I have good luck dictating text in Mail or Messages. It has trained me to be a bit more precise in enunciation and to be care to say each word distinctly, but I probably should do that anyway. And one other thing, never dictate with the television on. You can get some really interesting results that way, but it is unlikely to be what you want.
If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?
