Win+H: dictate instead of typing

We speak roughly three times faster than we type. Windows has a built-in voice typing feature that puts this to use — it works in your language and starts wherever a text cursor is blinking, in an email, a document, a chat, or notes. No extra app to install.

A typical scenario

Alena, a manager, needs to write a long reply to an email, but has three other tasks half-finished and typing on the keyboard feels like an unnecessary delay. The classic route would take ten minutes of composing and retyping sentences, because thoughts arrive faster than she can type them.

With Win + H, she clicks into the body of the email, starts dictating, and speaks naturally, the way she'd say the reply out loud to a coworker. Windows transcribes the text in real time, punctuation included, spoken as part of the sentence. In three minutes she has a draft ready that just needs a quick pass and a few edits — instead of ten minutes at the keyboard, where phrasing also tends to break down word by word.

How to do it

1. Click into the text field where you want to dictate — it works in practically any app with a text cursor — and press Win + H.
2. Speak naturally and say punctuation out loud as part of the sentence — say “comma,” “period,” or “new line” where it belongs, and Windows inserts it in the right spot.
3. Text appears in the field as you go, so you can see right away how well the dictation is picking up your pronunciation and slow down or repeat an unclear passage if needed.
4. Pressing Win + H a second time turns dictation off — the microphone stops recording and the dictation panel disappears.
5. If dictation gets a word wrong, correct it manually right in the field — retyping a few words is still faster than typing the whole sentence from scratch.
6. It also works in the mobile version of Windows apps and in the browser, so the same approach works for web forms or online documents too, not just desktop programs.

The best tools

• Windows' built-in voice typing (Win + H) — works offline and online, free, nothing to install, directly in the system's language.
• Voice typing in Google Docs — an alternative right in the browser, via Tools → Voice typing, handy if you work primarily in Google Docs.
• Otter.ai or a similar tool — for longer recordings and meeting transcripts, not just dictating a short message.
• Voice typing on mobile (built into the phone keyboard) — the same principle away from a computer too, handy for quick messages on the go.
• Dictation in Microsoft Word or Outlook — a similar feature built directly into the Office apps, with a ribbon button instead of a keyboard shortcut.

What you get out of it

• Time: dictated text can easily be produced three times faster than typed text — for longer messages and emails, that's genuinely a few minutes saved per use.
• Less hand fatigue: for people who type all day, dictation offers an occasional break from repetitive wrist strain.
• Faster thought-to-text: speech often flows more naturally than writing, so a first draft comes out with less hesitation.
• Accessibility: the feature also helps anyone who has trouble typing on a keyboard for any reason, temporary or permanent.

Pro tip

Turn on automatic punctuation in the voice typing settings — Windows will then guess where commas and periods belong based on intonation and sentence structure, and the text will barely need manual cleanup.