A simple trick for better dictation with AI
I sometimes use dictation to capture thoughts or write texts, but the process can sometimes feel messy. It is easy to become hesitant, knowing that any mistake or forgotten detail will require manual correction later, which can disrupt the flow of ideas.
I recently read an article by Matt Webb that offers a simple and practical solution to this problem. He suggests creating a persona—in his case, ‘Diane’—to act as a virtual secretary. While dictating your thoughts, you can embed instructions directly to this persona.
For instance, you could say, “The main points are A and B. Diane, please format that as a bulleted list. The third point is C.”
This method separates your content from your commands, allowing you to correct yourself or format on the fly without interrupting your flow. The LLM can then process the transcript, executing the instructions addressed to ‘Diane’ and cleaning up the final text.
It is a very good idea from Matt. I have found this works well on Android using the dictation feature in the Microsoft Word app, resulting in a much cleaner and more usable output.
