I don't know what you mean: Correcting Siri's recognition mistakes

Here is another of a series of posts about Siri. Steve Sande and I have been hard at work collaborating on "Talking to Siri," an ebook that will soon hit the Kindle store. We're exploring how get the most from Siri, and sharing some of our favorite tips with TUAW readers.

Siri always gives you a second chance. You can always fix what you said or correct Siri's interpretation of your speech. Just tap the talk bubble that represents what you said.

When you do, the bubble turns white and the system keyboard appears. This allows you to type directly into the bubble. You can edit your request directly or tap the microphone button on the keyboard to re-dictate your request. Tap Done to finish.

Sometimes Siri's dictation processor will add a blue line under a word in the text you have spoken. When you tap that word, iOS presents alternative interpretations of your speech. Select the correction you'd like to use, or edit/dictate a replacement.

You can also speak to correct text messages or mail contents that you have composed. The following examples let Siri know that you're not satisfied with what you've said. Notice how you can change the contents completely, add new material, and so forth.

• Change it to Let's get together soon.

• Add: Can't wait to see pictures of William exclamation point.

• No, send it to Megs.

• Cancel.

Before you send a text on its way, you can have Siri read it back to you. Say "Read it to me" or "Read it back to me." When you are satisfied with your text or email message, you can say something like "Yes, send it" to start it on its way.