To preview the text-to-speech voice

In Control Panel, double-click the Speech icon.
On the Text To Speech tab, the displayed name in the voices drop-down box is the current active voice.
Click Preview Voice to hear the currently selected voice; the text will be spoken, highlighting the words as they are spoken. During playback, Preview Voice will change to Stop. Click Stop to interrupt the voice playback.

Notes

You can change the text to be read by the Preview Voice by highlighting the text and typing in new text. These changes are not permanent and when you reopen Speech Properties or select a different voice, the text will reset to the default.
To open a Control Panel item, click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click the appropriate icon.