How to Have Word Read to You: A Step-by-Step Guide

Sometimes, listening to your document can provide a fresh perspective, help catch errors, or simply give your eyes a break. Fortunately, Microsoft Word comes with built-in tools that can read your text aloud. This feature is particularly helpful for proofreading or when you’re multitasking. In this blog post, we’ll guide you through the process of enabling and using this feature.

Steps to Have Word Read to You

1. Open Your Document in Microsoft Word

The first step is to open the document you want to be read aloud. This could be any Word file, whether it's a report, essay, or even a letter. Ensure that the document is complete or at a stage where listening back would be beneficial for your editing process.

2. Highlight the Text You Want to Hear

If you only want a specific portion of your document to be read aloud, highlight the text by clicking and dragging your cursor over it. If you want the entire document to be read, you can skip this step.

3. Navigate to the "Review" Tab

At the top of your Word window, you’ll see several tabs, such as Home, Insert, and Design. Click on the "Review" tab to access a range of tools designed for editing and reviewing your document.

4. Select "Read Aloud"

Within the "Review" tab, locate the "Read Aloud" button. It’s typically found on the far right of the toolbar, represented by an icon with a speech bubble. Click on this button to start the text-to-speech feature.

5. Control the Reading

Once the "Read Aloud" feature begins, you’ll see a small toolbar that allows you to control the reading. You can:

1. Pause/Play: Click the pause/play button to stop or resume the reading.
2. Skip Forward or Backward: Use the arrow buttons to skip forward or backward by one paragraph.
3. Adjust the Reading Speed: The voice speed can be adjusted to faster or slower using the speed control slider.
4. Change the Voice: If you prefer a different voice, you can select from the available options in the voice settings.

6. Stop the Reading

To stop the reading at any time, simply click the "X" on the small toolbar. The "Read Aloud" feature will stop immediately, and you can resume your work in Word.

Similar to how Microsoft Word offers a built-in 'Read Aloud' feature that allows you to listen to your document directly from the application, you can use ChromeVox to read Google Docs aloud.

FAQs

1. Can I use "Read Aloud" on older versions of Word?

Yes, but the feature may look slightly different or be located in a different menu. The steps above are based on Microsoft Word 2016 and later versions.

2. Can I change the voice or accent of the reader?

Yes, Word offers several voice options that you can select from the voice settings in the "Read Aloud" toolbar.

3. Is the "Read Aloud" feature available on Word for Mac?

Yes, the "Read Aloud" feature is available on both Windows and Mac versions of Microsoft Word.

4. What languages does the "Read Aloud" feature support?

The "Read Aloud" feature supports multiple languages, though the availability of voices may vary depending on the language.

5. Why should I use the "Read Aloud" feature?

Listening to your document can help you catch errors, understand the flow better, and even assist with multitasking.