SPEEDBUILDING
RESOURCES & ADVICE
|
-
SLOW
DOWN! (Mark Kislingbury
CSR, RMR, CRR)
- SHORTHAND
AS AN ART FORM
- THINK FAST,
SLOW DOWN:
If it's not in your mind, it's not coming
out your fingers! You write shorthand
with your mind; the fingers follow.
If you
know your keyboard,
are very sure of your
finger combinations,
you can think fast and
write in fewer strokes.
By using your mind you
can make your hands
less "busy",
which helps accuracy,
speed, not to mention
calmness.
- THE
SOUND CHUNKS EXERCISE:
Throw away the tapes and books. Sit
down at your steno keyboard once finished
theory. Think about where the finger
combinations are for consonants and
vowels going from the left to the right
and practise alternating between them
so the small differences become automatic.
Also, say the combinations out loud
as you go. Don't aim for speed; aim
for really paying attention to what
keys you are striking.
- For
example,
alternate
between
initial
F and initial
M, then
between
initial
F, M, and
N, then
between
K and W
(so you
don't confuse "could" and "would" with
the slip
of a finger),
then initial
D, B, G.
Then work
on FR and
FL, GR and
GL, BR and
BL, then
FR and GR,
GR and BR,
FL and BR.
Then add
vowels into
the mix:
FRY-FLY,
GROW, GLOW,
BRA-BLAH.
Continue
until you
have explored
all the
combinations
you can
think of.
Thinking
through
the keyboard
like this
forces your
mind to
work and
not be force
fed by a
teacher,
tape, or
textbooks.
It is especially
important
to work
on the left
hand as
that's where
most words
start.
- Continue
working
on combinations,
including
vowels and
the right
hand. Do
vowels alone:
A, O, E,
U, AEU,
AOU, OE,
AOE, OEU,
AU, OU,
AOEU. Combine
them with
the left
hand and
right hand:
STOER-STAOER.
REUFP-STEUFP,
etc., EUPBT-EPBT,
EUPBT-EPBD.
- IMPORTANT!
When sounding
out individual
consonants
or vowels
do not use
the names
of sounds
as in reciting
the alphabet;
instead,
use their
phonetic
sounds,
i.e., the
B sound
as Buh,
C sound
as Kuh,
D sound
as Duh,
E sound
as "e" in "bed".
It is these
phonetic
sounds which
trigger
the automatic
muscle memory
so important
in speeding
up your
response
time.
- Play
computer games:
"Twitch" computer games which require quick reaction
time can help boost mental concentration and the ability
to "be in the moment" over extended periods of
time. Try Winbrick
- REALLY LISTEN
TO WORKING REPORTERS
ON THEIR SPEED DEVELOPMENT
HABITS, including reading
what
Pitman
shorthand writers have
had to say about
speed
development.
- MENTAL PRACTICE:
While still a student and continuing
on into your first year or so
or working, at the end of the
day look at either your steno
notes or your CAT translation
and see where you've had difficulties
with words, phrases, numbers,
or punctuation and slowly and
quietly think about how you
can write them in a way which
is convenient for you. The outlines
in the theory books aren't the
total answer. Burn the outlines
into your mind. Think about
the subtle differences between
writing "lightening" and "lightning".
This type of practice becomes
a very quick method of really
being sure you know your keyboard.
|
