How to Make Word Read to You
From within Microsoft Word, there are two main features to make Word read to you. The first is Read Aloud, which will read the entire page. The second is Speak, which will read aloud only the text you’ve selected.
How to Use Read Aloud in Word
You can only use the Read Aloud feature in Word if you have Office 2019, Office 2021, or Microsoft 365. Otherwise, you’ll need to upgrade Office to enjoy this feature. Remember, you don’t need to use your mouse to control Microsoft Word Read Aloud. You can use the following keyboard shortcuts instead.
CTRL + Alt + Space: Launch the Read Aloud featureCTRL + Space: Play or pause voice narrationCTRL + Left Arrow: Move voice narration to the previous paragraphCTRL + Right Arrow: Skip narration to the next paragraphAlt + Left Arrow: Slow down voice narration speedAlt + Right Arrow: Speed up voice narration speed
Enable and Use Speak in Word
Microsoft incorporated the Speak feature into Microsoft Office 2003. That means even if you don’t have a newer version of Microsoft Word with Read Aloud available, you can still use the Speak feature. The only difference is you’ll need to highlight the text you want to hear narrated first.
