Whether or not this is preferable or any easier than issuing a key sequence to start Dictation as you typically would in OS X depends on a variety of things, but for many users it’s great to be able to just start talking and, assuming the Mac has a text editor open, have it start recording what they’re saying, without having to interact much with the keyboard or mouse. Very easy, and once Dictation is activated, all dictation commands work, including punctuation and line breaks. Start using Dictation as usual after you hear the chime recognition sound.Place the Mac cursor in a text input region on screen, then use the voice command you set in the prior step, for example “Hey Mac”.Initiating Dictation by Voice Command on the Mac Now that both Dictation and voice activated Dictation are enabled, you can test it out just about anywhere that allows for text input, including any text editor, word processor, text input form, Spotlight, web inputs in Safari and Chrome, and more. Optional but recommended, enable “Play sound when command is recognized” to give an auditory signal that dictation is ready, and also “Mute audio output while dictating” to avoid any on computer sound or audio from interfering.Back at the Dictation accessibility panel, check the box next to “Enable the dictation keyword phrase” and enter a phrase to have the Mac listen for and identify to start dictation, using something obvious but unique to the experience like “Hey Mac” or “Initiate Dictation” is probably a good idea.Click on “Dictation Commands” button, then check to “Enable advanced commands” in the options.Now go to “Accessibility” and scroll through the left menu to “Dictation”.Choose to enable Dictation by turning the feature on, then check the box or “Use Enhanced Dictation” then return to the system preference panel screen.Open System Preferences from the  Apple menu and go to “Dictation & Speech”.Enabling Voice Activated Dictation on Mac OS X You’ll need OS X 10.11 or later to have this option on the Mac. It works quite well, we’ll show you how to enable the feature, and how to activate it by voice. You can think of this as a Mac specific speech to text version of “Hey Siri” on the iPhone, except that you issue a voice command to start the Dictation speech translations rather than making requests through a virtual assistant.

Speech to text mac os x