“But what about data protection?” she asked.

“Erm…” I replied.

“It’s just I’ve got so many people’s names and telephone numbers and personal details and their stories in mine,” she said.

I thought about the law and remembered once being told that Data Protection didn’t really apply to work as a journalist or, and I thought for a second, law enforcement. And that was what I said to my colleague.

“That’s true,” she said, gently. “But that part of the law is to do with the use of information, not its disposal.”

“Erm…”

Now then, I’ll be honest. The connectedness of the disposal of a shorthand notebook and the Data Protection Act is not something I’ve ever thought about before. But I think my colleague is asking a legitimate question. What should we do with old notepads to ensure those notes which relate to the personal lives of others are correctly disposed of?

Apparently at her old newspaper they had a room where old notepads went to die. Nobody knows what happens after that. Perhaps the “room” was hermetically sealed like a nuclear waste deposit.

We’ve not got an industrial notepad reduction vat. We’ve got a cupboard. And it’snot very large. And it is filling up fast.  In the past, as I’ve said, I’ve recycled the pads when it gets full. My workmate is considering shredding the next cupboard-load. But that will take a very long time and will probably burn anything but a branch shredder.

Before we head and out and buy some heavy-duty paper ripping machine I have to ask all trusty SW readers what they do with old notepads.

His deification appears to have happened in the Indian city of Chennai. In his fascinating article for The National, reporter Samanth Subramanian tells how: “The entrances to many buildings in this southern Indian city are graced by small shrines, miniature temples, almost, to one or the other of the Hindu pantheon’s gods and goddesses.

“Among the most extraordinary of these sits in the courtyard of a building in the crowded neighbourhood of T Nagar. Resting on a plinth is a garlanded, foot-high bronze statuette of a lushly bearded 19th-century Englishman named Isaac Pitman.

“The building houses the headquarters of the Stenographers’ Guild, which explains the devotion to Pitman, a vegetarian and teetotaller who was knighted in 1894 and died aged 84 in 1897. In 1837, he developed the most widely used form of shorthand, a system of strokes, hooks, dots and squiggles, based on phonetics, which enabled stenographers to transcribe speeches with great speed and accuracy.”

Please check out the rest of this great article for the full story. The honour paid to Sir Isaac appears to be well supported. Responding to the article, Ramesh Menon said: “It was a fitting tribute to thousands of stenographers world-wide, who once ruled the administrative part of private and government offices and establishments.

“Just three decades away, we were in a world when aspiring students rushed to numerous short-hand and typewriting institutes and pass out from there improving their English skills as well as a handy tool to start their career away from home. The short-hand learning methodology rightly provided the person a correct grip and grasp on the language as well as enabled him to concise what is dictated or heard in person.

“In addition, those days, it proved an opportunity to read English literature and learn more about the nuances of the language and its grammar requirements. This field of technical education produced several eminent administrators who silently and efficiently supported great leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and JRD Tata.”

Perhaps Pitman Training in the UK might consider something similar…???

His main points are that shorthand is a less trusted means of capturing what was said than a tape/digital device, that shorthand is a pain to learn and that people develop their own shorthands as they use it (to the extent that, he says, most shorthand users gradually develop a “personal shorthand that only they really understand”).

I think he is right on all three points. Shorthand is less respected than it once was. That’s partly because it is less prevalent in society per se and, in a world of increasing, rolling, 24-hour visual media, our relationship with the written word has changed. It is difficult to learn. Teeline is far easier to learn than Pitman, but it’ll still take about four months to get to 100wpm. And yes, we all develop our own “shorthands” (though most people can read the shorthand of others and work out the idiosyncracies as they go).

Given all this, Greenslade asks the central question thus: “In this age of sophisticated recording devices, is shorthand any longer worth all the time and trouble it takes to learn it?”

He appears to be saying no, and calling on the courts to allow reporters to sit in with digital/tape devices.

I’ve seen lawyers and judges sitting in court with laptops for a few years now and cannot really understand why us reporters cannot do the same. Neither can I understand why, if the second compnonent of justice is that it is seen to be done, why the courts would not allow for every means of capturing what is said in court to be used – visual or sound recording etc.

However, I do not, and never have, seen the tape vs shorthand question as an either/or issue. I use shorthand because it is useful, quick, simple and not susceptible to the vagaries of electronic circuitry. It has helped me do my job quickly and efficiently for many years. For most general reporting purposes shorthand is absolutely the perfect means of taking a note of what is said, what has happened etc.

When a story is more sensitive or the interviewee potentially more difficult (potentially litigious) I have used tape as well as shorthand. Why? Because impuning a journalist’s integrity with claims of being misquoted is one of the most common fall-back positions of the caught out. It makes sense, where problems are foreseen, to use tape as well.

I would not want to use tape for every interview because I would struggle to get my job done. Listening back over reels of tape and taking down the words needed is an uneccessary doubling up of the reporting process.

So, yes, I’m with Greenslade on encouraging the courts to allow journalists to use whatever recording devices they choose. I however, would probably still use shorthand for 99% of the time.

