Want to listen to your emails in Microsoft Outlook instead of reading them? It’s easier than you think! This tutorial shows you how to use Outlook’s built-in text-to-speech feature with Immersive Reader and Narrator on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Outlook is one of the most popular email clients and has a ton of awesome features to help you better manage all your emails in one place. One of the newly added accessibility features is the ability to listen to emails using Narrator via Immersive Reader. With this feature, you can select any email and Outlook will read it aloud for you. This “read aloud” functionality is helpful for those with visual impairments, reading difficulties, or anyone who wants to listen to their emails on the go.
In this tutorial, let me show you the steps to listen to email in Outlook using the built-in Immersive Reader and Narrator on Windows 11 and Windows 10.
Before You Begin
- The steps shown below are for New Outlook. If you still using the old version, please update to the new Outlook before proceeding.
- Ensure you have working speakers or headphones connected to your computer to listen to emails.
Listening to Emails in Outlook: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Press the “Windows key” to open the Start menu.
- Search and open “Outlook“.
- Open the email you want to listen to.
- Click the “More actions” (…) icon above the email.
- Select the “Show in immersive reader” option.
- Select the word from where you want to start listening.
- Click the “Play” button at the bottom.
- Outlook will read aloud the email using Windows Narrator.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
As the first step, open the Outlook application in Windows. You can do that by searching for “Outlook” in the Start menu and clicking the “Open” option.

Once the Outlook application is opened, go to the email account of choice on the left sidebar and select the email you want to listen to in the middle panel.

On the right panel, click the “More actions” (three horizontal dots) icon above the email body. Next, select the “Show in immersive reader” option.

The above action opens the email in the Immersive Reader mode which shows your entire email with a monospace font and bigger font size. Scroll down to the part from which you want to start listening and select the word. Next, press the “Play” button to start listening to the email in Outlook.

As soon as you press the button, Outlook starts reading your email out loud. As it is reading, it automatically highlights the word that it is currently reading.

To change the speed and voice of the narrator, click the “Voice Settings” icon next to the “Play” button.

You can change the narrator speed using the “Voice Speed” slider and choose between Male and Female voices under the “Voice Selection” section.

That is all. It’s that simple to listen to your emails in Outlook. To exit the Immersive Mode, click the “Back” button on the top left corner.
Good to know: How to listen to web pages in Windows
Wrapping Up — Using Immersive Reader and Narrator to Listen to Emails in Outlook
In conclusion, if you have difficulty reading emails or want to listen to emails on the go, you can use the Windows Narrator and Outlook’s Immersive Reader to listen to any email with just a couple of clicks. While listening, you can also change the speed and voice.
A couple of tips for using this feature: It works best if you select the specific text you want Outlook to read. Otherwise, you might have to hear unnecessary things like links, gibberish text, etc. Also, while the voice might sound a bit robotic now, hopefully, Outlook will add more natural-sounding voices in the future.
If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to help.