Are you worrying about accuracy while increasing shorthand speed? You are not alone in this situation. Many people, such as students, professionals, etc., face this problem. Shorthand is important for exceptional journalists, court reporters (stenographers), and secretaries. So, if you are in a professional life and facing accuracy, it’s a severe problem that should be avoided. Don’t worry. In this article, I have shared detailed tips and tricks on maintaining accuracy while increasing shorthand speed.
I am a professional stenographer in the Judiciary with 12 years of experience. The fundamental rule to maintain accuracy while increasing shorthand speed is to start with 15WPM shorthand dictation with recording on any device or mobile, then practice repeatedly every day for a minimum of 1 hour. Then, practice difficult words separately. After practising, increase speed gradually.
Read More: English Shorthand For People With Dyslexia
The Balance Between Speed and Accuracy
Prioritizing speed in note-taking may result in reduced legibility, which could lead to missing essential words. This, in turn, may affect the overall clarity of the transcript. It is essential to balance speed and accuracy to ensure effective communication. Focusing solely on speed can make your notes challenging and easier to read, leading to the omission of entire words and ultimately reducing transcription clarity.
Balancing accuracy and speed is essential; while accuracy guarantees that recorded information is clear and correctly transcribed, a lack of speed may result in missing crucial points. It’s important to consider both aspects for optimal outcomes. Practice your shorthand writing quickly, using clear and distinct strokes to find the right balance. Remember, your skills will grow and improve as you keep at it!
1. Strengthen Your Foundation
Master the shorthand basics before attempting to increase your speed. Your shorthand alphabet, abbreviations, and symbols should roll off your fingers. When these symbols fade into instinctual memory, you can shift your focus from recalling what is being said. This is how you strengthen your foundation.
Return to Basic Symbols: You must practice them occasionally to keep them in your head.
Learn Common Phrases: Create shorthand for industry-specific phrases, names, and expressions that you frequently use and try to memorize them.
Apply Mnemonics: Write mnemonic devices to retain more complicated shorthand symbols. This can speed up and make the memorization of shorthand strokes more intuitive.
With a solid foundation, you can grow that shorthand speed.
2. Prioritize Legibility in Your Practice
Shorthand accuracy relies on the ability to read and convert into long-hand. When practising shorthand, make sure you write with precise, readable strokes. This does not mean writing slowly; it means having a consistent set of identifiable shorthand characters, even at a higher speed.
To improve legibility:
Steady Practice: Develop the habit of writing shorthand slowly and steadily, increasing speed only when you achieve 100% accuracy.
Practice and Check Yourself: Go over your shorthand notes after every practice. This skill will expose if there are any unreadable strokes or patterns of inaccuracy.
3. Increase Speed in Increments
The best way to increase your shorthand speed – but keep accuracy high – is to increase speed bit by bit. You can try to force yourself to write faster, but a speed booster usually brings sacrificed accuracy. If you increase speed incrementally, you can keep control of your shorthand strokes, and accuracy should not suffer.
Take Small Steps: Instead of shooting for a big increase in speed, set small, achievable goals for each practice session.
Monitor Progress: Track your shorthand speed with the stopwatch and note where you compromise accuracy. Having your baseline Starting SSpeed to compare and see why you’re improving will help keep you driven and on track.
4. Enhance Listening Skills
The art of shorthand is not just about writing but also about real listening. Challenge yourself to listen and quickly understand the message while catching any quotes, which can be a fun way to boost your shorthand speed! Plus, it helps you keep your writing accurate and precise. Here are several methods that help you improve your tailored listening skills.
Practice with Audio Transcripts—Listen to a speech, a podcast, or a recording and take shorthand notes. This helps you focus on the key phrases and differentiate the essential details.
Summarize: Focus on the highlights and make a note of them. When using shorthand, you are not copying things word for word but capturing key elements.
Listen for Changes in Tempo: Use recordings at different tempos. Listening to slow and fast speakers will help you quickly adapt to different speaking paces.
5. Adopt Effective Abbreviations
While writing shorthand, using abbreviations of words is an excellent technique to increase shorthand speed. Abbreviations reduce the number of strokes required to write a word, thus saving time. For example, if a word comes while taking dictation” as “judicial”, al,” you c “n wr” to its abbreviation” an s “JD.” ut r “mem” er, abbreviations must be unambiguous to maintain accuracy. To use abbreviations effectively:
Create Abbreviations for Your Industry—If you work in a particular field, develop industry-specific acronyms that promote common language. For instance, attorneys can shorten words such as “plain “iff” to “p “tf.
