Four Folds to Freedom

Barb DeWitt

It is preferable that you read all of the strokes that you write, whether in steno class or at home. Many stenography students do not want to do this. It takes too much time. The reality of the situation is that, if it takes a long time to read your notes, you will not produce a good transcript when you need to or you will not do it in time. That means that you won't be passing tests that you should pass.

Read your steno notes. If you have to struggle with your stenography outlines, then you should clean them up. How many of your errors are the result of sloppy strokes? Worse than that, how many times do you misread a correct stroke because you have become used to "interpreting" your unclear notes?

Here is a method to quickly check your strokes to ensure that you are drilling correctly. By the way, that is the purpose of readback in your steno class. Whether you are at home or at school, if your strokes are not up to standards, you should adjust immediately.

Now to the nitty-gritty. This technique is quick and simple. No muss, no fuss, no nauseating cleanup on Aisle Four. Use it to warm up, cool down, and all points in between.

Start a court reporting drill. Type one minute. Check the first four folds for accuracy. Are your strokes strong and clear? Can you read your notes with little hesitation? If not, then you should adjust your strokes. Slow down your fingers and accept more drops. Perhaps you should choose a different steno drill with easier outlines. Find a way to write clear enough to be able to translate your notes.

Repeat this process of one-minute drills until you can write clearly at the beginning of your drill. When you are satisfied that the first four folds of your drill are generally clear, turn your attention to the last four folds. Are those strokes legible? Hopefully they are.

If they are not clear, then you are losing control somewhere in that first minute. You must have command of your writing at all times. You are building a career. Do not accept inferior workmanship.

One point to remember is that you should be focusing on the strokes that you make. Ignore the words that you drop. You haven't stroked them. There is nothing to check. Work on the strokes that you have. Clear them up, and you will automatically drop fewer words.

If you are writing accurately and you want to build endurance, then it is time for longer drills. Stenography is a physical skill. You will become fatigued over time. You must guard against the disintegration of your writing style, and you do that by stroking for longer and longer periods of time.

From here on, you must be positive that you are beginning each stenography drill accurately because now you will not be reading all of those strokes. You will be operating under the assumption that you have established a strong foundation. Instead, you will be reading the final folds.

Your first long stenography drill (after warming up) may be only two minutes. There is no sense in writing five or ten minutes if you lose control or focus sooner than that.

Check the final folds of each drill. Ensure that you are writing competently. If so, drill again for the same length of time or longer. If not, drill for a shorter period of time. Direct your attention to stroking proficiently. You will be a professional steno writer one day. Quality is more important than quantity.

Make sure that every drill starts out with strong strokes. If not, then it is the beginning of the drill that requires your attention.

Remember that reading only certain portions of your notes will not give you the best results. It is always preferable that you read 100 percent of your notes, but when you can't do that, you now have a system to reliably check your steno notes.

Increase the length of your court reporting drill as you gain control. Decrease the length as you lose control.

It works the same way for speed-building drills. Increase the speed if you are writing correctly. Decrease the speed when you break down.

Don't practice in a slovenly, slipshod manner. Keep your court reporting standards high.

You can do it. I have faith in you.

Barb by the lake