Excerpt from Client Advisory Boards Turn Firms Around

By Andrew Gluck (Financial Advisor March 2007)

I’m writing this story in a way that is a little scary for me. For the first time in my life, I’m not using the keyboard to write. I’m dictating the story using speech recognition software called Dragon Naturally Speaking from Nuance Communications Inc.
    For a writer, using speech recognition software like this is unnatural. But considering that this is the first time I ever used this software, it’s impressive that I’m able to use it right out of the box with almost no preparation. And I have a feeling that I could get used to it, if I had to.
    I probably should’ve started using software like this awhile ago.  For almost ten years, I have had tendonitis in my right arm from hitting the keys when I type. I’m a fast but not very accurate typist. I slam at the keys, and I’m sure that is what has caused my condition.  So using speech recognition software is probably a really good idea for me. But enough about me.
    What I’m really interested in doing is finding out if advisors could use this software to make their lives easier. This program can write documents and e-mails. You can use voice commands to browse the Internet, and it works with just about any Windows or Web-based application. So if you use Junxure or ProTracker as your CRM system, for instance, and you want to insert letters to clients, you can dictate them. Or if you use a Web-based CRM system, like SalesForce.com, you can enter data through voice commands.
    For some advisors, getting in front of a keyboard can be intimidating and no fun at all. If you’re one of those people who prefer talking to writing, then this software might be for you. It’s not uncommon to be a great talker and a lousy writer. If any of this sounds like you, then you would probably be a good candidate for the Dragon software.
    If you typically write notes on a pad during a client meeting and then type them up into a computer, using the software may be a better alternative. After a client meeting, you might prefer to dictate the notes into the computer.
    The program is not able to transcribe a telephone call with a client, because it will only transcribe your voice. It also cannot be used to transcribe client meetings, because it’s not capable of multiperson speech recognition. It can only recognize one person’s voice at a time.
    For advisors who are already dictating notes and letters and who have an assistant to transcribe a recording, this program could also be a timesaver and a money-saver. If you are experienced at giving dictation, meaning that you know how to dictate punctuation and formatting of documents, then using this software could be easier for you.
    I admit that I never expected this program to work as well as it seems to. Speech recognition technology has been around for a while, but it wasn’t very accurate and has not been widely embraced. Dragon Naturally Speaking has long been the best-known name in this category of software. Right now, I’m having almost no difficulty making the software accurately transcribe exactly what I am saying. A tutorial took about 20 minutes, and in that short time I learned several commands that are allowing me to insert commas, delete certain words and insert punctuation. It’s really incredibly easy to use the basic speech recognition part of the program.
    But there are some kinks. Using the software properly will take time to master. While you can get up and running in minutes and dictate a document, it’ll take some time to learn how to navigate to specific words in a document. It will also take time before you can edit your document using voice commands. That’s frustrating and probably gets in the way of success for most people. It will take a commitment to be great at it.
    However, instead of editing with voice commands, you can also edit your document on the keyboard. Whenever you create a document using speech recognition, you have the option of keeping the voice recording so that you can go back and edit the document using voice commands, or deleting the recording and just editing the document on the keyboard manually. Storing all your voice recordings will eventually eat up a lot of space on your hard drive. Each recorded minute takes up about 1.5 MB of space on your hard drive.  (To give you an idea of how well the program works, when I said it will use 1.5 MB of space, the program inserted the number correctly and used the letters, “MB,” so that I didn’t have to do any special commands. On the other hand, writing this last sentence, and getting the program to write the letters M and B took manual intervention and wasted my time. But there is no reason why you would not use the speech recognition software to get your basic ideas on paper and then go in and manually edit it with your keyboard.
    Installing the software took me about 30 minutes. It comes on two CDs, and at the end of the installation you’re asked to “train” the software so that it understands your way of speaking. The Professional version of the software comes with a headset and microphone, but they are actually pretty chintzy, and you’d probably want to purchase an upgraded headset with a microphone. You train the software by reading certain prepared passages into the microphone. It was easy and took about 15 minutes to complete. A tutorial takes another 10 minutes to complete.
    Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 comes in three different versions. The Standard Version has a list price of $99.99 but can be purchased online for about $80. This version is good if all you want to do is surf the Web and capture your text in a word processor without formatting capabilities. 
    The Preferred version has a list price of $199.99, and like the Standard version supports only a wired headset and works inside of Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect and Internet Explorer. Unlike the Standard version, the Preferred version let’s you create dictation files that you can listen to. The Preferred version also allows you to format documents using voice commands and works with a digital recorder. It can be purchased online for about $150.
    The Professional version of the software lists for $899.99, but can be purchased online for about $625. This version includes all of the bells and whistles. Not only does it work with all Microsoft Office applications and Windows applications, such as Excel and PowerPoint, but it also supports a wireless headset and microphone. So you could buy a Bluetooth microphone, and not be tethered to your desk. Another feature of the professional version is that it allows you to create what Nuance refers to as, “voice shortcuts,” which are sections of text that you use over and over again.  If you begin all of your client letters with the same introductory paragraph, you could create an audio shortcut for that introductory paragraph, and it will be inserted in your letter.
    In addition, while all three versions of the software—the Standard, Preferred and Professional versions— have a vocabulary of 300,000 words, the Professional version allows you to add vocabulary words. For instance, a term like the “Standard & Poor’s 500” would be automatically added to your vocabulary list when you set up the Professional version. In addition, when you install the Professional version, it scans all of your e-mails and documents to look for words that that are not on the program’s vocabulary list. Those new words are then added to your vocabulary list automatically. For financial advisors, who use a lot of specialized jargon, this might be a useful feature.
    Perhaps the most useful feature for a financial advisor is that the Professional version can process a “wav” file. If you have an assistant who transcribes your correspondence, you can install Dragon on his computer and use your voice profile on that computer. You could then e-mail your assistant the wav file and your assistant could then allow Dragon to create the transcript of the recording. Your assistant would just be manually formatting the document and cleaning up any inaccuracies instead of having to transcribe the entire document from scratch, which would take much longer.
    This software is not for advisors who are facile writers and fast typists. But if you are currently using a transcription service or would like to try to dictate letters and documents, it’s a worthwhile investment. As a writer, Dragon naturally speaking may not be my new way of writing my column. But that’s because I’m a writer, and I am compelled to hit a keyboard. It’s just that way for me. But I wrote almost this entire article by dictating it. I don’t think I write as well when dictating, because I’m not editing every word and going back and changing every sentence. But that may be something I could get used to, if I really tried. For an advisor who does not like to write, however, but who must get his ideas down on paper quickly to correspond with clients and vendors, this is a useful program.  

Andrew Gluck, a long-time writer and journalist, is CEO of Advisor Products Inc., a Westbury, N.Y., marketing company serving 1,500 advisory firms.