Emp” o” s U “iversal Abbreviations — Familiar with Universal Shorthand Abbreviations for Common Words/Phrases. For example, you can “see” bc” i “st” “d” f “bec” “se” or “we” “stea” of “bet” een”
Be “Con” ist” nt — The key to abbreviations is consistency. Stick to a list of acronyms that you use all the time. This keeps your shorthand concise and clear.
6. Minimize Distractions
It is challenging to maintain accuracy when distractions cause missed words and errors. To practice shorthand, there must be no distractions to stay even more focused and aware.
Choose a Calm Environment: Make sure the place you practice is free from distractions. In this note, you will focus only on listening and writing.
Get noise-cancelling Headphones: When practising with audio recordings, use noise-cancelling headphones. They help cut background noise so you can concentrate on the content.
Take Short Sessions: Shorter practice sessions are often more effective than longer ones. These little snippets of practice keep the head in the game because they force you to think about striking the strings properly while slowly building up your tempo.
7. Practice Regularly and Diversely
To master shorthand, you must practice regularly. Practising regularly strengthens muscle memory equivalent to strokes used in shorthand and allows you to practice speed changes without losing accuracy.
Daily Practice: Short, regular practice sessions can improve your shorthand speed and precision over time. Repetition helps to strengthen how easily you can remember shorthand symbols and phrases.
Mix Your Practice Material: Practice listening to different kinds of content (Interviews, Meetings, Speeches, Dialog, etc). This variety will prepare you for various scenarios and different speeds at which people speak so that you will improve both speed and comprehension.
Observe and Self-Critique: Record your shorthand sessions and listen to them afterward to find differences. This will quickly reveal your shorthand tendencies and help identify the areas.
8. Develop Finger and Hand Dexterity
As shorthand writing is physically demanding, hand and finger dexterity must be improved for better speed and accuracy. So, if you want to last longer while writing shorthand, exercises that help strengthen your hands and work on their flexibility will be great.
Exercises for hand strength: you can use stress balls or even do some specific hand exercises that can help make your grip comfy and help with muscle cramping that can occur with long periods of shorthand.
Stretch your fingers before and after shorthand practice to make them more flexible. Shorthand should not just be readable; it should also be effortless. Flexible fingers provide a smooth and fast stroke domain to reduce fatigue.
Develop Endurance: Begin by practising shorthand for shorter periods, gradually increasing the time to develop endurance. With this method, you can stay accurate through long periods of writing.
9. Master Mental Preparation Techniques
Good mental clarity contributes to accuracy and speed. To avoid making mistakes and understand your writing, you must stay mentally aware, which is essential when writing shorthand. Here is how to get your head in the game:
Try Breathing Deep Relaxation: During the shorthand session, we can practice deep breathing exercises, a great way to ease nerves, help focus, and improve clarity of thought in particularly stressful situations.
Pauses for Mental Freshness: During practice intervals, you should also take little breaks to keep your mind fresh. You do not want to consider this when using complicated or fast shorthand.
Visualization: You must be prepared to deal with difficult shorthand speeds during important sessions where transcription accuracy is critical.
10. Leverage Technology and Feedback
Leveraging technology can provide invaluable insights into your shorthand progress and areas for improvement. Use audio recording devices, apps, and online resources to aid your practice.
- Record Your Shorthand: Recording audio while practising shorthand allows you to revisit the session, ensuring you don’t miss critical details. It also donates an opportunity to compare your shorthand notes with the audio to pinpoint areas for improvement.
- Use Shorthand Apps: Some apps are designed explicitly for shorthand practice. These can help you measure speed, track progress, and suggest improvements.
- Seek Feedback: Partner with someone experienced in shorthand who can provide constructive feedback on your speed and accuracy. Peer feedback can identify errors or habits you might not notice.
11. Keep a Positive Mindset
It is important to keep a positive attitude when developing neither shorthand speed nor accuracy. Long-lasting success can take some time, so being patient and persistent is what counts most. Take it one step at a time, and remember, persistent motion can define the course.
Keep it Fun: Reward yourself similarly and take it light-heartedly. Please create new records, be it a new speed or even a problematic abbreviation word. Simple acts make a big difference. In time, these experiences can shape your motivation, serve as the polar opposite of distractions, and solidify your commitment.
Be patient: developing speed in shorthand while maintaining accuracy is a process. By managing your expectations and keeping a positive outlook, you will not get burned out and will be on your way to continuous improvement.
Conclusion
However, increasing your shorthand speed without mistakes combines practice, technique, and mental preparation. With a good foundation, training, good listening skills, and practical strategies, a student can achieve a high degree of competency in shorthand as an experienced shorthand writer. It is a slow process — but with perseverance and determination, you can attain the judicious mix of speed and accuracy that well-trained stroke writers command.
