Re: Text-to-speech for mic queue?

[Jeffrey Haas <[e-mail]>]

> On Sep 8, 2025, at 11:17 AM, Mike Ounsworth <[e-mail]> wrote:
> 
> I think the mic queue system is overall great, and it allows WG meetings to have to-the-point discussions in a controlled and orderly way. However, it rewards people who can A) think quickly on their feet, and B) articulate their point well in spoken English. This means we are probably missing great contributions from people who are "processors" or "ponderers" (ie need time to develop and polish their thought), or non-native English speakers.
> 
> I wonder if it would be possible to add a button to either Zulip or MeetEcho to have a comment read at the Mic line by a text-to-speech bot? (I'm thinking, you right-click on a comment "Read At Mic" -- or when you enter the Mic Queue in MeetEcho, you have the option to paste in text to be read -- which places the text-to-speech bot in the Mic Queue under your name). This would allow the processor / ponderer type participant to prepare their comment in advance, possibly with the help of Google Translate to get the English right.
> 
> Is this a thing that's possible, or has been brought up before?

Comments from chat in whatever forms we have are often read to the meeting.  Sometimes these have been those who don't have working microphones.  We also have past practices before remote participation via meetecho leveled the field vs. those in the on-site meeting. 

What I tend to see in most meetings as a disadvantage is non-native English speakers having given a presentation and being unable to readily respond to mic questions.  Typically, they are then taken to chat or e-mail for followup.

Establishing the practice for those who have a question and would prefer to have the question read by the chair / "jabber scribe" for whatever reason is certainly reasonable.

-- Jeff