What are the 5 methods of dictation?

The 5 methods of dictation usually taught are: live dictation to a person who writes it down, recorded dictation transcribed later, speech-to-text software that types as you talk, structured dictation with punctuation and formatting spoken aloud, and free-form drafting where you speak first and edit after.

Schools use the first for spelling practice. Doctors and lawyers built careers on the second. Modern work has collapsed mostly into the third and fifth: software listens, and you either dictate precisely or ramble and clean up.

The best dictation strategy for most people is free-form plus AI cleanup, because speaking naturally is faster than dictating commas.

Modern dictation software handles the punctuation and formatting for you, so method five wins.