Advanced Steno Techniques

As a reader of the Advanced Steno Techniques, you are entitled to a 30% discount at BuySteno.com.  Please use this coupon code:  AST  (AST stands for Advanced Steno Techniques).

Issue 08

Hard Right-Hand Strokes

There is a rule in stenography that says: The more you hate a stroke, the more you must practice it.  All ya gotta do is find the drills that make you frown.  Here is a list of words that should take that smile off of your face.

The focus of this drill is the right-hand fingering patterns that tend to cause time-wasting stumbles.  My typical advice to my theory classes is that if you can write this list of words at half of your goal speed, you will be passing tests effortlessly.

Oh, how you will hate this list.  You will hate it.  You will hate it.  You will hate it.

Tough.

You want success?  The road leads right through the middle of this pack of unruly finger-twisters.  So buckle down and belly up to the steno machine for some hot and nasty practice.

You can use this list as it is, or -- if you’re a smart cookie -- you can use the Box techniques outlined in the previous newsletters.  The Box technique employs a table or box four or five words across and four or five words down.  You drill left to right, right to left, top to bottom, bottom to top.  Simply put, by varying the pattern of your drill, you create a much more effective drill.

Here is a sample Box that you can use.  Drill left, right, up, down.  As your performance rises, swap out the words with other right-hand problem words.  Create similar boxes for other problem areas, such as vowels, numbers, left-hand strokes, clock time, or anything that gives your fingers a headache -- so to speak.

Cowboy up and steno down, baby.  I wanna dance at your graduation.

Have a great steno day.

As a reader of the Advanced Steno Techniques, you are entitled to a 30% discount at BuySteno.com.  Please use this coupon code:  AST  (AST stands for Advanced Steno Techniques).