Speaking a sentence

Also called Speak button, Playing a message, Message output

What actually happens when a person presses speak, and the etiquette for the listener: wait, look at the person, and do not finish their sentence.

What it is

On a talking board, pressing a card usually says that word out loud at once, and pressing speak reads out the whole sentence strip in order. That is all the mechanism is: the device turns text into sound with a voice stored on the device (text-to-speech), and the sound comes out of the speaker.

The rest of this entry is about what happens around that moment, which is where most of the difficulty lives.

Who it can help

Everyone who uses a device, and everyone who talks to them. The person who speaks through a device needs to know the mechanics: what "speak" does, how to stop it, how to say it again. The listener needs something else: the patience to let a sentence be built, and the manners not to answer the first word.

If a person uses a paper board with no speech, the listener does the speaking: read each word aloud as it is pointed at, then the whole sentence together. That is the same etiquette by other means.

How it works

Most devices speak in two ways. Word-by-word: each card says itself as it is pressed, which gives the person feedback and lets a listener follow along. Whole sentence: the strip is spoken when the speak key is pressed, so a person can compose privately and deliver once. Many people want both, and some want only the second so that listeners cannot jump in on a half-built thought.

The sound comes from the device's own voices, so volume and clarity depend on the tablet or phone, not the app. In a noisy room the person may need the volume up, or a small speaker, or simply for the listener to lean in and look at the screen. Voice speed and pitch are set by the person.

The Talk board speaks with the voices already on the device, and the person chooses the voice, its speed and its pitch. Nothing said is sent anywhere; it is spoken and gone.

Getting started

As a listener, practise three habits this week. Look at the person, not the screen, while they build. Wait until they press speak or look up before you respond; count to ten in your head if you must, see wait time. And never guess the end of the sentence out loud. Guessing feels helpful and teaches the person that finishing is pointless.

As the person or their supporter, check the volume in the rooms where the device is used, and find the "say it again" route: on most boards, pressing speak twice repeats the strip.

Agree a signal for "I am building, please wait": a raised hand, a look, or simply the fact that the strip is not empty yet.

Where to get help

Communication Matters publishes guidance for communication partners of people who use AAC. 1Voice connects families and adults who use communication aids and is the best place to hear how it feels from the other side of the speaker. Local support comes through local AAC services.