Practice dictating and interacting with the computer or phone without a keyboard or mouse

Underutilized opportunities, future skills

Whether on a Mac or PC, advances in voice interpretation are such that not only can we now effectively dictate messages and texts but also perform a number of tasks such as opening applications, gathering information, filling out a form, etc.

A little training

However, a little training is necessary. Like a child learning to master the mouse, voice control requires acquiring a procedure and sticking to it, at least in the beginning because now the machine learns, prioritizes and adapts to our habits and practices.

For example, one must know how to make the machine understand that a double meaning expression such as "open the file" be transcribed or not in the dictation or the message or that when one spells a word with a particular spelling that each letter be entered without spaces, etc.

Also learning to program specific commands for our personal uses radically increases the potential and scope of these possibilities. All of this develops with practice; we can't skip this step. It is about finding the right tone of voice, the right flow, the right articulation of words, learning to correct mistakes, developing strategies to deal with external interruptions, etc.

With practice, one can learn to do without a keyboard and mouse, to work standing up while remaining connected to one's computer. Home automation applications are using voice more and more often, and it's not uncommon to see people on the street talking to their devices; it's not always a conversation, often dictation.

So much better to be well prepared for the future.

Google presents detailed instructions on how to use the various voice control capabilities of its apps

Apple has long been interested in accessibility and details how to use the various voice control and dictation features on all of its devices,

Windows now offers these same capabilities for its devices

Use-voice-typing-to-speak-instead-of-typing-on-your-PC

To see how someone who has lost the use of their upper limbs does to control their computer, Sandra Cubizolles gives a very simple and progressive demonstration quite enlightening in its use on Windows. The same principle is used on all platforms.

Voice recognition in Windows, move your mouse - Mouse grid!!

Other dictation and oral transcription apps are also available such as Otter, Supernormal or Whisper, but they don't allow you to control your computer or phone

For specific uses, such as voice controls for doors or other devices SoudHound provides voice command interpretation for all sorts of industries and applications.