Talk to Claude instead of typing, explained by monkey

When you type, you cut corners. You leave out the background, the bit you're unsure about, the thing you tried last week. When you talk, all of that comes out without you trying. Anthropic's own tutorial puts it simply: "Speaking is faster than typing, and Claude can understand even rough phrasing." And the more Claude knows about what you want, the better the answer: their prompting guide says "The more precisely you explain what you want, the better the result."

Where the microphone is

• In the Claude app on your phone (iPhone or Android): tap the microphone on the right side of the message box, talk, then tap the arrow to send. It works on every plan, free included.
• Right next to it is a sound wave button. That one is voice mode, where Claude talks back out loud. For this trick you want the microphone: your words turn into text in the box, and Claude answers in text like always.
• On a Mac with the Claude desktop app: open quick entry, press Caps Lock once to start talking and again when you're done (needs macOS 14 or newer).
• On any other computer, your computer's own dictation works in the Claude message box too.

What to say first

Tap the microphone and start with this, then just keep talking:

That last line matters: Claude repeats back what it heard, so you can fix a misunderstanding before it writes you three paragraphs about the wrong thing.

Things worth talking instead of typing

• An awkward email: "I need to tell my landlord the sink's been leaking for two weeks, I already asked once, I want to be polite but firm, and I'd like it fixed before Friday because my parents visit."
• A trip plan: "Four days in Tokyo in March, two of us, we like food and walking, not shopping, one of us hates early mornings, budget is medium."
• Homework or study help: "I don't get photosynthesis. I know plants need sun, but I get lost after that. Explain it like I'm twelve, then quiz me."
• A message you keep putting off: "Help me write a birthday message for my grandma. She loves gardening, we haven't talked in a while, and I want it warm but not cheesy."
• A brain dump: "Here's everything on my plate this week…" then list it all out loud, and ask Claude to sort it into what to do first.

The one gotcha

Dictation can mishear names, numbers and unusual words, and it won't know which "Friday" you mean. Your words land in the message box before anything is sent, so give them a quick read and fix anything important. Anthropic's tutorial says the same: your speech "becomes text in the message box, where you can edit it before sending."

Monkey believe in you. Now go build.

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