new line, say "new line." If you want a new paragraph, say "new paragraph."

What to do if it gets a word wrong

Dictation is good, but it isn't perfect. It might hear "Larry" when you said "Mary," or turn "to" into "too."

Don't panic and don't start over. Just tap with your finger on the word that's wrong. The phone will often suggest the right word right above the keyboard — tap the correct one. Or use the keyboard to fix just that single word, then tap the microphone again to keep going.

When the whole message looks right, tap the green arrow to send it, the same way you always do.

Try it today

Open Messages, pick someone friendly — maybe a grandchild or a good friend — and send them one short message using dictation. Something simple, like: "Just trying out a new trick on my phone period thinking of you period"

That's it. Once you've done it once, you'll wonder why you ever thumbed out a message letter by letter.

Need a hand with your technology? We're here to help. Give PorchSwing a call or book an appointment, and we'll walk you through it at your own pace — no rush, no jargon.