In order to get the best performance in speech recognition a number of steps need to be followed:

With Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 9.5 certain specific hardware is required. The following specifications are higher than what Dragon recommend, I am listing these higher requirements because the following will give better than acceptable performance.

A minimum of 1000MHz Pentium III, IV , AMD Athlon/Duron duo core 2

I would recommend a Pentium 4 2.0 gig or and Athlon/AMD 3000+ or in a Laptop a Centrino/ Duo Processor.

The minimum rule here is 512mb of RAM for Windows 2000/Windows XP. I would recommend 1024MB though. This is dependent on how many background applications and/or how many applications you wish to run at once.
For best performance with Windows Vista its best to run 2 gig of Ram and have a Dual Core Processor.(you need at least 1024mb ram to install Dragon on vista 32 bit)

There are a number of Nuance Approved and recommended sound cards for Dragon. However not all these are available in Australia. To simplify I would recommend the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live Value or the Sound Blaster Audigy. Here's a list of the Nuance Approved Sound cards select Dragon then Sound cards/Integrated Audio to get the list.

Important point: Just because a sound card is quoted as Sound Blaster compatible or SB 16 compatible, or that it supports 16-bit or 32-bit sound recording does not mean that it will be of sufficient quality for use with speech recognition. Many onboard sound cards that come with computers quote these specifications, yet they are totally unsuitable for speech recognition.
Laptop/Notebook sound cards cannot be replaced if they are unsuitable and your only option then is to use a digital USB Microphone.

If you're using a digital USB Microphone such as an NC7100 , YOU DO NOT NEED to use a sound card at all for input into speech recognition. Digital USB microphones are our preferred device for speech recognition. This is because they are consistently accurate and reliable, they do not require the use of complex Windows drivers, and they totally bypass onboard sound that is of insufficient quality.
Digital USB microphones compare well price wise with a quality sound card and quality microphone, but it is much much easier to install a USB Microphone than it is to install a new sound card Digital USB microphones are highly recommended for use with Laptop/Notebook computers. The NC7100 is an excellent choice.

It is important to use a stable operating system for Dragon NaturallySpeaking. I highly recommend the use of Windows 2000, Windows XP or VISTA (32bit only). These are generally accepted as the most stable operating systems. Dragon NaturallySpeaking does not work with UNIX, Linux or Mac operating systems. Purchase Macspeech Dictate for Intel Based Macs.
I do not recommend the use of Windows 98 or Windows millennium simply because they are not compatible with Dragon 9 at all and it will not function.

Healthy Computing: It is important to minimise your background applications when using Dragon NaturallySpeaking because background applications use RAM and CPU resources. Try only to install important applications on your computer because the more applications you install the more prone your computer is to crashing simply because of potential conflicts and problems.

· Ensure that your computer meets the above hardware specifications.
· I highly recommend that if you move to a newer version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, that you train a new user. This will only take 10 minutes and will ensure a high degree of accuracy. You may upgrade user files but this is not always reliable.
· Install Dragon NaturallySpeaking after you have installed Microsoft Office.
· Make sure that you have selected the Australian vocabulary when you setup your user. Sometimes people mistakenly install the UK or US English model. This will cause many problems.
· Ensure that you have selected the correct Microphone type when setting up your user. If you are using a digital Microphone then select it, if you're using a desktop array Microphone then select it and so on.
· when completing the initial training period, speak in a consistent and even tone of voice. Do not speak to softly or loudly and do not speak to fast or too slow.
· If the program is not responding well after you complete the first session of general training then do additional training. Ensure that your hardware is setup properly before you conduct the additional training.
· Run the audio setup wizard once a week or when you find that the program is not responding well to your voice.
· Ensure that the microphone is positioned consistently at the same distance from your mouth. The microphone should be positioned approximately 3 to 4 cm from your mouth and slightly below your bottom lip.
· You must make corrections with Dragon every time it makes a mistake. IF YOU DO NOT MAKE THE PROPER CORRECTIONS WITH DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING IT WILL NEVER IMPROVE. The ability for the program to become more accurate entirely depends upon you making the corrections.
· In order to correct you must say either "correct that" or " correct THE WRONG WORDS"
· you are not making a corrections if you select incorrect words with the mouse and then type over them. You are only making an edit. Dragon will never remember this is a correction and will never improve as a consequence.
· Dragon is optimised for Microsoft word and Microsoft outlook it will work in other applications with various degrees of success. It does not work well with Microsoft excel.
· The key to getting good accuracy from speech recognition is to think about a sentence before you say it, and then speak in phrases or sentences at a time. DO - NOT - SPEAK- EACH -INDIVIDUAL- WORD. Most speech recognition programs are natural language programs and require sentences at once NOT individual words.
· If you purchase a new microphone, especially if you are going from an analogue to a digital Microphone it is best to complete a short general training session order to begin a new user. This is because different microphones sound differently to the program.
· Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 9 has some inbuilt tolerance for "UM" and "AH's" but it is not really capable of telling the difference between words and utterances. Again, think of a sentence carefully before you pronounce it to the program. This will help enormously.
· Back up your speech files to another medium like a ZIP disk or a CD-ROM every few months. With Dragon NaturallySpeaking this is called the USER file and is located in the Dragon NaturallySpeaking program directory. This will save you a lot of heartache if something goes wrong with your computer. Speech files can become corrupted quite easily.

I hope that you have found these general tips useful.

If you have your own to add or any comments about this page then please email us.

The following method will allow you to use Dragon    NaturallySpeaking 8 dictation and Select-and-Say features    in any application.

1. Open the application Window
2. Place the cursor where you would like to begin dictation.
3. SAY "Show Dictation Box"
4. Dictate Text, make correction, use Select-and-Say features.
5. When you have completed dictation SAY "OK" or "Click OK"
6. The text will be transferred to the location you placed the cursor.