DON'T SACRIFICE LEGIBILITY FOR SPEED

Let's Write Steno!

THIS EPISODE WARNS OF SACRIFICING LEGIBILITY OF NOTES FOR SPEED AND THE PITFALLS OF DOING SO IN THE STYLE OF DICTATION. THIS DICTATION IS NOT READ AT ANY PARTICULAR SPEED, BUT READ MORE FOR ACCURACY PRIMARILY. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING. IF YOU HAVE NOT SUBSCRIBED OR LEFT ME A MESSAGE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DO SO. WE ARE ON SEASON 3 AND I HOPE THAT YOU ARE ENJOYING THE PODCAST. ALL SUGGESTIONS ON MATERIAL IS WELCOME. YOU CAN ALSO SUPPORT BY CLICKING ON LISTENER SUPPORT ON ANCHOR.FM.COM @ LET'S WRITE STENO.

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SANDRA'S STENO & SHORTHAND DICTATION

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6sTTPYgBBnKyaQdzarsXgw?view_as=subscriber

FROM PRACTICAL POINTERS FOR SHORTHAND STUDENTS PG 22

DON'T SACRIFICE LEGIBILITY FOR SPEED TRANSCRIPT

THOSE WHO KNOW LITTLE TO NOTHING ABOUT SHORTHAND, FREQUENTLY ASK THE STENOGRAPHER, "HOW FAST CAN YOU WRITE?" AND THE SHORTHAND WRITER WILL CARELESSLY REPLY, " OH! ABOUT 150 to 200 WORDS PER MINUTE. " WHENEVER YOU HEAR SOMEONE TALK LIKE THAT, PUT YOUR HAND IN YOUR POCKET, PULL OUT ALL THE SPACE CASH YOU HAVE, LAY IT ON THE TABLE AND SAY: ALL THIS AND MORE WILL BE YOURS IF YOU WILL KINDLY SIT DOWN AND WRITE IN SHORTHAND WHAT I SHALL DICTATE, AT THE RATE YOU STATE, 150 WORDS PER MINUTE, AND THEN GIVE ME AN ACCURATE TRANSCRIPT OF WHAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN. THEN YOU WILL SEE THE RAPID ONE HIDE HIS DIMINISHED HEAD AND VANISH IN HIS SHELL, AS HE FAINTLY REPLIES, "I USED TO BE ABLE TO WRITE AT THAT SPEED WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL."

NEVER BOAST YOUR SPEED! AIM FOR ACCURACY AND LEGIBILITY FIRST AND SPEED WILL FOLLOW SPEED AS APPLIED TO SHORTHAND IS A COMPARATIVE TERM. EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON THE MATTER DICTATED. WORDS OF ONE SYLLABLE, IT IS TRUE, MAY BE WRITTEN AT GREAT SPEED, OR SPEED MAY BE ATTAINED BY PRACTICING THE SAME MATTER OVER AND OVER AGAIN, BUT SUCH TESTS DO NOT REPRESENT THE ACTUAL, REGULAR, NORMAL RATE AT WHICH THE STUDENT CAN WRITE.

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS SO RICH IN WORDS THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO MAKE THE MOST SKILLFUL WRITER OF SHORTHAND IN THE WORLD, SLACKEN WHEN WORDS ARE DICTATED THAT ARE NOT IN HIS VOCABULARY. HE HAS TO THINK OF SHORTHAND FORMS, AND IN DOING SO HESITATES, AND HENCE THE SPEED IS DIMINISHED

TO ILLUSTRATE A CASE IN POINT: SUPPOSE A SELF-MADE MAN MAKES A SPEECH, AND ALLUDING HIS FATHER'S EARLY LIFE, SAYS: "MY FATHER WAS A FARM LABORER AND USED A PICK AND SHOVEL " THIS IS EASY LANGUAGE, READILY TAKEN DOWN, BUT SUPPOSE FOR A MOMENT THAT YOU HAD TO REPORT THE SPEECH OF A HIGHLY EDUCATED BOSTON LADY WHOSE FATHER WAS, BY A STRANGE COINCIDENCE, ALSO SELF-MADE AND FORMERLY USED A PICK AND SHOVEL. SHE WOULD NOT USE THE SAME LANGUAGE IN CONVEYING THIS INFORMATION, BUT WHATEVER SHE SAID, YOU, AS THE SHORTHAND WRITER, WOULD HAVE TO RECORD VERBATIM SHE MIGHT MURMUR SOMETHING LIKE THIS, "MY ESTIMABLE AND VENERABLE, PATERNAL, ANTECEDENT WAS INDEFATIGABLE, MANIPULATOR OF AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS."

IN TAKING WORDS LIKE THESE, ONE'S BOASTED SPEED WOULD DWINDLE CONSIDERABLY. DO NOT THEN BOAST OF YOUR SPEED, BUT AIM FOR LEGIBILITY AND ACCURACY, SPEED WILL COME GRADUALLY. WHEN YOU HEAR AN UNCOMMON OR UNFAMILIAR WORD, PRACTICE THE OUTLINE OVER AND OVER AGAIN UNTIL IT CAN BE WRITTEN FLUENTLY. THEN FIND OTHERS AND DEAL WITH THEM N THE SAME WAY, NEVER WRITE YOUR SHORTHAND CHARACTERS IN A WAY THAT WILL IMPERIL THEIR LEGIBILITY.

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