Guide

How to make your Windows PC read any text out loud with PowerShell

Published 23 October 2026

A dark Windows PowerShell window showing the Add-Type System.Speech command that makes the computer speak

Short answerIn Windows PowerShell 5.1, load System.Speech and call Speak on a SpeechSynthesizer to hear any text. Use SelectVoice and Rate to change the voice and speed, and SetOutputToWaveFile to save a voice-over. It needs classic PowerShell, not PowerShell 7.

Windows has a built-in speech engine, and Windows PowerShell 5.1 can drive it with nothing to install. Turn your volume up a little, open PowerShell and type:

PowerShell

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Speech; (New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer).Speak('Hello. I am your computer.')

Your PC says the sentence out loud.

See which voices you have

The list depends on your Windows languages:

PowerShell

(New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer).GetInstalledVoices().VoiceInfo.Name

Many PCs have two, for example Microsoft David Desktop and Microsoft Zira Desktop.

The useful part: proofread by ear

Hearing your writing catches repeated words and missing words that your eyes skip. Save your text as essay.txt, then run:

PowerShell

$s = New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer; $s.SelectVoice('Microsoft Zira Desktop'); $s.Rate = -1; $s.Speak((Get-Content .\essay.txt -Raw))

Rate goes from -10 (slow) to 10 (fast). Use a voice name from your own list. This is also a good way to rehearse a speech.

Make a voice-over file

The speech can be saved instead of played. The file lands in the folder you are in:

PowerShell

$s.SetOutputToWaveFile("$PWD\voice.wav"); $s.Speak('Welcome to my presentation.'); $s.Dispose()

Use $PWD rather than a bare file name, because .NET's current folder can differ from PowerShell's. Dispose() closes the file so it can be opened.

Bonus: a beep

PowerShell

[console]::Beep(440, 500)

That is a 440 Hz tone for half a second.

On a Mac

The built-in command is say "Hello".

Good to know

This needs classic Windows PowerShell (version 5.1), not PowerShell 7.
It reads plain text only. For Word files, save them as .txt first.
The voices are the robotic offline ones. They are good for proofreading, less so for finished narration.