Isn’t it tiresome to always be typing? Although the golden rule of Presentations is less text and more visuals, sometimes adding text is unavoidable. That is why Microsoft PowerPoint has come with this amazing feature to ‘Dictate’ to your computer. This will automatically convert the speech into text.
To use the Dictate feature in PowerPoint, first, select the area where you want the text. Then, go to the “Home Tab” in the “Menu” ribbon, and under the “Voice Group”, turn on the Dictate feature (which will be a blue microphone).
Let us show you a few more things and precautions to be taken while using the dictate feature in PowerPoint. Read on to find out more!
1. What is the Dictate Tool in PowerPoint?
In Microsoft PowerPoint, there is a speech-to-text feature called “Dictate”. Using the “Dictate” tool in PowerPoint, you can add text to the slides, comments, and notes without having to type anything. All you need is a microphone connected to your computer. You speak into the microphone which the PowerPoint will automatically convert to text.
2. How to Access the Dictate Tool in PowerPoint?
The “Dictate” tool in PowerPoint is available in the “Home” menu. To use the dictate button, you have to first select where to add the speech as text. Follow the 2 simple steps to access the dictate tool.
Step-1: Click on the text box
The first step is to click on where you want to add the dictated text. You can use the “Dictate” tool in the text box and text placeholders in the slides. Outside the slide, you can also use the tool in the comments, and presentation notes in PowerPoint.
Step-2: Click on the “Dictate” icon
The next step is to click on the “Home” tab in the menu ribbon located at the top of the screen. In the “Voice” group of the “Home” menu, click on the “Dictate” option which is the blue microphone icon. This will start the “Dictate” tool.
2a. Can You Dictate in PowerPoint on Mac?
In PowerPoint for Mac, there is no “Dictate” tool available (unless you are using Office 365 version of Microsoft Office, in which case, the process to use the dictate tool is the same as above).
However, you can use the Apple Dictate feature as a speech-to-text tool in your PowerPoint presentations. All you have to do is follow the 5 quick steps.
Step-1: Click on the “System Preferences” option
In the left corner at the top of your screen, click on the Apple icon to open a dropdown menu. Click on the “System Preferences” option from the dropdown menu. This will open the “System Preferences” dialog.
Step-2: Click on the “Keyboard” option
In “System Preferences”, click on the “Keyboard” option. Then click on the “Dictation” tab in the “Keyboard” option.
Step-3: Click on the “On” option
Under the “Dictation” tab, you will be able to test the microphone. Beside the microphone icon, click on the “On” option for “Dictation”. Under it, click on the “Use Enhanced Dictation” option to enable offline dictation.
Step-4: Click on the “Shortcut” box
Now all you have to do is click on the “Shortcut” box to select a shortcut command to start the dictation feature in any software. Then click on the “Close” option to return to the PowerPoint presentation file.
Step-5: Click on the text placeholder or presentation notes
Finally, you have to click on the text placeholder or the PowerPoint notes where you want to dictate text. Then press the shortcut keys to start the Apple dictation tool to dictate in the presentation.
3. How to Enable or Disable Dictate in PowerPoint?
Microsoft PowerPoint has the “Office intelligent services” feature that allows you to enable or disable the “Dictate” tool in your copy of the software.
However, note that the “Office intelligent services” feature is only available on PowerPoint copies that have Microsoft 365 subscriptions. You cannot access the feature for perpetual plan licenses.
3a. How to Enable the Dictate Tool in PowerPoint?
To enable the dictation tool in PowerPoint, all you have to do is follow the 3 easy steps.
Step-1: Click on the “File” tab
The first step is to click on the “File” tab which is the first tab in the menu ribbon located at the top of the screen. In the sidebar on the left side of the “File” menu screen, click on “Options” which is the last option.
Step-2: Click on the “Enable services” option
In the “PowerPoint Options” dialog box, click on the “General” option from the left side. Then scroll down to find the “Enable services” option under the “Office intelligent services” section. Click on the “Enable services” option. You will see a checkmark appear in the box before the option.
Step-3: Click on the “OK” button
Finally, all you have to do is click on the “OK” button located at the bottom of the “PowerPoint Options” dialog box to enable the dictation tool.
3b. How to Disable the Dictate Tool in PowerPoint?
