Crystal Clear Writing - Part III
In Crystal Clear Writing: Part I we mentioned “writing like you speak”. Thinking through what to say in your head often results in prose that is more “interior decoration” than “architecture”.
Take the guesswork out of your head and speak aloud, and typing as you speak. If this feels silly, or if you’re feeling overly influenced by seeing your text on the screen, then cover the screen and type blindly.
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The way we write and the way we speak are often miles apart.
A colleague skims your specific aims page, and asks “But what are you trying to say?” The words that come out of your mouth (hopefully) leave your colleague nodding their head, and saying “Ah, okay”.
So why don’t we change what we write?
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You can also skip typing all together and use a voice-to-text app.
A friend of mine shared that he writes his first drafts using voice-to-text. He’s able to articulate his main points clearly, as if explaining to a friend.
Your brain processes information quicker than you can type, and so voice-to-text can also be your friend in efficiency.
Additionally, you use different areas of your brain when you write than when you speak.
Using this method to ‘write’ opens up doors to your schedule – now you can ‘write’ in the car, ‘write’ while cooking, ‘write’ while…?
Want some examples?
- Google Docs has a Voice Typing tool that lets you “type” as well as edit using voice commands, such as moving your cursor or bolding text.
Open Google Docs, select Tools, Voice Typing, and allow Google to access your computer’s microphone.
- Speechnotes, on Google Chrome, is a free voice-to-text transcription tool that is also free. It autosaves your work and you can export documents to Drive or download.
Learn more at speechnotes.co
- Voice Notepad at dictiation.io/speech is a free alternative to the very fancy Dragon Naturally (which will run you about $300). Check it out.
- If you have a Mac, you can take advantage of Apple’s built in dictation tool. It will capture up to 30 seconds of speech at a time, so it’s perfect for “jotting down” thoughts as they come to you. If you want to use it for writing like the other apps, you can enable Enhanced Dictation which works with Apple Pages.
To enable, click Apple Menu, System Preferences, Keyboard, Dictation. Turn on dictation and choose enhanced dictation option.
- Windows users, don’t be jealous. Windows also has built-in dictation and you can use it in any browser, program, or web application.
To set up Speech Recognition, go to Programs, Accessories, Ease of Access, Windows Speech Recognition, then choose Speech Recognition option.
Have you used voice-to-text before?
Do you think you’ll give it a try?
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Quote of the Day:
“If intelligence is the triumph of life, the spoken word is the marvelous means by which this intelligence is manifested.”
– Maria Montessori
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