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Steno Question No. 1

The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair. Mary Heaton Vorse

THE SITUATION: You are in your 200s. There is a certain word that you stumble over each and every time you encounter it. You have a brief for it, but it doesn't come to you as quickly as other briefs.

THE QUESTION: Should you continue to use this brief?

There are several things to consider. All of them have to do with how fast you can write that word.

At 200, it is your goal to write 200 words per minute or 20 words every six seconds. This breaks down to 3 1/3 words every second.

At syllabic count, you have 0.214 seconds to write each syllable.
At word count, you have 0.33 seconds to write each word.
1. How long does it take you write that brief? At 200, a half-second hesitation costs you around two strokes depending on how you look at it.
2. Do you still save time even though you hesitate? For instance, if you hesitate over the brief for "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," you will still save a substantial amount of time.
3. Can you switch to another stroke and avoid the hesitation?
4. How long would it take you to write the word if you turned it into a two-stroke outline?

If this is a new brief, you need to look at things differently. You will write new strokes slower. Some of them will take some time to sink in.

If you are in the low speeds, be careful with the advice on this page. You may need to give it more time. You won't learn every stroke instantly. Some are easier than others. Duh.

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