In Microsoft PowerPoint, you can also disable the “Dictate” tool. However, you have to disable all Office intelligent services since you cannot choose which intelligent services to disable. To disable the “Dictate” tool, refer to the steps discussed in section 3a.
When clicking on the “Enable services” option, the checkmark in the box before the option should disappear when the services are disabled.
4. How to Use the Dictate Feature in PowerPoint?
The “Dictate” feature in Microsoft PowerPoint is very easy to use. You can access the tool using the “Voice” group of the “Home” tab.
4a. Process to Use the Dictate Tool in PowerPoint
The process of using the “Dictate” tool is quite simple. All you have to do is follow the 3 easy steps.
Step-1: Click on the “Dictate” option
The first step is to click on the object where you want to add the dictated text. Then click on the “Dictate” option which is the blue microphone icon in the “Voice” group of the “Home” tab. You will hear the system sound in and the microphone icon will show a red dot indicating that you can start dictating.
Step-2: Speak into your microphone
The next step is to simply speak into your microphone. You will see the spoken words automatically being converted to written text on the screen. You are suggested to speak slowly for PowerPoint to clearly catch your words.
Step-3: Click on the “Dictate” icon
Once you have finished dictating the content in the selected PowerPoint object, you have to stop the “Dictate” tool. To do so, click on the “Dictate” option in the “Home” menu again. The microphone icon will revert back to blue and you will hear a system sound indicating that the dictation tool is no longer in use.
4b. Instructions to Type Punctuations and Symbols Using the Dictate Tool
When using the “Dictate” tool, you have to be careful about the punctuations and symbols. At appropriate places in the text, you have to clearly speak out the name of the punctuation or symbol.
For example, for a colon in your dictated sentence, you have to say “Colon”. Similarly, you can say “Full Stop”, “Comma”, “Question Mark”, etc. The dictation tool will convert the word to the appropriate symbol.
5. How to Fix the Typing Errors Without Turning the Mic Off?
Since the “Dictate” tool in Microsoft PowerPoint is an artificial intelligence listener, there may be errors in the speech-to-text words. To fix them, you do not need to turn the microphone off.
All you have to do is stop speaking while you type in the corrections in the slide using your keyboard. You can then simply continue dictating again.
6. How to Turn Off Dictation in PowerPoint?
In a PowerPoint presentation, you can turn off the “Dictate” option with only one click once you have finished dictating. All you have to do is click on the microphone icon above the “Dictate” option in the “Voice” group of the “Home” tab. This will turn off the dictation feature. You can just click on the option again to turn it back on.
7. What Languages are Supported by the Dictation Tool in PowerPoint?
The Microsoft PowerPoint “Dictate” tool currently supports 9 languages. Besides, there are 17 “Preview Languages” which are still developing and have lower accuracy, limited vocabulary, and insufficient punctuation support. However, Microsoft is actively improving and increasing the available languages.
The supported languages are as follows:
Chinese (China)
English (Canada)
English (United Kingdom)
English (United States)
French (France)
German (Germany)
Italian (Italy
Spanish (Spain)
Spanish (Mexico)
Besides, the available preview languages are:
Chinese (Taiwan)
Danish
Dutch (Netherlands)
English (Australia)
English (India)
Finnish
French (Canada)
Hindi
Japanese
Korean
Norwegian (Bokmål)
Polish
Portuguese (Brazil)
Portuguese (Portugal)
Russian
Swedish (Sweden)
Thai
7a. How to Change Dictation Language in PowerPoint?
To change the dictation language in PowerPoint, click on the downward arrow under the “Dictate” option in the “Home” tab. Then all you have to do is click on your preferred language from the dropdown list under the “Dictate” option.
8. What All Can the Dictate Tool be Used in PowerPoint?
In Microsoft PowerPoint, you can use the “Dictate” tool in any place where you can add texts. This includes the text placeholder, content placeholder, title and caption placeholder, text box, comments, and notes.
Placeholders
In a PowerPoint slide, you can add speech-to-text using the “Dictate” tool in any placeholder that supports text. The tool is compatible with content, text, title, subtitle, and caption placeholders.
Text Box
Besides the placeholders, the “Dictate” tool also works in the text boxes inserted in a slide. All you have to do is click in the text box and start the dictation.
