microphone not responding to my voice please help

Hi I have office 2000 on my computer. I am able to receive and hear voice over my speaker when i am using my internet for messaging but they are not able to receive my voice. I have plugged the mic into the correct socket. I have checked the speech tab in control panel, It does not have sound recognition tab, but it does show voice recording default device as realtek AC97 audio. I have checked the trouble shooting options and after it checks the hardware and software, it comes up as everything is working. please please help me.