Here's a technology tip. If you're using speech recognition software for dictation, or are thinking about using it, you'll need a good quality, digitally-enhanced USB microphone. It will significantly affect the accuracy of your dictation.

Don't scrimp here or you'll regret it. You'll spend much more time correcting the mistakes in your documents because the speech recognition software did not understand what you were saying.   

I have found that Plantronics has excellent quality and priced headsets and telephones and I currently use a Plantronics DSP-500 USB headset for dictating into my computer. [I mentioned in a previous tip that I use Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Preferred 8 ($199.99 List) as my dictation software.
http://www.scansoft.com/naturallyspeaking/preferred/]

You can buy the Plantronics DSP-500 USB headset on eBay (listed on 9/12/05 for as low as $44.27 + $10 shipping) or from Amazon (listed on 9/12/05 for as low as $46.01 + $4.99 shipping). Or, you can buy it from Office Depot locally or on Amazon for $62.95.

In addition to being a great tool for dictation, this headset is also terrific for listening to audio from your computer such as the downloadable teleforums at www.Nurse-Entrepreneur-Network.com, or music files.

And, if you're using your computer for internet telephony (like Skype or your instant messaging [IM] program), the headset is great for that, too. And for Camtasia Studio. The list goes on.

Action step: Buy yourself a good quality headset and dictation software now! You'll be typing less and working faster!