What do you think?

But it has sparked an idea. What if, in and amongst the composite approach to speed improvement, we focused on improving a single aspect of our shorthand each week? It’s the type of thing athletes do all the time – they’ll focus on stride pattern one week, elbow movement the next and so on. Perhaps it could work with shorthand too, and build better long term style discipline by focusing our minds on a single aspect of practice above all others for a given week, rather than bombarding ourselves with too many things to concentrate on.

If there’s something in this (and it is only an idea), then the next thing would be to put together a programme. Now I’ve been thinking about this for a little while. And, in the self-help style,  I’ve come up with a 12-week programme! It would run more as a guidance list within existing classes, providing an area of focus each week rather than a course in itself.  It goes like this:

week one: posture and preparation

week two: penmanship (how to hold a pen)

week three: what to do with the left hand while you take notes (if you’re right handed, of course)

week four: proper form, rather than speed.

week five: reducing white space between outlines.

week six: shrinking outlines or making them tidier.

week seven: review the theory learned so far.

week eight: attempt dictations 20wpm faster than your perceived maximum.

week nine: learn and use more abbreviated outlines where they are available and put them to use wherever possible.

week ten: write (wherever possible) nothing but shorthand – telephone calls, diary notes etc. Make it become part of your life.

week eleven: go back to proper form over speed once again, ensuring all outlines are perfectly formed, gap space minimised without compromising separation between outlines.

week twelve: attempt dictations 20wpm faster than your perceived maximum.

And it could run as a rolling programme. So there you have it, my athletics-inspired speed improvement programme. Feel free to use, ignore, praise or condemn. All comments welcome!

They’re courtesy of WaveMedia and are taken, in Mp3 format, from the CDs which are available in the shop.

In terms of other developments, some have noticed the look and feel of the site has changed periodically. This is because of a complete rebuild of the website behind the scenes. A number of test sites and themes are being explored and tinkered with and in the next few weeks (possibly months) I’d like to post some of the options up on the site for people to choose.

First things first. Plateaus with shorthand speed are natural. You’ll get them in pretty much any activity you could think of – sprinting, piano playing or ping pong. I believe plateaus are where knowledge and skill consolidate, levelling and steadying the ground for further progress. The key is to use our plateaux as a srpingboard for the leaps forward we are about to make. If we don’t do this, we run the risk of our plateaux becoming a rut.

So what’s the plan?

Essentially, breaking out of a plateau is a two-fold process – consolidating what you know and pushing yourself onto pastures new similtaneously. Sound difficult? It needn’t be.

First, establish your maximum speed – the speed at which you can only just keep up with the speaker, where you only get down a hint of an outline (the first letter, say) on some words, especially towards the end of a dictated passage. For the sake of argument, we’ll call that your plateau maximum speed.

Once you’ve established your plateau maximum speed, get it dictated to you at a significantly faster speed (either in person, or using speedbuilding CDs). By significantly faster, I mean 20wpm faster for those in the 50-100wpm range, or 10wpm faster for 100wpm-plus. You want it read to you faster than you can keep decent notes. At this speed, many of your outlines should be little more than hints of full words – partial outlines, letter strokes and so on.

After a couple of significantly faster dictations, try cutting back the speed – to 10wpm faster than your original plateau maximum speed (5wpm in the case of 100wpm-plus learners). You should notice a small improvement. An improvement which will become more noticeable the more you repeat the cycle.

Second, also do exercises based on your plateau maximum speed. The aim with these exercises (combined with the above) is to consolidate your shorthand precision and technique. We should be trying to write better notes and better outlines. Where we may previously have only got a single letter, a hint at a word, we are now aiming to get the whole word down.

Third, we need to go back to the theory when we plateau. One of the real keys to shorthand success is learning the basics well and then economising those outlines further. Depending on where you’re at with your speed, read up on word groupings and briefer outline forms.

Fourth, spend more time practising. This really is crucial to making progress. And if you’re doing the above suggestions properly, it’s bound to take up more time.

Have you got any tips to share for breaking out a plateau? If so, please leave a comment!

Your editor gets a letter threatening legal action over an article published some months ago – they are claiming the article is not only defamatory in nature but their client has been repeatedly misquoted.

Understandably, your editor is nervous and demands to see your shorthand note of the interview and all notes taken down at the time in relation to the story. It’s a situation no journalist wants to find themselves in, but sadly it happens from time to time and, if you don’t pay attention to the way you organise your notebook, it can be disastrous.

shorthandYour notebook (if you can find it amongst that swollen bottom drawer stuffed full of notebooks which have not been taken home or destroyed) is your best line of defence against legal action, and can carry a great deal of weight in court. What follows is a set of simple guidelines that all notebook users should take on board. We’ll start with a golden rule: think of your notebook not as your workbook but as evidence on which a major defamation trial depends.

