6 handy tips to improve your shorthand speed

Is learning shorthand becoming a painful chore? Are you struggling to get the words written down in outlines that you can actually read back?

Oh I remember the days well!

Sitting at my dining room table, tape cassette player next to me – yeah, we practised shorthand using cassette tapes back then – switch it on and this time, I was determined to get every single word written down in perfect shorthand outlines that even a novice could read!

Sentence one – so far so good – sentence two – bit of a struggle, bit of a scrawl but hey, I managed it – end of the first paragraph and hell, too many words behind to catch up, outlines all over the place and…. rewind the tape and off we go again! And again, and again…

In the end I wasn’t sure if I was actually listening to the tapes or just remembering the words!

Now if this sounds familiar or you are struggling to get all the words down in shorthand at speed DON’T panic!

First off, I can guarantee you will not be on your own!

Loads of people who have studied shorthand for the first time will tell you that they struggled to build up speed and for me, getting from 80wpm to 100wpm seemed like an eternity.

But guess what? In the end I managed it, as you will too, so don’t get disheartened and heed the words of a seriously slow shorthand learner (me!) you will get there with these 3Ps: practise, patience and perseverance!

Do, however, make sure you are:

Practising at the correct speed for you – It’s very tempting to try and run before you can walk when learning shorthand and there’s no real harm in practising shorthand at a speed a little faster than your current one if you feel confident enough. But don’t get disheartened if you can’t get all the words down and always revert back to practise sessions geared to your own speed before you end your practise session for the day/night. That way you won’t be going away with thoughts of ‘I can’t do it’ in your mind.

Focused only on the task at hand – Shorthand is not one of those things you can practise when there’s noise around or knocks at the door or a ringing phone in your ears. So always make sure you practise somewhere nice and quiet where you are unlikely to be disturbed for the next half hour. And turn off your mobile/cell or stick it in a drawer or somewhere out of hearing distance until you’ve finished.

Using a good writing tool – Practise using a pen or pencil as instructed by your shorthand tutor but make sure the pencil nib is sharpened and there’s enough ink in your pen. It’s also good practise to have two or three pens or pencils on hand ready for use just in case one fails. Put them next to you rather than in a pencil case as fumbling around in a case or bag for a spare pen or pencil is time consuming. Carrying around two or three pens at a time is something I still do today and a tip I would advise that you to do too, especially when you are a journalist, as there is nothing worse than having a broken pencil or a dried-up pen when you’re out on the job!

In the mood for shorthand – As well as being focused on your shorthand practise session make sure that you are in the right mindset too. Shorthand practise requires a clear head, peace and quiet and focus; so if you’re not in the mood or your mind is elsewhere, leave the practise alone until you’re in a better frame of mind.

Not just remembering the words – However you are listening to practise shorthand passages don’t forget to switch them around a bit. To really practise shorthand it’s better not to become too familiar with the passages that you’re using otherwise you’ll end up knowing the words practically by heart and probably just be remembering the passages rather than hearing the words firsthand, as you would do in a shorthand exam.

Not over practising – Don’t be tempted to hammer the shorthand practise. Trying too hard to get it right can often result in shorthand burnout! Ten to 20 minute bursts are best rather than labouring over shorthand passages for hours and hours on end.

And remember, however frustrating and painful learning shorthand can be, you will not be the only person in this boat and definitely won’t be the last.

So don’t despair and remember my 3Ps: practise, patience and perseverance is key to shorthand success! 

Is Teeline shorthand difficult to learn?

Before I started my journalism diploma I remember being terrified about learning shorthand after my older sister told me it was really hard to learn.

The thought of remembering all those lines and squiggles, dots and curves, then being able to write them in some coherent order at speed gave me nightmares, not to mention the thought that I'd be unable to read a word of what I'd written!

But at that time I didn't realise the type of shorthand I'd be learning was Teeline and not Pitman, which my sister had been taught at secretarial college back in the '50s.

Compared to other systems Teeline shorthand, which is widely used on UK journalism courses (in the US it tends to be the Gregg shorthand system), has got to be one of the easiest types of shorthand methods to learn once you have mastered the Teeline alphabet.

In fact, the chap who developed Teeline, James Hill, was himself a teacher of Pitman and devised this 'easier' type of shorthand system in the late ‘60s due to the fact that he knew just how difficult Pitman was to learn and write at speed.

However, just as some people learn to drive a car in no time at all and others take a bit longer to pick it up, learning shorthand is no different.

