How to enable the speak text under the mouse pointer feature in macOS 11 Big Sur

1. Select the Apple icon  in the top left corner of the screen.
2. Select System Preferences from the menu.
   
3. On the System Preferences window, select the Accessibility icon.
   
4. On the Accessibility screen, select Spoken Content from the left-hand column.
   
5. In the right column, tick the checkbox for Speak items under the pointer.
   
6. To change the settings for Speak items under the pointer, select its corresponding Options button.
   
7. In the Options window, you can change the settings for:
   • Speak items under the pointer - the default setting is Only when zoomed. This means items are only read aloud if you are also using the Zoom screen magnification feature **link here**. Alternatively, you can choose to have items always read aloud. Select the drop-down menu for Speak items under the pointer and select Always.
     
   • Speech Verbosity - verbosity is the amount of feedback you receive about what is under the pointer. For instance, if you hover over a button when verbosity is set to low, only the text on the button will be read aloud. If set to high, the text on the button will be read aloud along with the description, “button”. To change the level of Verbosity, select the drop-down menu for Speech Verbosity and choose from Low, Medium, or High.
     
   • After delay - by default, items will be read aloud as soon as you move the pointer over them. This can become overwhelming when moving the pointer quickly across the screen. You can change this so that you need to rest the pointer over an item for a set period of time before it is read aloud. To do so, adjust the slider for After delay.
     
8. When you are happy with these settings, select OK.
   
9. When you have finished, click the Close (red) button in the top left corner of the System Preferences window.

Note: If this does not work, it could be because someone else manages your computer settings (an IT department or administrator). If this is the case, you will need to contact them to access these settings or for further help.