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Speech to text on Mac (Dictation)
How to enable Dictation, use the shortcut, speak punctuation and formatting, and troubleshoot when it doesn’t start.
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Last updated: 2025-12-26
Voice Type rating:  4.9 / 5   See reviews .

TL;DR

Enable Dictation:  System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation → On .

Start dictation with the  microphone key  (if present) or the  Dictation shortcut  (often  Fn  twice).

Speak punctuation and formatting:  “comma” ,  “new paragraph” , etc.

If dictation won’t start, check  microphone permissions  and your  Dictation shortcut .


1) Enable speech to text (Dictation)

Open System Settings.

Go to  Keyboard → Dictation .

Switch  Dictation  to  On .

Optional: choose a Dictation shortcut. If you don’t see a microphone key, the default is often  Fn  twice.
Short version:  Turn on voice typing on a Mac .

2) Use it in any app
Click into a text field (Notes is a good test). Start dictation, speak naturally, then stop dictation to insert the text.
Step-by-step:  How to use speech to text on Mac .

3) Punctuation and formatting commands
You can speak punctuation and line breaks while dictating (for example: “comma”, “period”, “new line”, “new paragraph”).
Cheat sheet:  Mac Dictation commands .

When you dictate daily
Built-in Dictation is great for occasional use. If you dictate all day, workflow matters: consistent shortcut behavior, predictable latency, and better handling of technical terms.
Voice Type is a privacy-first, on-device dictation app for macOS with a hold-to-dictate hotkey (hold → speak → release). Explore:  Voice typing for Mac .

Troubleshooting

Dictation not working on Mac  (permissions, input levels, restarts)

Change the Dictation shortcut  (Fn twice, microphone key, Customize)

Where is the microphone key on MacBook Pro?


Sources

Apple: Dictate messages and documents on Mac

Apple: Commands for dictating text on Mac

Apple: If Dictation on Mac doesn’t work as expected








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