Vocal dictation can be a powerful cataloging tool in the auctioneer’s arsenal if used correctly. Why? Speaking instead of typing will allow you to catalog faster. This means your assets can hit the market sooner, and for a longer period of time. As a result, you can increase bidder engagement as well as a higher overall hammer price. That’s why vocal dictation is baked into the Wavebid Mobile App for both Android and iPhone.
There are different tricks for using dictation on these different platforms, but let’s start with the IOS tool, SIRI. Then we’ll move on to Google Voice Typing.
SIRI
On your IOS device, the microphone icon is found on your keyboard to the left of your space bar. As soon as you press this button your iPhone will be listening to everything you say. It will auto-type it into any input that is selected.
Shortcuts
There are many tricks and shortcuts that can be used to accelerate dictation and get a more accurate outcome. By simply saying “New Line”, “All Caps,” or “Period,” you can create clean and dynamic descriptions without having to go back and edit. For a full list of shortcuts check out this link: http://www.siriuserguide.com/siri-dictation-guide/
Punctuation
Ennunciating punctuation is how you add things like quotation marks and commas where necessary. For example, you can say “Period” to end a sentence or “Double Quote” to get the correct punctuation style for entering size in inches.
Enunciation
Be sure to speak your descriptions clearly and slightly slower than normal to prevent yourself from having to correct a description. All voice dictation apps are sensitive to accents. Be sure to enunciate words as grammatically as possible in order to maximize your chances of being understood without error.
Google Voice Typing
Due to multiple keyboard applications on the Android platform there are many locations that the microphone icon will display on your device. The most common location is found above the backspace key to the top right of your keyboard.
Punctuation
Just as it is with SIRI, ennunciating punctuation is how you add periods, commas, quotations marks, etc. When using this feature make the directive stick out. Pause before saying period, for example, so the application knows it is not just the continuation of the sentence.
Save Dictation Offline
To reduce data use while using vocal dictation you can download languages offline. To save languages for offline you can go into your google apps settings and then to the offline languages section. From there you can choose the languages that you want saved for offline use.
Smart Typing
If you allow Google Keyboard or SIRI to collect anonymous snippets of what you type and speak it will learn your habits. As this learning occurs the application will be able to better predict what you are trying to say (or type). It will ultimately become more accurate.
Final Notes
Oftentimes people will dismiss these tools because they can lack accuracy, but if you are willing to follow these guidelines the results are amazing! The amount of time saved is drastic, and the ability to get your auction online sooner can make the difference in a sale.