When you drill for speed, you cannot afford to hesitate or carry. You certainly should not attempt to learn new outlines. And you sure as heck better be able to drop.

All you should be focusing on is the speed.

Believe it or not, good speed-building drills should be relatively short. Ultimate speed cannot be maintained for long periods of time.

Be sure to use plenty of slow drills during your speed building. You will perform much better if you alternate between high and low speed.

Never, ever, ever do a high-speed drill if your writing is already suffering from lack of clarity, too much hesitation, or if you carry too many words.

Do a slow drill to warm up.
Do not drill until you are fully warmed up and writing naturally, clearly, and cleanly.
Select a easy drill that is above your normal speed. It should be composed of words that you know how to stroke.
Start the drill.
Listen to the first minute of the drill. Do not stroke anything. Many people would disagree with this step. They say that students can't preview the tests, and pros can't preview the testimony. They are right about that, but they are wrong about speedbuilding. When you learn speed, you should remove all other obstacles from your path. Listening to the drill before you begin will help you familiarize yourself with the strokes needed. By the way, those who disagree with this step are confusing testing skills (how to make proper decisions to maximize your score) with speed building (basically reaction skills
Rewind the drill.
Play the drill. Begin stroking.
Stop the drill if any of the following occur:

You begin hesitating more than normal.
You write trashy outlines.
You carry a large amount of words at any one time.

You drop a large amount of words at one particular time. Do not worry about frequent drops of a word or two. But do not allow yourself to have a large drop at any time.
Your hands begin pounding the keys.
Your body feels unbalanced or the steno machine feels like it is leaning to one side. This is fairly common when people write out of control. (Lucky you, if this has never happened)

Stop the drill after the first minute.
Relax for a minute. It is important to pause and calm down before starting again.
Do a slow drill to reinforce good, clean strokes.
Relax for a minute.
Repeat the speed drill.
Stay strong at all times and kick some steno butt.

Goofy

Lower Keys Finger Drill

How to Take a Test

The Four Basic Writers

How to Grade a Test

Harry S Truman and why you don't put a period after the middle initial.

John F. Kennedy and why he is not a jelly doughnut.

A harangue by Buzz Gadflie on those junky plastic paper trays.

Speed Building Joseph Kinaim

Words of Wisdom

The Rhythm Method Barb DeWitt