Microsoft Word has a feature that will cause it to read your document aloud. Simply click where you want it to start, enable the feature, then click the “Play” button.
This feature has some default settings, including the speed at which it reads, as well as the voice that it uses.
But the settings that it uses initially aren’t the only ones available, and you can elect to have it use a different voice when it reads the document.
Our guide below will show you how to change the speaking voice in Microsoft Word when it’s reading a document.
How to Use a Different Voice When Microsoft Word Reads a Document
The steps in this article were performed using the Microsoft Word for Office 365 version of the application. Many other recent versions of Microsoft Word include this feature as well.
Step 1: Open the document in Microsoft Word.
Step 2: Select the Review tab at the top of the window.

Step 3: Click the Read Aloud button.

Step 4: Click the Settings button at the right side of the window.

Step 5: Click the dropdown menu under Voice selection, then choose the desired voice.

Note that this settings menu also lets you change the reading speed as well. You can click the bar on the slider and move it to the left to read slower, or move it to the right to read faster.
See also
- How to insert a check mark in Microsoft Word
- How to do small caps in Microsoft Word
- How to center text in Microsoft Word
- How to merge cells in Microsoft Word tables
- How to insert a square root symbol in Microsoft Word
Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read over 50 million times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.
Disclaimer: Most of the pages on the internet include affiliate links, including some on this site.