The main issue people face with shorthand though is not so much learning the Teeline alphabet or the outlines but getting their shorthand speed up to the standard 100wpm.

If this is you don’t get down about it. You will not be alone and I for one was perhaps the slowest shorthand learner the world has ever seen!

That is why I’ve written many posts on how to learn Teeline shorthand and tips on practising shorthand to help you write at speed so do have a read through them. You'll find them listed under the Teeline shorthand label on this blog or just key shorthand into my search bar to get them that way. 

But if you are struggling with your shorthand at the minute then you do have my sympathies.

It took me ages to get from 80wpm to 100wpm and it was a huge relief when I finally managed it and was actually able to start enjoying the job of being a reporter without having to practise my shorthand every night!

Perseverance and practise is the key to learning shorthand and improving your shorthand speed, so you just have to keep plugging away at it and hold firm to the belief that you will get there in the end.

Practical tips for improving your shorthand speed

So you've mastered the shorthand alphabet, know how to write the shorthand outlines for lots of words but are still struggling to get your speed up.

Sound familiar?

First off, don't panic! You will not be alone. Anyone who has studied shorthand will have been in this boat at some time or other and yes, it is hair-pullingly frustrating!

You spend hours learning the shorthand outlines, hours and hours practising writing the outlines and still you mess up. Urgh!! It's painful I know. I've been there and got the t-shirt!

But do not despair! Just like me and countless others who took ages to get to 100wpm, you will get there with perseverance and practise. 

If you’re seriously at this point though and getting really stressed out with learning to improve the speed of your shorthand, my best advice would be to put down your pen, put away all your shorthand notes and books and take timeout.
 
A change is as good as a rest, as they say, and sometimes doing something else other than slogging over your shorthand is often the key to improving your speed.

So okay, assuming you are ready to bite the bullet, here are a few of my personal tried and tested practical tips for learning to write shorthand faster:

• Use lined paper - if you understand how to write shorthand outlines this tip might seem fairly obvious but always use lined paper or write lines on blank paper before trying to write shorthand as the positioning of many outlines, on and between the lines, is key to understanding what you've written.

• Don't grip your pen or pencil tight - hold your writing tool with grace and elegance as if you were an artist, conductor or violinist. Don't grip it so tight that your fingers ache and your hands get sweaty! You are aiming to write shorthand at speed not hammering a nail in the wall!

• Get your posture right - don't slouch and pour your body over your shorthand notebook as if you're writing something that is top secret. Sit up straight in front of a non-wobbly table or desk, hold your writing tool lose and glide your hand over the page with elegance and grace as described above   

 
• Keep your outlines small and close together - it is quicker to write shorthand outlines small and near to each other rather than writing them large with wide gaps apart. You might only be saving seconds but knowing how to save crucial seconds really counts when you are trying to improve your shorthand speed

 

• Remove wrist bangles - I don't know if this is just me but I'd struggle to write shorthand if I was wearing jewellery that jingle jangled on the wrist of my writing hand. I've also caught my watchstrap on the edge of my notebook before now, so I tend to do naked hand shorthand these days!

• Divide your notebook into 2 columns - drawing a line down the centre of your reporter's notebook page and writing your outlines left to right in each column can save you time as you won't be making that sweep back and forward every time you get to the end of a line. To know more about this tip read this post

• Keep your writing tool close to the page - in a similar way to the above, keeping your pen or pencil near to the page will save you precious seconds

• Use the margin, but only if it works for you - using the margin for writing difficult words in full then leaving a gap for the outline to fill in later is something I have tried but found too time consuming, especially when the word is a long one. But it's worth giving it a go if you haven't done so already, as many people do this when they're learning shorthand

• Use shorthand shorts for words - there are several short outlines in Teeline to denote various popular words, so it is well worth learning a few. If you know them already, always try to use them, as they are a big time-saver!

• Sing after me, "silence is golden.." - you need a good dose of uninterrupted peace and quiet to practise shorthand so turn the music off, unplug the phone, switch off your cell and pray that no-one comes knocking at your front door!

• Practise, practise, practise! - I wouldn't recommend a heavy hour-long slog when it comes to practising shorthand but frequent short bursts are certainly the key to continued improvement. But, as I've said, if it's just not happening after a few tries, just put it away and try again tomorrow. Don't let shorthand get you down! You can beat it and you will.

Is shorthand still relevant today?

