Custom Dictation Formatting: Instructions You Can Reuse

Custom dictation formatting means describing how you want spoken content arranged after it becomes text. You supply the facts through your speech and define the shape through an instruction: a short email, an outline, or a status update with named sections.

A useful instruction is specific enough to guide the result and simple enough to check. Start with a purpose, a structure, and a boundary. Add more requirements only when you know why you need them.

Build an instruction from three parts

The purpose explains where the text will be used. The structure describes the visible result. The boundary says what must be preserved or avoided.

For example:

Turn this into a short project update for a teammate. Use Done, Next, and Blocked headings. Keep names and dates as stated. Do not invent owners or deadlines.

This is easier to review than “make this professional.” You can check whether the headings exist, whether the names and dates are correct, and whether the draft added a commitment that was never spoken.

Example one: a project update

Suppose you say:

The signup copy is ready. Tomorrow I will review the mobile layout. I am waiting for Riley to confirm the help link before I finish the footer.

With the instruction above, an illustrative result could be:

Done: Signup copy is ready.
Next: Review the mobile layout tomorrow.
Blocked: Footer completion is waiting on Riley to confirm the help link.

Check the last line carefully. “Waiting on a confirmation” should not become a made-up deadline or a promise that someone else has not made. If a section has no supporting information, ask the instruction to mark it as unspecified or leave it out.

Example two: a concise email reply

For a reply, use a different structure:

Write a friendly reply in no more than four sentences. Begin with the answer, include the reason, and finish with the next action. Keep the facts and any limits I mention.

This pattern fits messages where the recipient needs a decision and a clear next step. Review tone after checking meaning. A friendly rewrite should still preserve a refusal, a condition, or a limit on your availability.

See the email use case for a spoken-input example you can compare with your own work.

Example three: an idea outline

For rough ideas, avoid forcing a conclusion before you have one:

Make a short outline with Main idea, Supporting points, and Open questions. Keep uncertainty as uncertainty. Do not turn suggestions into decisions.

This lets you keep an unfinished thought useful without making it sound more settled than it is. The idea capture page shows how spoken notes can become a starting point for later work.

Keep the instruction you can actually evaluate

Try a pattern on one short sample. Compare the input and output side by side. If something is wrong, change the specific instruction that would have prevented it.

Check names, numbers, dates, and commitments.
Confirm that every section is supported by the input.
Remove unnecessary rules that make the draft awkward.
Keep a copy of useful instruction wording for your next task.
Review each new result even when the instruction worked before.

These examples are suggested instructions and illustrative outcomes, not guaranteed processing results. Different speech and settings can produce different drafts.

Use custom formatting in the new Sonicribe

The custom formatting use case explains the workflow alongside direct transcripts and polished prose. The new Sonicribe is cloud-only and requires a verified Google account and an internet connection. Its separate app download is not available yet.

Review the current plans and release information. Start with the format your task needs, then use your own review to make the draft ready to share.