# Voice commands > Say a phrase and Cephable acts. How commands are matched, and the settings that make recognition reliable. Source: https://help.cephable.com/docs/using-cephable/voice-commands Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMop3CufYsM --- **Control** is the first of Cephable's three modes: you send commands to the app you are using. Those commands live in your [App Controls](/docs/using-cephable/app-controls) — the sets that tell Cephable what to listen for and what to do, usually one set per app — and Cephable switches to the right set as you move between apps. This page covers running them by voice. You say a phrase, Cephable matches it against your active App Controls, and it runs the action attached to it — a keystroke, a click, a macro. Recognition happens on your device. Nothing is streamed anywhere. ## Starting Click **Voice controls** on the Workspace, or use the microphone toggle in the Panel header. The Panel shows what Cephable heard and what it did with it, and you can pause listening without stopping the microphone entirely. ![The Cephable Panel listening, showing a recognized phrase and the command it triggered](https://help.cephable.com/screenshots/desktop-panel-voice.png) _Voice in the Panel_ ## Speaking versus commanding The Panel's composer decides what your voice does. On **Auto** — the default — a phrase that matches one of your controls fires that control, and anything else becomes a Create or Automate task. Set the mode to **Control** explicitly if you only ever want commands. The full mode list is on [The Workspace and the Panel](/docs/using-cephable/panel). ## Making recognition reliable Accuracy depends more on phrasing than on your microphone. :::steps :::step title="Pick the right microphone" Cephable lists the microphones it can see. Choose your headset explicitly rather than relying on the system default, which changes when you plug things in. ::: :::step title="Use two or three syllable phrases" Single syllables are the hardest to match. "Go" is unreliable; "go back" is not. ::: :::step title="Keep phrases distinct from each other" Read your control list out loud. If two entries sound similar to you, they will to the recognizer too. ::: ::: ### Optimistic Faster Voice Controls This setting makes voice controls faster and more responsive, but less forgiving. Turn it off if you want steadier recognition, particularly when you mix commands with dictation. ![Cephable microphone settings showing auto start, optimistic voice controls, intelligent voice commands, and intelligent dictation options](https://help.cephable.com/screenshots/desktop-microphone-settings.png) _Microphone settings_ ## Intelligent Voice Commands > **This section is included with Cephable Plus.** > > Intelligent Voice Commands let you say commands naturally — Cephable's on-device AI works out what you meant instead of requiring an exact phrase match. Included with Cephable Plus and above. ## Talkback Talkback controls make Cephable speak a phrase out loud when triggered. They are configured alongside your other controls — useful for AAC-style setups where a control should produce speech rather than a keystroke. ## Dictating rather than commanding Commands and dictation compete for the same words, which is why dictation is its own mode. See [Create](/docs/using-cephable/create). ## Getting the most out of voice Four things make the biggest difference, roughly in order of impact: :::steps :::step title="Get the microphone close" Position beats hardware. A microphone near your mouth outperforms an expensive one across the room, and a headset beats a laptop's built-in array. ::: :::step title="Turn on Voice Focus if you are on Windows 11" Windows 11 has a Voice Focus microphone setting that cuts background noise. It is in your operating system's microphone settings, not Cephable's. ::: :::step title="Write phrases you would not say by accident" Two or three syllables, distinct from each other, and unlike your normal speech. "Next" fires constantly in conversation; "go next" almost never does. ::: :::step title="Put commands you want everywhere in Global Controls" Global Controls work in every app, whichever App Controls are active, so you do not need to repeat the same command in each set. ::: ::: :::faq title="Common questions" :::question title="Cephable says my command ran, but nothing happened." Almost always focus. Cephable sends input to whichever app is active, exactly like a keyboard — so if the app you meant is not focused, or the action is not available on the screen you are on, the command fires and lands nowhere. Check the right app is active and the action is available, then look for a conflict banner in Cephable. ::: :::question title="How do I stop commands firing while I am in a meeting?" Pause voice controls rather than stopping the microphone. Pausing leaves everything loaded, so resuming is one click — stopping means waiting for it to start up again. ::: :::question title="Can I use natural phrasing instead of exact commands?" Yes, with **Intelligent Voice Commands** — see the section above. It needs Cephable Plus or higher, and it means a control named "bold text" still responds when you say "make that bold". ::: :::question title="Why does it mishear one particular command every time?" Read your control list out loud. If two entries sound alike to you, they will to the recognizer — rename one. If it is unique and still missed, lengthen it. Short commands are the least reliable thing you can write. ::: ::: ## Troubleshooting If Cephable is not responding, work through [Voice recognition problems](/docs/troubleshooting/voice-recognition).