Hope everybody is enjoying the warmer weather (in the UK at least)! I had a very nice request from a viewer asking for some slightly faster dictation material. So here it is - a sample exercise at 130wpm. Hopefully it will be useful to everybody, whether you're just starting out and want to see how long you can stick with the speed (any notes are better than none) or whether you're getting comfortable around the 110-130 mark and just fancy a four minute exercise. Enjoy and good luck. [caption id="attachment_409" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="130 wpm click to download"][/caption]

There always seems to be a fair amount of interest in pens whenever we mention them. It's only natural since it is, other than a notepad, the tool of the trade. What I was hoping to do was build up a picture of how we all write our shorthand using a poll. Knowing it's a case of horses for courses when it comes to shorthand, by which I mean your writing implements for Pitman or Gregg are likely to be different to Teeline, I've broken it down into two separate polls - one of the first two, one for Teeline. As always, if you've got a recommendation or have discovered an uber-pen, please share! Thanks for reading this far. [poll id="4"] [poll id="5"]

One question I get asked frequently - other than "are you writing Chinese?" - is "why would anybody want to learn shorthand?" Well, it got me thinking. Obviously there's the work aspect - journalists, secretaries and so on need shorthand blah, blah, blah. We all know the stock response. But are there any other uses shorthand can be put to which might entice non-journalists, non-secretaries, non-medics and so on to take up the art? What follows are a few of my suggestions about how shorthand can improve your life outside of work. Keeping Diaries Secret We all know we should never look at another person's diary. They're secret, or meant to be. But why trust in the good natures of others when we can write them in shorthand? It means if somebody wants to know what pearls of truth or secrets are hidden within, they'll have to learn shorthand for themselves. And, as we all know, people who are willing to learn shorthand tend to be decent folks who would never dream of looking at somebody's diaries. Problem solved. Graphic Design Regular visitors will know I was once approached by a graphic design student interested in using shorthand in her designs. What a great idea, ...

Thanks to Bill and Patricia for inspiring this post! As Bill points out the Dasi pen firm went out of business ( I think in the 1970s?) which left the entire world of shorthand worse off as a result. Luckily, if we're prepared to look slightly further than the nearest stationery shop and its vast range of biros, there's still some excellent pens out there. One of the best I've tried is the fantastic Pelikan Steno pen. It is incredibly responsive, ideal for shorthand, feels well weighted in the hand, and the ink flow is superb even at higher speeds. I don't know whether Pelikan still makes this model, but they can be picked up second hand from specialists. Pelikan make a number of other pens and I have to admit to being a bit partial to this brand as they always feel right in my hand for some reason. I've also become particularly enamoured with the Pilot V5 (and V7) which is a super glider of a pen across a page. I actually tested this against a standard biro once and found my shorthand speed was a good 5-7wpm higher with the Pilot than the standard biro (done using a 120wpm ...

Type "shorthand" into Google and it'll throw back about 3million references. Many appear to relate to computer programming or the curious art of texting people on mobiles. But in and amongst these three million or so entries are a number of website gems for those to whom "shorthand" involves an ear, a pen and a piece of paper. Outlined below are just five of my favourites. Without a doubt I there are more shorthand pearls out there - and if you know of one (or more) please share it with the reast of us! Westminster Journalism This is a cracking site with a great book online written by Vivienne Saunders. For Teeliners, this is a treasure trove. [caption id="attachment_391" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="A Great site with an entire online book!"][/caption] MA Radio This site has a number of short audio files backed up with the Teeline keys to help students along their speedbuilding path. [caption id="attachment_392" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Shorthand dictation files"][/caption] ShorthandShorthandShorthand Okay so the webmaster Marc has chosen a title for the site that kind of gives the game away. Here, visitors will find a good deal of information about speedbuilding and about Gregg shorthand. For those in the US, you will find his range of shorthand dictation ...

A new book aimed at helping journalists hit the 100wpm target is to be published by Heinemann Educational. Written by Marie Cartwright, the National Council for the Training of Journalists' (NCTJ) chief shorthand examiner, the new book is to be called Teeline Gold Standard. Heinemann says: "The book includes an introductory section to outline important principles and theory to give students a firm foundation for learning. "It provides a range of practice exercises to offer learners drill materials from 50 WPM to 100 WPM designed especially to build learners' speed and fluency." Although full details are yet to be released, the new book will be broken down into four sections - getting started, blends, word beginnings and word endings and Words and word groupings. Heinemann says Teeline Gold Standard will include material from real past NCTJ exams to help students better prepare for tests. It will be released in September this year and will cost £18.99. Heinemann's new Teeline book comes a little over two years after the publication of Teeline for Journalists by Dawn Johnston, who teaches shorthand at Darlington College. Teeline for Journalists broke new ground in steering away from the "dear Sir/Madam" language of yesteryear dictation and towards the types of language journalists were likely ...

Being a UK-based website, you may well have noticed that Shorthand World is somewhat geared towards Teeline. However, reading through the numerous comments posted, and emails sent, it appears a significant number of SW readers practice different systems completely. After Teeline, the most popular systems are Pitman (in its various guises) and Gregg, though there are others mentioned in the passing of time. So here's a poll, which I hope you'll take part in, to find out which system or systems we all use. [poll id="3"] Not only should it be interesting to see what we're all using, but I hope it will ensure future content on SW better meets the interests and requirements of everybody. Thanks for taking part!

First of all - Happy New Year to everybody! Sometimes there's nothing like looking at other people writing shorthand to give you hints and tips to improve your own. Below are some of the best videos on YouTube that I've found of people writing effortlessly, elegantly and quickly to capture speech. If you know of any more, please share it with the rest. Three of the videos below are of Gregg and the fourth is Maron by the highly regarded Prof Waldir Cury from Brazil, who runs the excellent taquigraphia website.

Whichever course you're doing, you are bound at some stage to be thrown a business speech. Whether it's a chairman of a board giving a speech, a dictated letter or a general business announcement, if you don't know you're basic business-related outlines you're going to struggle. Many of the outlines that follow carry over into other areas, which means getting them learnt is always going to be a smart move, even if you're one of the few lucky ones that never gets tested with a business speech. And because a number of them are multi-syllabic, learning the outlines will really help you boost your speed - and make you positively welcome those once-dreaded business speeches. To enlarge the crip sheet, just click on it. Good luck and Merry Christmas everybody! [caption id="attachment_366" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Business Outlines for Teeline"][/caption]

Before you read any further, you may want to skip to the shorthand below and read this post in Teeline. I had a very nice request from a Shorthand World reader needing a timed exercise for 80wpm. Rather than simply email it out, I thought I'd be best sharing with everybody. The two demonstration shorthand dictation exercises below come courtesy of WaveMedia. The first is an 80wpm exercise, the second 100wpm. To open the files simply click on the squares and you'll be asked whether you want to open the files or save them to disc to open later. Either option is fine. If you're wondering what that shorthand is below, it's this post in Teeline. Enjoy. [caption id="attachment_359" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Shorthand post in shorthand - Click to Expand"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_352" align="alignnone" width="250" caption="80 words per minute shorthand exercise"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_353" align="alignnone" width="250" caption="100 words per minute shorthand exercise"][/caption]