Overcoming mic fright

Our fourth blog post in the mini-series “How to Dictate“ is here. Ever experienced “Mic Fright”? No worries, here are some tips how to tackle it.

Some may feel the pressure to record a perfect sentence or passage, which can have a negative effect on their confidence. We like to call this “mic fright”: nervousness or anxiety while talking into a microphone and hearing yourself speak, similar to stage fright. Since mic fright is very common amongst individuals new to dictation, it’s nothing to worry about. With a little bit of practice and the right approach, you can overcome this fear in no time.

The three “P”s of dictation – privacy, practice and patience – are guidelines that you can follow to help you overcome the feeling of being flustered while dictating and boost your self-confidence while learning how to incorporate dictations into your daily routine.

• Privacy: As you familiarize yourself with the dictation experience, it’s best to dictate with no one else in the room. This will grant you time to get comfortable with the sound of your own voice, facilitate focus and minimize distractions. We know it’s not the most natural thing to listen to the sound of your own voice, so the goal here is to get comfortable with it and overcome any insecurities.
• Practice: There’s no doubt that dictation is a bit different than just talking. Practice can help first-time dictation users get in the right mindset and speaking habits, allowing them to develop patterns that will soon become second nature, helping them to dictate more comfortably. The time spent practicing is marginal compared to the time that you will save down the road, as this routine will let you dictate much faster.
• Patience: The most important thing to remember as you start to use dictation is to be patient with yourself. Learning how to dictate with confidence may take time, and we recommend giving yourself at least two weeks to get up to speed with dictation, which could enable you to speak up to 7x faster than you type.

We hope you found these guidelines helpful to overcome any reservations that may be holding you back from starting to use dictation. In case you missed them, check out the other blogs in this mini-series which highlight the benefits of dictation and provide even more tips that will help you become a dictation pro.