Ever needed to type out a long email, report, or set of notes? Getting your thoughts to paper can take forever, and sometimes talking out loud is much quicker. The trouble is, raw dictation often comes out messy and can take a lot of work to put right.
That’s where AI tools can help. We’re referring to ChatGPT here, but most AI tools will do this work. Obviously, AI can’t think your thoughts for you, but it is brilliant at hearing everything you said and turning it into clear, usable text.
Step 1: Dictate freely
Don’t worry about being polished. Just open your voice recorder app, or even better, speak directly into ChatGPT’s voice mode and speak naturally. You can ramble, repeat yourself, go on tangents – it doesn’t matter. The point is to get the raw material out of your head. Imagine you’re speaking with a very patient assistant who’s dictating your brainstorm.
Step 2: Drop it into ChatGPT
Paste your dictated text (or upload your audio file). Then ask ChatGPT something like:
- “Make this into clear bullet points.”
- “Turn this ramble into a professional but concise email.”
- “Summarise my main points in under 200 words.”
This is called ‘the prompt’ and you can phrase it like you’re giving instructions to your assistant.
Step 3: Pick your style and give some context
The beauty is, ChatGPT can reshape your words to fit the situation. Some examples:
- Formal: for business letters and reports.
- Friendly: for client updates or newsletters.
- Concise: if you’re long-winded and need trimming.
- Expanded: if you spoke too quickly and need more context added.
The more you can tell it what you’re trying to do and how you want the message to come across, the closer it will get.
Why it works so well
Writing well takes time and speaking is fast. ChatGPT bridges the gap, you talk naturally, then let the AI do the heavy lifting of editing. It looks to create shape and sense from your ramblings and will often do a great job of getting your first draft done. You tweak and edit, and off it goes.
For busy professionals, this can save hours each week, especially if you struggle with typing long messages or keeping things short.
New to AI? We can help
If tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Microsoft CoPilot feel intimidating, you’re not alone.
We offer patient, personalised AI coaching, showing you step by step how to use these tools in ways that actually make your life easier. Whether you want to speed up admin, write better messages, or just experiment safely, we’ll guide you at your own pace.
