🎤Training Myself to Dictate at the Speed of Thought 🧠

Lately I’ve been experimenting with a tool called Wispr Flow for dictation. At first, it felt strange — talking out loud to my phone instead of typing. Typing has always been my way of thinking: I get to shape a sentence in my head before it ever shows up on the screen. Dictation doesn’t work that way. The words spill out instantly, messy and unedited.

At first, that bothered me. I rambled, repeated myself, talked too fast. But then I realized maybe that’s the point. Maybe dictation isn’t just about replacing typing, maybe it’s a skill in itself, one worth practicing. If I can learn to think and speak at the same time, clearly and quickly, then I can start capturing ideas at something closer to the speed of thought.

The tools I’ve been using

Wispr Flow has been my entry point, and it’s already made a difference in how I capture ideas throughout the day. I’ve even been using it on my MacBook for everyday communication, iMessage, SMS, even Instagram DMs. What’s surprised me most is how well it handles punctuation and grammar, producing messages that are clean and concise. It’s faster, and it gets my thoughts across with more clarity than tapping away on the keyboard.

Now, I should say: I’m not a slow typist. I’m comfortable at around 100 words per minute. For a while I even tried pushing past 120 WPM, but I found my fingers would fatigue, and realistically, that seemed like my ceiling. With Wispr Flow, though, I’ve been averaging closer to 145 WPM. That’s been eye-opening... not because the tool is magically faster, but because it shows me how much more speed I can unlock when the bottleneck isn’t my hands, but my ability to think and speak.

I’ve also been exploring SuperWhisper, which runs locally and doesn’t send data to the cloud. That makes it more private and secure, and honestly, the idea of an offline-first tool feels important if dictation becomes a bigger part of my workflow.

And beyond writing, I’ve started using voice prompts with Claude (especially in coding sessions). It’s been phenomenal. Being able to talk through problems, describe the structure of what I need, and let Claude handle the boilerplate feels like a glimpse of where programming is heading. Maybe it’s not a “new wave” of programming exactly, but it is a way of stripping away the friction of typing boilerplate code and getting to the point faster.

Typing vs dictation

The gap I’m trying to bridge is simple:

Typing gives me space to edit before committing. I’m concise because the filter is built in.
Dictation forces me to commit first, then polish later. It feels rougher, but also much faster.

Right now, dictation makes me less precise. But with practice, I think it can push me to become both quick and clear. That feels like a worthy challenge.

Why this matters to me

I don’t think this is just a productivity hack. Voice is becoming a bigger part of how we interact with technology. As AI assistants and voice interfaces evolve, being fluent at dictation, being able to speak clearly and at speed without rambling — will matter more.

On a personal level, I like the idea of cutting out bottlenecks. Typing has always lagged behind how quickly my thoughts move. Dictation has the potential to close that gap. And when I combine that with voice-first coding and everyday communication, I see a future where a lot of the “typing overhead” just disappears, leaving more room for actual problem-solving, creativity, and quicker conversations.

My approach right now

I’m treating dictation like a skill worth training:

Using Wispr Flow daily for quick notes, messaging, and brain dumps.
Trying out Super Whisper for private, offline use.
Using Claude voice prompts for programming, especially to bypass boilerplate.
Reviewing transcripts to see where I drift and how I can tighten up.

The goal is simple: be able to dictate at the speed of thought, while still being concise. Typing won’t go away, but if I can stop relying on it as the bottleneck, it opens up a whole new way of working.

Looking ahead

I’m really excited to see how all of these AI tools keep developing. There are so many options out there, and in the next few months I plan to explore different alternatives to see which one fits best.

What excites me most, though, is how this technology opens doors for accessibility. For people with disabilities who find typing difficult or impossible, having tools that can deliver near-perfect punctuation and grammar by voice is a huge win. It makes communication faster, clearer, and more inclusive.

For me personally, it’s been about speed and productivity. But I’m also grateful this technology exists in a way that benefits everyone. And that makes me even more excited about where it’s all heading.