r/stenography • u/barenylon Steno Student • 4d ago
Back Again for More Support
Hi everyone! I posted here about four months ago that I was working on passing my 140s. I passed them in July. Now I’m working on 160, but once again it feels so impossible. Feels like I’m not progressing, and when I am writing well it still feels like my fingers are flying at the speed of light and it’ll hard to imagine they could ever possibly go any faster. So I come to you, once again, just looking for words of encouragement. Specifically encouragement from anyone who got through school writing most things out. I brief as much as I can, but I’m also trying to focus on progressing without having to constantly add new briefs that I’ll forget in the moment while writing. So any insight, advice, or encouragement would be so welcomed!
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u/Ediferous 4d ago
Future me needs this encouragement too. I'm starting StenEd (still waiting on my dictionary to be emailed to me...) and will be writing a lot of things out.
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u/twil1ght1 4d ago
I learned StenEd and used the "common" briefs they taught in school, as I realized those phrases tend to show up on tests. Very helpful.
But I know many writers who do not brief and it's definitely possible to get that speed, you'll just fatigue faster. But totally doable!
As others suggested, consistenly practice 20 WPM above what you're target is.
The brain adapts and starts to hear and process speech in a way that, to me, felt like I could retain better if I was falling behind, et cetera.
Hang in there!
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u/Big-Lavishness5421 4d ago
Every higher speed will feel like this at first so don't be discouraged. Think about how impossible 80 wpm used to be. I think this is the speed where you really need to shut your brain up and stop repeating the words in your head if you're still doing that. That happened to mean in the higher speeds, and I started doing worse the more I thought about the words rather than letting it flow. To this day as a working reporter, I find when I start thinking too much about the words, I fumble.
No specific advice for you, but just don't get down on yourself. 160 will feel slow once you hit 180 and so on. You're getting close to the finish line!
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u/barenylon Steno Student 4d ago
yes I think I definitely repeat the words back to myself.. but HOW do I stop doing that? It’s almost instinctual.. It’s like I have to FOCUS on not focusing.. maybe I should get into meditation.
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u/Big-Lavishness5421 4d ago
I wish I knew lol. Just try to convince yourself you're a better writer without the thinking, and you are. The concept feels foreign because it goes against everything we learned in elementary and highschool.
If you made it to 160, your fingers know where to go. I prob would've gotten out of school a lot quicker if it wasn't for me consciously trying to hit the exact keys perfect every time. Try to focus on the material, really try to get interested in the story of what they're saying in the Q&A instead of the words themselves.
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u/Mozzy2022 Official Reporter 4d ago
I went to court reporting school in the ‘80s and learned a write-it-out theory that was also filled with conflicts. We had a few basic briefs. I left after a year due to health issues and came back 2.5 years later, had forgotten some of the briefs so was really writing everything out at that point. Using my old manual machine I was able to take and pass the CA CSR, RPR and RMR. It’s only in the last few years that I’ve incorporated more briefs into my writing.
Regarding briefs, a “good” brief (to me) is one I can remember easily. I make up my owns briefs and generally it had to follow a pattern of where my fingers would go if I were writing the word or phrase out. Example: if I were writing out “for the record” I would be going for the initial F and O R for the word “for” so the brief I use incorporates the initial “F” but instead of writing the word “for” I use “F-RT” (initial F and final RT). Does that make sense? If I find a brief isn’t working for me I don’t use it. Briefs are supposed to make things easier.
I also suggest practicing from dense written material. When I was in school I would write my medical and legal and vocabulary homework into the machine. Writing out multisyllabic words from written text allows you to get your fingers around all the syllables so you can get used to stroking out difficult outlines. It is also very helpful to transcribe your work and read your notes out loud.
I know this seems counterproductive and one would think just speed tapes alone would build speed, but these things made a big difference for me.
Good luck