I, uh, have to, uh, think a long backspace very hard about the words
March 11, 2017 2:14 PM Subscribe
Why do I suck at dictating texts? I can speak at the rate I can think (or faster, oops), and I can type (key and touch) at nearly stream-of-consciousness speed, but dictating SMS messages is always a really fraught process. I find that I stumble over words, need to start over, miss important points and basically just fail for anything more complex than "yes" "no" "cheddar please". Why is that? Is there a cognitive reason? Am I using under-exercised parts of the brain or something?
(I did not dictate this post because that would have been very hard)
(I did not dictate this post because that would have been very hard)
Because we don't write the way we speak, even extremely informal formats like text messages. You have to teach yourself to start talking in the same way you'd write because your brain is not right now wired to switch it up.
posted by soren_lorensen at 3:01 PM on March 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by soren_lorensen at 3:01 PM on March 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
Lack of feedback? Watching the screen to see if your speech was interpreted correctly?
posted by SemiSalt at 3:43 PM on March 11, 2017
posted by SemiSalt at 3:43 PM on March 11, 2017
Me too. It does get easier with time. I think it's because when I speak, I am less aware of grammar and being concise. Writing a text is actually kind of difficult because you are trying to be short and to the point.
posted by samthemander at 4:48 PM on March 11, 2017
posted by samthemander at 4:48 PM on March 11, 2017
I'm not a speech pathologist or anything, but my guess is this:
You speak faster than you text, so when you're composing a text you have learned to hold onto a sub-verbal thought longer in order to compensate for the slowness. When you start using dictation, your brain still thinks it's texting and not talking like you do when you're making a phone call, so it stutters and starts, unready to start making the sentence that fast.
I had this problem, and found, like others, that when I practiced it lessened. Picturing the person I'm composing the text to and pretending I'm talking directly to them helped jumpstart that process.
posted by Urban Winter at 7:19 PM on March 11, 2017
You speak faster than you text, so when you're composing a text you have learned to hold onto a sub-verbal thought longer in order to compensate for the slowness. When you start using dictation, your brain still thinks it's texting and not talking like you do when you're making a phone call, so it stutters and starts, unready to start making the sentence that fast.
I had this problem, and found, like others, that when I practiced it lessened. Picturing the person I'm composing the text to and pretending I'm talking directly to them helped jumpstart that process.
posted by Urban Winter at 7:19 PM on March 11, 2017
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When I'm dictating something long, I still look away or close my eyes because the sight of the words popping up slightly behind my voice trips me up.
posted by christinetheslp at 2:50 PM on March 11, 2017 [2 favorites]