MindType
← All guides

MINDTYPE GUIDES · MAC

How to dictate an email on a Mac and review it before sending

Place the cursor in your email’s message body, hold your configured MindType shortcut, speak, then release the shortcut and review the inserted draft. Check its meaning separately from recipients, attachments and subject. Send only when both checks are complete. If you accidentally send in Apple Mail, look for Undo Send immediately; it is available only for a short window.

MindType editorial · · 4 min read

Dictate a short draft without sending it

MindType enters text into editable fields and can clean up wording while preserving meaning. Sending the email remains your separate action. Start with a short, non-sensitive draft to establish a manageable review routine.

  1. Open a new message or reply in your email app. If practical, leave recipients blank until the draft is ready.
  2. Click inside the message body, rather than the subject or address field.
  3. Hold your configured MindType shortcut and speak a few sentences.
  4. Release the shortcut, then wait for the text to appear before clicking elsewhere.
  5. Read the inserted text. Correct it before dictating another chunk, and do not click Send yet.

Source: MindType — voice typing for Mac and Windows · MindType Privacy Policy

Give each spoken chunk one job

Before speaking, identify the purpose, the essential facts and the next action. For a longer email, draft these as separate chunks so that a correction does not require rereading the whole message.

Illustrative spoken draft: “Hi Morgan, could you review the revised workshop outline by Thursday, 12 November? Please focus on the opening exercise. I can make changes on Friday morning.” This is an example to adapt, not a promised transcription result.

Before using that draft, confirm which outline you mean, whether the date is correct, and whether you can actually make changes on Friday. Add missing context with the keyboard rather than repeatedly dictating the entire email.

  1. State why you are writing.
  2. Give only the background the recipient needs.
  3. Finish with a clear request or next step, including a deadline only when one is intended.

Source: MindType — voice typing for Mac and Windows

Check meaning before polishing the wording

Treat readable wording as a draft, not proof that the facts are right. Compare names, dates, amounts and commitments against your original notes or the message you are answering.

Pay particular attention to negatives and conditions. “We can approve this” and “We cannot approve this” differ by very little text but make opposite commitments. Likewise, a request for confirmation should not become a statement that something is already confirmed.

  1. Verify names, organisations and specialist terms character by character when necessary.
  2. Check every date, time, amount and unit against a reliable reference.
  3. Read sentences containing promises, refusals or conditions slowly.
  4. Make sure the final request says who should do what and when.
  5. Remove spoken asides and repeated explanations, then read the whole draft once more.

Source: MindType — voice typing for Mac and Windows

Check delivery details separately

A correct message body can still go to the wrong person or omit an attachment. Make a separate delivery pass after reviewing the wording.

If you are interrupted or cannot verify a detail, leave the message unsent. In Apple Mail, an unfinished message can be saved as a draft and revisited.

  1. Check To, Cc and Bcc, including the full address when names are similar.
  2. For a reply, confirm whether everyone on the conversation needs your response.
  3. Write a subject that accurately describes the final message.
  4. If the text mentions an attachment, add the intended file and confirm its name and version.
  5. Choose deliberately between leaving a draft and clicking Send.

Source: Apple Mail User Guide — Send emails in Mail on Mac

Sent too soon? Use Apple Mail’s Undo Send immediately

Apple Mail provides a brief opportunity to undo sending. Apple documents a 10-second window, but the delay can be changed or turned off. This is a Mail feature, not a MindType feature, and these instructions do not apply to every email app.

  1. Immediately look for Undo Send at the bottom of Mail’s sidebar.
  2. Click it while it is available, then review the message again before sending.
  3. For future messages, open Mail > Settings > Composing and choose an option under Undo send delay.

Source: Apple Mail User Guide — Send emails in Mail on Mac

Troubleshoot the draft without creating duplicates

If text does not appear, avoid immediately dictating the full email again. First establish where the cursor is and whether text was inserted somewhere unexpected.

MindType uses cloud services for transcription and writing processing. Do not treat it as an offline or local-only drafting tool; consider whether the content is appropriate to submit before speaking.

  1. Click the message body and type a short word manually. If that fails, resolve the editor or focus problem first.
  2. If manual typing works, use a short, non-sensitive dictation attempt rather than repeating the entire message.
  3. If the shortcut triggers another action, check the configured shortcut before continuing.
  4. If only a name, number or phrase is wrong, correct that part manually.
  5. After retrying, check for duplicate paragraphs and misplaced text before sending.

Source: MindType — voice typing for Mac and Windows · MindType Privacy Policy

Prepared with AI assistance and checked against linked sources. Product examples are illustrative; results vary. Last reviewed 2026-11-06.