Considering we live in a highly techno age when you can upload something to the Internet and have it zipping round the world faster than it takes to make a coffee, you might think that shorthand was a bit of an outdated journalism skill.

What's the point in learning shorthand when we have handheld digi things like iPads, laptops, smart phones, tablets etc to get it on the Internet as quick as it's being said?

Yeah, it sounds great in theory but in practise that's not quite how it goes in the world of journalism - even in broadcast journalism - where shorthand is still viewed as an essential key skill if you want to be or are a journalist.

Shorthand is still a major part of the NCTJ diploma in journalism and many editors would admit to preferring new recruits to have passed 100wpm shorthand over public affairs, law and any of the course's journalism examinations.

So what's the big deal about shorthand? Why is it such a sought-after journalism skill by editors? Why can't we just ditch it altogether and move with the times?

Well if you're struggling to do shorthand at the minute I can imagine that you’d think the last bit of what I've just written would be a brilliant idea. But hey ho, don't get too excited, it's unlikely to happen anytime soon. Not here in the UK anyhow.

Why? Well we might live in a fast-moving techno world but many of the places where you’ll be covering news stories are not quite there yet.

Take British law courts for instance. There is no way you’ll be getting into any court with a recording device of any kind so you’ll have to rely on your notebook and pen to take down proceedings.

In fact, few editors would allow you to cover a court case unless you have passed your 100wpm shorthand as they'd have to be confident that what you take down will be spot on accurate.

A journalist's shorthand notes are still admissible as evidence if you become tangled up in a libel case hence the wise journalist hangs onto their shorthand note books long after all the pages are filled.

Based on this fact alone you can see why passing shorthand would put you ahead of the competition if you go for a job interview as a journalist.

So no matter how painful it might be if you're finding it hard, do keep on plugging away and get that shorthand qualification under your belt.

But it’s not just in law courts that it will come in useful, especially if you’re planning on going into print journalism. Think about interviewing a person one-to-one, covering a public meeting or press conference.

How are you going to manage to get an accurate note of everything that is being said in longhand? Try writing down the TV news in longhand and I guarantee you’ll miss most of it.

And having your head down tapping away at a keyboard throughout the interview would look a wee bit, well odd if not rude!

So although most modern journalists have to juggle their workload on a number of multimedia platforms few would argue that they could get the job done properly without knowing shorthand.

It's okay to post a quick update to a website or blog - crucial even if you want to stay ahead of the competition online - but to get a full interview written up for broadcast, print or even the Internet requires journalism skills beyond tapping a few keys on a keyword.

A simple tip to improve your shorthand speed

When you're writing in shorthand you need to be able to jot down the outlines quickly but also neat enough to read back and transcribe with ease.

You'll know how important this is if you ever attend a court hearing or public meeting and try to cover the proceedings in shorthand.

If you read my post Struggling to transcribe your shorthand? you'll get some useful tips on how to read back and transcribe your shorthand.

But if you're having difficulty writing down the outlines at speed then it might be worth trying out this idea.

Draw a line down the centre of the pages in your A5 reporter's note pad to divide them into two columns.

Starting in one column (usually the left if you write left to right) write your shorthand and try to keep your pen or pencil as near to the page as possible.

Aim to keep it at the same level as you gently glide your writing tool left to right, filling up each column separately with your shorthand. The idea behind this is that your hand doesn't move off the page.

And success in this method lies in the wrist work!

Many journalists write shorthand in this way because when you don't have to lift your wrist off the page you're saving precious seconds which are really important when writing shorthand outlines at speed.

It might take a few goes to perfect this technique but it's one that is worth practising if you want to improve your shorthand speed.

You should also practise keeping your outlines small rather than big and scrawly and try not to leave a big a gap between each outline, as this again will save you valuable seconds.

As I've written before practise is key when it comes to perfecting your shorthand outlines and the speed at which you're able to write them down.

But just aim to do about ten to 20 minutes practise at any one time as short bursts are far better for learning how to write shorthand and at speed rather than labouring on for hours and hours.

And with perseverance and practise you will be writing neat outlines at speed in no time at all. So whatever you do, don't give up!

Struggling to transcribe your shorthand?

It's great when you finally learn the Teeline alphabet and are able to write in shorthand, but can you read your outlines and transcribe them into words?

It can be really difficult to transcribe your shorthand if you haven't written your outlines neat enough or left it too long after you first wrote it.

A good tip for transcribing your shorthand accurately is to get it written up in longhand as soon as possible while the verbal communication is still fresh in your memory.

