Voice recognition software has become an integral part of modern life. With technology such as Apple’s Siri, and Nuance’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking we now have the ability to command our devices to do tasks with just the sound of our voice. So how can we benefit from this new technology and how can speech recognition software improve the way we work?
Today, voice recognition technology has become an integral part of our daily lives. Taking our oldest and most natural method of communication – speech – and combining this with technological advances, we are now accustomed to carrying out essential everyday tasks using voice command and recognition.
These tasks range from responding to telephone banking security questions and performing simple online searches, to asking our smart phone’s voice activation assistant to set a reminder for us or dictating a to-do list to our mobile device or laptop.
In fact, voice recognition software has become so sophisticated it is even able to understand the particular nuances of people’s voice patterns and regional accents, making it a powerful tool for consumers and businesses alike.
But how can you use this technology to make your life easier – at university, at home or at work? Here are 5 benefits of voice notes that you may not have considered:
- Improve reliability
Voice recognition systems today are so reliable that such software is now widely used in the health service, the legal profession, the security industry and the military, to name a few.
It is now common practice for a doctor to dictate his case notes for them to be converted into digital or paper documents for later use (solving the problem of illegible handwriting), while solicitors, barristers and legal secretaries use voice software to record client information and other notes to be converted into legal files.
- Save time
Dictating is, on average, three times faster than typing, so when time is of the essence and deadlines are looming it makes sense to resort to methods that will help to speed things up.
This is where speech recognition software can be especially helpful, by enabling you to dictate, rather than type out, your work. This is especially handy if you’re on the road or short of time – simply voice your thoughts and let your computer do the hard work by transcribing what you say.
This is especially helpful when transcribing interviews or when you want to create a transcript of a presentation or debate – saving you lots of time trawling through recordings and listening back to find the most relevant quotes.
- Increase work productivity
Workload piling up? Increase your productivity by spending less time typing, giving you more time to focus on other work.
Voice notes enable you to produce a large amount of writing in a relatively short amount of time. By speaking naturally into the microphone, and letting the software do the rest, you can easily get your initial thoughts onto paper – leaving you more time for editing, drafting and revising.
- No more mistakes
No longer will spelling or writing hold you back. Voice recognition software, as well as being faster to complete tasks, is increasingly accurate when it comes to vocabulary and spelling.
Although the first systems that came onto the market were often under 90% accurate in terms of the words recognised and the way they were used by the software, today’s systems can reach accuracy levels of 99%+ – thanks to the hundreds of thousands of words now being stored in their database.
You can even add your own words to the database to help the software understand you better.
- Greater Mobility
Use voice recognition technology to dictate on the go, giving you greater mobility and more efficient use of time.
With speech notes applications like Dragon Notes by Nuance, you can record your notes immediately after your meeting while conversations are still fresh in your mind, or even dictate your ideas on your way to the meeting. Voice notes applications are perfect for recording your thoughts and ideas while you are on the move, especially when you are unable to write down your notes because you are travelling or have misplaced a pen.
From an article published on the Nuance website by Brandon Most; full article available here http://whatsnext.nuance.co.uk/office-productivity/5-benefits-speech-recognition/
