How to enable dictation on a Mac
- Click the Apple menu, then System Settings, then Keyboard in the sidebar.
- Go to Dictation and turn it on.
- Click Enable when asked.
That is how you turn on dictation, or speech to text, on a Mac. These steps come from Apple’s guide for macOS 27, which we read on 6 November 2026. Menu names can differ on older versions.
How to start dictation on a Mac
Click into a text box first, so your cursor is where you want the words. Then use any one of these:
- Press the Microphone key, if your keyboard has one. Press and release it to start. (Pressing and holding it starts Siri instead, if Siri is on.)
- Press the Dictation shortcut you set in Keyboard settings.
- Choose Edit > Start Dictation from the menu bar.
Set or change the Mac dictation shortcut
Apple’s guide does not name one fixed default key for every Mac. Instead, you choose.
- Open Apple menu > System Settings > Keyboard, then go to Dictation.
- Click the Shortcut pop-up menu.
- Pick a shortcut from the list. For keys that are not listed, choose Customize, then press the keys you want to use.
How to stop dictation, or turn it off
| What you want | What to do |
|---|---|
| Stop dictating for now | Press Escape, the Microphone key or your Dictation shortcut |
| Let it stop by itself | Stop talking for 30 seconds |
| Stop the automatic commas and full stops | Keyboard > Dictation, then turn off Auto-punctuation |
| Turn dictation off completely | Apple menu > System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation, then switch it off |
Source for every row: Apple’s Dictation guide, read 6 November 2026.
Once Dictation is running, just talk. What you can say (punctuation, new lines, emoji) and the other settings, such as language and microphone, are in how to dictate on a Mac.
Which way to start suits you?
| Way to start | Good when |
|---|---|
| Microphone key | Your keyboard has the key, and you want the quickest start |
| Your own Dictation shortcut | Your keyboard has no Microphone key, or you prefer different keys |
| Edit > Start Dictation | You are using the mouse, or you want to check that Dictation works at all |
If the shortcut does nothing
- Check Dictation is turned on under Keyboard settings.
- Check you are pressing the shortcut shown there. If in doubt, open the Shortcut pop-up menu and choose again.
- Apple says Dictation is not available in every language or region, so check the language listed under Languages.
Then try Edit > Start Dictation. If that works, the problem is the shortcut, not Dictation. If that does nothing either, the cause is elsewhere – the microphone, a permission or the connection – and Mac dictation not working: fixes goes through each check from Apple’s troubleshooting page.
Talkativ’s shortcut, next to Apple’s
Apple lets you pick your own shortcut. Talkativ does the opposite: its shortcuts are fixed and you cannot change them. On a Mac you press Ctrl + Space on Windows, ⌥ Option + Space on a Mac to start dictating in any app, and press it again to stop. You do not hold the keys down.
Is that worth a second tool? Maybe not. If Apple’s Dictation does what you need, keep it. A dictation app like Talkativ adds punctuation and capital letters and takes out “ums” by default, works in 100 languages (highly accurate in 56), and has a Free plan of 2,200 words a week. It needs an internet connection and does not work offline, it does not transcribe audio files, and it has no phone app. See Talkativ for Mac if you want to know more.