I dictate a lot on my Mac using Dragon Dictate. One problem is unique words like company names and names of people. Even if you create a custom definition for these words, Dragon can sometimes get confused. For long projects, I often use substitute words. For example, instead of writing “ACME International Road Runner Traps, Ltd.”, I’ll use an easily distinguishable word like, “banana”.

Dear Sir, I must say I've had a spot of bad luck in the desert with my banana manufactured devices.

I’ve got a list of these words in my head. My favorites are monkey, banana, and alligator, which Dragon always gets right for me. (I wonder if these words arise in my head from all the times I sang about swinging in a tree to my kids.)

When I’m done, I do a quick search and replace and things get fixed up. Just make sure to proofread carefully. It’s probably a bad idea to send a letter out to Mr. Monkey.

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