Comment
When leaving comments in a PowerPoint file, you can use the “Dictation” tool rather than typing them. First, click on the “Comments” icon located on the right side at the top of the screen. Then start the “Dictate” tool to use the speech-to-text feature in the comments.
Notes
The keynote feature in PowerPoint allows you to take notes for each slide in your presentation. To access the notes, click on the “Notes Page” option in the “View” menu. Then click on the “Dictate” option to use the tool for taking presentation notes.
9. Troubleshooting the Dictate Tool
When using the “Dictate” tool in Microsoft PowerPoint, you may run into some common issues. However, the problems can be easily fixed.
9.1 No Dictate Button in PowerPoint? Here’s Why!
If you cannot find the “Dictate” button in the “Voice” group of the “Home” menu of your PowerPoint presentation, there can be an array of possible causes behind it. Here are some of the most common reasons that could make the “Dictate” button disappear.
Reason 1 – You are using PowerPoint on Mac
In PowerPoint for Mac, there is no “Dictate” feature available yet. That is why you will not be able to find it if you are accessing Microsoft PowerPoint on your Mac. However, you can use the Apple dictation tool to dictate content in your presentation. Refer to section 2a for the detailed steps.
Reason 2 – You haven’t enabled the tool
In PowerPoint with Microsoft 365 subscription, you can enable and disable the “Office intelligent services”.
As an artificial intelligence service, the “Dictate” tool is disabled when the “Office intelligent services” are disabled. To access the “Dictate” tool, you have to first enable the “Office intelligent services” following the steps in section 3a.
Reason 3 – Incorrect PowerPoint Version
The “Dictate” tool is a new addition to Microsoft PowerPoint. For Office 365 subscriptions, the “Dictate” feature is available for PowerPoint 2016 and later versions.
For all other Microsoft license types, you can access the “Dictate” tool in PowerPoint 2019 and later versions. If you have any older version of PowerPoint, the “Dictate” tool is unavailable as it is not supported.
Reason 4 – You have an older version of Windows
Another reason for the unavailability of the “Dictate” button can be an older version of Windows. Since the feature depends on the “Windows Cortana” intelligence service, the “Dictate” tool only works in Windows 10 and later versions.
9.2 Dictate Button is Greyed Out in PowerPoint
If the “Dictate” button is grayed out in PowerPoint, it can be because the presentation file is in “Read-Only” mode. In “Read-Only” mode, you cannot edit the PowerPoint presentation. To fix this issue, click on the “Edit Anyway” button in the yellow highlighted line under the menu ribbon at the top of the screen.
9.3 Microphone Doesn’t have Access Error
When your microphone is already in use in a different application, Microsoft PowerPoint cannot access it. Thus, the “Dictate” tool will not work. To fix the “We don’t have access to your microphone” error in PowerPoint, make sure that no other application on your device is using your microphone.
9.4 Microphone Isn’t Working with PowerPoint
When your microphone is not working with PowerPoint, you will see the “There is a problem with your microphone” error or the “We can’t detect your microphone” error. To solve this issue, first, make sure that the microphone is plugged in. Then open the microphone settings in the control panel. Then click on the “Get Started” button under the “Set up your mic for speech recognition” option to troubleshoot your microphone.
9.5 Dictation Can’t Hear You Error
If the Microsoft PowerPoint shows the “Dictation can’t hear you” error, make sure that your microphone is unmuted. If that is not the issue, refer to section 9.4 for troubleshooting the microphone.
If the PowerPoint presentation does not show any error messages but no text appears in the selected text box, you have to speak louder and clearer.
Since it is an artificial intelligence service, the “Dictate” tool is prone to catching the background noise which is translated as gibberish. As a result, you will not see any text being added to your slides or notes.
9.6 Dictation Tool Types Incorrect Words
The “Dictate” tool in Microsoft PowerPoint cannot always understand spoken words clearly, and this results in incorrect text in your presentation. To avoid this issue, you can try to speak more deliberately.
Besides, make sure you have the correct language selected in the “Dictate” option. Follow the steps discussed in section 7a to select a language supported in the PowerPoint “Dictate” tool.
Credit to cookie_studio (on Freepik) for the featured image of this article (further edited).