I love listening to your blog posts! I’ve discovered the fun option of using Read Aloud on my PC. (In the Edge browser, click the settings and more menu, scroll down to more tools, and click read aloud.) I also use the Spoken Content feature on my iPad. (Settings/Accessibility/Spoken Content)
When I’m on my PC, I use the voice “Microsoft Ava.” She has a youthful-sounding voice and what I’d call a typical North American accent. She always sounds enthusiastic about what she’s reading! Every blogger sounds cheerful and a bit breathy, as if they’re a friend telling me about their day.
When I use my iPad, I use the voice “UK Siri Voice 1.” Oof, that’s a stark name! But UK Siri gives every blogger a lovely, elegant British accent. The iPad’s voices are more robotic than the PC’s voices, but I think UK Siri sounds pretty good.
The read-aloud features aren’t perfect. Sometimes, it’s difficult to understand what Ava or UK Siri said because they mispronounce a word or their timing is off. Of course, much of their success depends on the writing! I enjoy using read-aloud to help with the flow of my writing.
Have you ever tried the read-aloud features? If yes, what voices do you enjoy? There are so many voices to choose from! How do you feel about sounding like an enthusiastic American girl or a proper British lady?
Thanks for reading – or listening! I wish you a wonderful weekend!
I’ve never listened to my, or anyone’s, blog posts yet I can understand how it’d be fun. I know when I write my posts I read them aloud to myself because I want my tone to be chatty, not academic, or business-y. Something new to explore.
Your posts always sound wonderful with read aloud, Ally!
The doll!!!! The cat!!!!! I love them both <3
Thank you, Daria! 😊❤️
This is so interesting. I definitely haven’t listened to my own blogs posts read aloud. I am not sure I can stand it. But I might give it a try.
I once tried but it rarely works well in German as all these features are trained in English. But it’s been awhile and lots has happened lately.
When I had a tendinitis I tried dictating my blog posts but that didn’t go to well either. Probably my bad accent and pronunciation. HA.
Ok, I go and see if I find the feature in Safari and let Siri read to me.
Oh and the doll is very cute. I wonder… do you keep all these little things you create or do you sell them in the farm store?
I hadn’t thought about how read aloud would work internationally. Dictation can’t seem to understand me either! It comes up with the most hilarious things! I keep all my little dolls and sewing projects all to myself. I have sold some things before, but it makes it so much less fun when I’m worrying about someone buying it.
I say it up earlier today after reading your post. First it was read aloud as a German would read it so I didn’t understand a thing. I switched to English in the preference and it was a million times better. However I didn’t much like how it was read to me. No punctuation and break for paragraphs. I think for now I stick with reading myself.
Oh no, that doesn’t sound very nice. I’m sure you’re better off reading it yourself in that case. Thanks for letting me know how it worked for you!
Hi Michelle! The idea of listening to the posts never occurred to me! What a novel idea! Lol! But at the same time, I like to read and savor the writing… but I should probably learn how to do it… I used to listen to “Reading Aloud” years ago when it was a radio at lunchtime option…. followed some wonderful books that way but hated missing an episode…:(! As technology keeps rushing forward I wonder sometimes what it is we are “rushing to”…..? I suppose being able to help people do things they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do… and that is magnificent! I absolutely love the Red Riding Hood doll you made! She looks really sweet! And your kitty looks a lot like my “Dusty”…. only Dusty doesn’t have a mustache. :):)
Thank you, Betsy! I love audiobooks, so have blog posts read aloud to me is wonderful. I guess I’m an audio kind of person. Aural? I think that’s the word for listening. Red Riding Hood doesn’t fit in my dollhouse very well, but she’s so cute, I don’t mind.
I’m so glad technology exists like this and it makes you feel like you’re having a lovely breathless conversation with your friends. I’ve never used it, but now I want to listen to my own posts to see what a ninny I sound like when my posts are read out loud!!
It can be a bit strange to hear your own posts read aloud for the first time! I enjoy listening to your posts – definitely not a ninny!!
That sweet little doll! I love her little Mary Janes! You are so very talented, my friend. Oh, and your kitty is also very sweet!
I didn’t know you could listen to our blog posts! The thought of you listening to one of my posts as if I were reading it to you makes me very happy, Michelle. ❤️
Thank you so much, Kari! I love sewing little dolls and getting the cat involved in the photo shoots!
I’m so glad you posted this because I have been low-level stressed about you reading and commenting on blogs – I was worried that you were straining your eyes! I’m SO glad you are able to listen! To be honest I had no idea at all this was an option, how wonderful is technology.
There was a recent movie, Vacation, and the rental car used for the road trip somehow only had Korean language for GPS, and it was said in a super angry voice, and I always think of that when anyone selects different languages/ voices. It’s a silly gag but still makes me laugh. I don’t recommend the movie really but there are some funny parts.
Love the Riding Hood!
You’re so sweet, Nicole! Yes, technology is amazing, and I’m so grateful for it. That’s so funny about the movie! Read aloud has many voices to choose from, and some of them are hilarious.
I haven’t tried those voice options, but I will now so thank you for sharing. Technology has provided a lot of options for all of us to stay involved. I have numerous friends who ‘only’ read audio books for a variety of medical and personal reasons. I am so grateful all these options are out there.
Thank you, Judy! I’m so grateful for all the options too. You’re so right, it keeps us involved, and that’s so wonderful.
Those shoes!!!!!!
Our old GPS (from over a decade ago) had only one voice option – a female voice with a UK accent. It was hilarious to hear “her” pronounce local towns. At one point in a local city, whenever we keyed in an address she would tell us to “take the ferry” even though it is only a foot passenger ferry so we couldn’t TAKE THE FERRY. It was infuriating at the time, but we still laugh about that little saying to this day, and my husband – who is excellent with accents – does a cracking job of imitating her accent.
That’s so funny about your GPS! Did you see Nicole’s comment about an angry-sounding GPS in a movie? It’s so funny that they have their own little quirks, almost like a personality!