diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index be2a2fa..926f34c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -144,6 +144,7 @@ For unauthenticated local endpoints (e.g. Ollama):
 - `chatTemplateKwargs` _(optional)_ - extra keyword arguments passed to the model's chat template (e.g. `{"enable_thinking": false}` for Qwen models to disable chain-of-thought)
 - `retries` _(optional)_ - number of retry attempts for transient LLM failures
 - `tmpDir` _(optional)_ - directory used for the temporary STT recording file (default `/tmp`)
+- `trimSilence` _(optional)_ - whether to remove leading silence from recordings (default `true`). Set to `false` if your recordings are missing the first word or syllable
 
 ### Logging
 
diff --git a/lib/stt.js b/lib/stt.js
index 809703b..ed46062 100644
--- a/lib/stt.js
+++ b/lib/stt.js
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ function forceKillSox(logger) {
   } catch {}
 }
 
-function startRecording(kv, toast, logger) {
+function startRecording(kv, toast, logger, trimSilence = true) {
   if (soxProc) {
     logger?.log("STT", "Start recording skipped: sox already running", "debug");
     return;
@@ -132,9 +132,10 @@ function startRecording(kv, toast, logger) {
   const inputArgs = mic ? ["-t", "coreaudio", mic] : ["-d"];
   logger?.log("STT", `Starting recording mic=${mic || "system default"}`, "debug");
 
+  const silenceArgs = trimSilence ? ["silence", "1", "0.1", "1%"] : [];
   soxProc = spawn(
     "sox",
-    [...inputArgs, "-r", "16000", "-c", "1", "-b", "16", wavFile, "silence", "1", "0.1", "1%"],
+    [...inputArgs, "-r", "16000", "-c", "1", "-b", "16", wavFile, ...silenceArgs],
     {
       stdio: ["ignore", "ignore", "pipe"],
       detached: false,
@@ -517,7 +518,7 @@ export function registerSTT(api, kv, complete, prompts, opts, logger) {
           toast("Stopping, transcribing...");
           doTranscribePipeline(kv, complete, client, toast, systemPrompt, false, logger);
         } else {
-          startRecording(kv, toast, logger);
+          startRecording(kv, toast, logger, opts.trimSilence);
           if (recording) toast("Recording... press again to transcribe");
         }
       },