What I mean by this is that you need to think not only about your notebook’s practicalities, but also about the way it will appear to third parties: is it neat? Does it look like the product of an organised worker? Is it easy to navigate? So, what will we need to ensure the answers to the above questions are a “yes” rather than a “no”.

1. Starting with the cover. Put the date at which the notebook is first used (and when it is complete, put the end date on the front as well).

2. Put your name and organisation on the cover.

3. When it is complete, on the reverse side of the cover, list the stories or tasks referred to within the notebook (this can make looking for the right notebook incredibly simple if you don’t remember the date of a story/task).

4. Now, using a ruler, draw a line vertically about a third of the way across the page, on every page (and reverse page) of your notebook. This is used for one of two purposes. First, if you are speaking to two people, or recording what two people say, you can divide what is said by each party on either side of the ruled margin. If you are just speaking to one person, the left hand side of the margin can be used for notes, ideas, further questions you might want to ask or partial transcriptions. I’ve seen many reporters just doing margins by freehand. I don’t recommend this because of the golden rule above – appearances matter, especially in court.

5. Number each and every page at the bottom of the page. This is to show that no pages have been removed at a later date.

6. With each shorthand entry, start a fresh page and put the date, what the story relates to, who you’re speaking to and at what time (in court cases, put the court name and case number in this place).

7. I use my notebook to register those people I’ve tried making contact with – even when I’ve not got through to them (therefore there’s no accompanying shorthand note). I do this so I have a complete record of who I’ve contacted, who I’ve tried to contact and when.

8. Make sure your shorthand note is as neat and tight as possible. Many reporters have really scrawling shorthand notes which, although it does the job perfectly well, would look like a disaster zone under close scrutiny.

9. If you have spoken to somebody without your notebook and put the shorthand notes in later – make sure you include details of when the person was spoken and to when the note was entered. Although not ideal, a non-contemporaneous entry is better than nothing and will almost certainly carry more weight than your adversary’s memory nine months on. 10. Do not doctor your shorthand notes or try and re-write them later to fit a story. Modern technology can pick such things up and it will seriously jeopardise your credibility of you get caught out.

10. When you have finished with your notebook, ensure it is properly stored, end-dated and the stories contained within properly indexed.

Pilot V5 Extra Fine Needlepoint Rollerball Blue Box of 12

The Pilot V5, is an excellent pen. The ink runs smoothe, feels great in the hand and glides over the page. On our test, this pen improved shorthand speed the most – a staggering 7wpm over the standard disposable ballpoint at 100wpm. A great buy.

Bic Velocity Gel Rollerball Pen Comfort Grip Retractable 0.7mm Tip 0.3mm Line Blue Ref 820566 [Pack 12]

Again, this is a great pen. The gel ink is smoothe and it feels incredibly comfortable in the hand. Although on our test the improvement on speed was not as high as the Pilot V5 (at an extra 4wpm) it is more comfortable. So for those using shorthand throughout the day or relentlessly engaged in practice or exam preparation, this pen is hard to beat.

Waterman Expert Fountain Pen Lacque Black/Gold Medium

This fine fountain pen is roughly the shape of a fat cigar, looks stunning and is a joy to use. Shorthand notes are clean and crisp and the nib flows effortlessly across paper. A number of our shorthand experts recommended this pen. The price is steep compared with the others, but is good value for a quality fountain pen that will give years of writing and shorthand pleasure.

Do reporters really need shorthand in this day and age? An age of hi-tech wizardry and miniature digital recording devices?

I understand that its pretty much mandatory to get 100wpm to get a reporting job in the UK – but in the US it’s not and you have loads of trainee reporters starting their careers without shorthand. I think they only learn shorthand if they are inclined to do so – and many are not.

What do you reckon? Shorthand’s days are numbered?

My personal view is a little old fashioned – shorthand has survived thousands of years and it’s got a few more years left.

You’re right to point out that the requirements for getting a reporting job in the UK and US are different. You do need shorthand to get a newspaper reporting job in the UK – and for good reason, too.

First, an editor has an element of legal leverage if a reporter is accused of making up a quote (which is often levied at reporters when those involved in stories don’t like their words printed in black and white). The editor can check his reporter’s shorthand note, waive a certificate that his employee has 100wpm if needed and shorthand notes tend to carry a good deal of weight as evidence in libel cases (as long as they stand up to scrutiny).

Secondly, you can take a shorthand notebook and pen/pencil pretty much anywhere, write outside, in cramped conditions etc and you don’t have to worry about digital storage space or power supply.

Thirdly – and I’ve occasionally used electronic recording devices for contentious news stories – navigating a shorthand notebook to find the quotes you’re looking for is far easier than scanning tape or digital recordings.

Fourthly, you can’t take recording devices into courts in the UK – so you’re dependent on note-taking the old fashioned way.

Finally, I’ve found note books don’t intimidate interviewees as much as placing a recording device in the middle of a table.

So, to sum up, shorthand is more reliable, you’re able to use it in court and provides an easier system for finding the notes you’re looking for than its hi-tech counterpart.

But what do you think? Email me or post a comment…