March 20, 2013 – Speech recognition, formally known as automatic or continuous speech recognition, means you can talk naturally and your computer or device captures your speech and your words appear on your computer screen as typed text. In this video, Nerino Petro, State Bar practice management advisor, discusses Dragon Speech Recognition software by Nuance, which makes platforms for Windows and MAC.

“For those of us who tried the early iterations of speech recognition, we remember they were frustrating and more trouble than help,” says Petro. “Today’s speech recognition has come a long way. Dragon software recognizes distinct speech and continuous speech, and it even automatically inserts punctuation.”

No to Cumbersome Headsets. Yes to Easy Dictation

“You now have more options when it comes to dictating,” says Petro. “You can use a USB desktop microphone or a wireless Blue Tooth device as well as a wired or wireless handheld microphone and digital portable recorder to connect to your computer. You can even use your smart device as a microphone to connect over a wireless network to your computer, and portable devices such as iPads can communicate with the software.

Petro suggests checking out the speech recognition version included on your laptop or desktop, and if you like it, take a look at the Nuance Dragon products. There are several versions – home, premium, and professional. There also is a version specifically for the legal community that automatically formats legal citations, supports third-party correction, and provides accurate out-of-the-box recognition of dictated legal terms.

“Speech recognition software is mature technology and ready for prime time,” says Petro. “For those of us that might be typing challenged, it can be a great timesaver.

For more information, contact Petro at practicehelp@wisbar.org.