Dictating work email: the order to speak and 3 final checks

Work emails follow a familiar structure, which helps when dictating

Work email follows a fairly fixed structure:

• Greeting
• Purpose (the point of the email)
• Details
• The ask, and a sign-off

Because the structure is fixed, it's easy to know what you'll say before you start talking. And emails add up: typing them takes time. That makes email one of the places where dictation saves the most time.

Speak in order: greeting, purpose, details, ask and sign-off

Follow the structure of the email from top to bottom.

1. 1Greeting"Hi Dana," or "Dear Ms. Reyes," for a first contact
2. 2PurposeOne sentence on why you're writing and what you need
3. 3DetailsDates, times, place, attachments
4. 4Ask and sign-offWhen you need a reply by, then "Best regards" and your name

For example, to set up a meeting, you might say:

Hi Dana. I'm writing to set up next week's meeting. Would Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday afternoon work for you? I'll send the slides the day before. Could you let me know by Friday? Thanks so much. Best regards, Sam.

Three things make this work:

• Say the purpose in the second sentence: "I'm writing to set up next week's meeting" up front makes the details that follow easy to read
• Keep sentences short: rather than chaining "and… so… which…," stop at a period. It reads well even after punctuation is added automatically
• Speak in the tone you want to send: some tools rewrite your wording and others keep it as you said it, so say it the way you'd write it

Type the subject line by hand, at the end

The subject line is short, and you'll want to choose the words carefully. Dictate the body, then type just the subject by hand, and the whole email comes together faster. Once you've reread the body, you'll know what belongs in the subject.

Before sending, focus on names, numbers and words that sound alike

Dictation errors tend to show up in the same places. You usually don't need to reread everything; checking these three is often enough.

Many tools remember names once you correct them. Add the names of people you write to often to the dictionary from the start.

Stock phrases and replies go faster when you say them in one go

• Say stock phrases in one breath: lines you write every time, from "Thanks for your email" to "Best regards," come out fast because you don't have to think
• Reply while looking at their email: answer their questions in order, and the body writes itself
• Dictate long updates as a list: say "First, … Second, …" and add bullets afterward

Everyone knows to put the point first, but when typing, the preamble tends to grow. When speaking, it's easier to start with what you want to say

If you're unsure, just follow the structure of the email

• Not sure where to startGreeting, purpose, details, then the ask and sign-off
• The text is hard to readKeep sentences short
• It doesn't sound professional enoughSpeak in the tone you want to send
• Names and numbers come out wrongPut names in the dictionary; say numbers and dates clearly

If you'd like to try it without spending anything, start with the dictation built into your Mac. The steps are in “How to use dictation on Mac”.

Read nextHow to use dictation on Mac: setup, punctuation and limitsYour Mac already has dictation built in, at no extra cost. Here's how to turn it on, how punctuation works, and how to switch languages, following Apple's official help. We also cover where the built-in feature falls short.