But if you are struggling to transcribe your shorthand outlines because they're untidy then you just have to keep on practising until you can write shorthand outlines you can actually read. 

It's one thing knowing Teeline outlines but writing your shorthand at speed and being able to read it back fluently is a common stumbling block, so don't be too hard on yourself.

Give yourself time to practise your shorthand daily using different oral passages online or available from your shorthand tutor.

Make sure you have a variety of oral Teeline shorthand passages otherwise you'll just end up remembering them and writing the outlines from memory.

It's important that you are able to check the accuracy of your shorthand transcription so it's better to use a Teeline exercise passage that you can listen to again when you're finished.

If you do this for about 20-minutes everyday then you should start to see a big improvement in the neatness of your Teeline shorthand outlines, which will make it much easier when it comes to transcribing your shorthand.

So don't give up and remember practise makes perfect!
      

TIPS: How to pass 100wpm shorthand

Sadly there is no magic formula to passing your shorthand. You've just got to learn the outlines and practise, practise, practise!

I can't stress enough how important shorthand is going to be throughout your career as a journalist especially when covering a court case or doing an interview where you only get one hit at questioning.

In both cases you have got to be able to write at speed and to be able to accurately record what you’ve written when you come to write your story.

And in a court of law especially there is no margin for error. You can’t make up quotes or guess what people have said just because you haven’t been able to write it down fast enough.

So what’s the best way to practise your shorthand?

Attend shorthand classes: If you're doing a degree or diploma course in journalism make sure it includes shorthand (in the UK an NCTJ accredited course is preferred) and attend the lessons on the course. I wouldn’t advise you to skip any of your lessons but missing the shorthand classes is not the same as missing a textbook-based class that you could catch up with at a later late. And lagging further and further behind your classmates in shorthand is likely to make you feel demoralised and not wanting to learn. So no skipping shorthand, however dull, repetitive or hard it seems!

Online shorthand recordings: Youtube has loads of recordings to practise your shorthand. Make sure you are using a credible recording though and one that matches the speed you require for your current level. If your shorthand is only 40wpm but you’re practising with recordings aimed at people whose speed is 90wpm, you may struggle and could easily get disheartened. On the other hand, you might find a faster speed easier I know I did, so soldier on and keep on practising at the speed you feel you can achieve.

Record and watch TV news: I always found that watching the TV news was good practise, especially the BBC news where newsreaders tend to talk in short bursts, have a clear voice and speak at a steady, realistic speed. If you record the news you can re-play it to see how much of it you managed to get down before having another go to see if you can improve your ‘score’.

Go to court and public meetings: Similar to listening and recounting TV news in shorthand, you could attend a public court or meeting to get some ‘real life’ practise. Always make yourself known to the court usher or chairperson of the meeting though, tell them what you want to do and that it’s only for your personal practise and not for publication. They’re likely to be okay with that and happy that you have opted to attend the court or meeting as part of your studies. It will be good practise watching a real court or public meeting in full swing too.

Read outlines: Visualise the outlines for words as you read a newspaper, book or magazine etc. Get a notepad and pen and try to transcribe a short passage into shorthand. Say the words out loud as you are writing them in shorthand. Put the shorthand version aside for an hour or so before seeing if you can translate it back into words. Done right, this is a great exercise for practising how to write shorthand outlines so they end up being something you can read and not just pages of squiggle.    

Is it easy to learn Teeline shorthand?

That’s a question I’m asked loads of times and my answer is always the same: How long is a piece of string?

I know people who’ve found Teeline easy and passed first time at 100wpm after nine months or so and others (including me) who took ages to get their speed up to the required 100wpm before taking the exam and only passing after two, three or more attempts!

But shorthand isn’t rocket science and trust me if I can do it (albeit eventually!) it can’t be that difficult.

It's the industry standard shorthand system used in the UK by journalists and probably one of the easiest types of shorthand systems out there.

It was designed by Pitman tutor, James Hill, who I’m guessing must have known many of us would be quaking in out boots at the mere mention of the ‘s’ word so deliberately made it easy!

At face value the shorthand outlines can look difficult – all lines and curves - but once you understand the system and have learnt the alphabet it’s amazing how easy it is to get your head around it. It’s improving your speed that tends to be the hard bit.

As for the system itself the main principles are that it deletes all double letters and silent letters. So if you’re writing the word ‘cuddle’ you’d only use the shorthand symbol for one of the ‘ds’ and the silent ‘e’ would go.

It also removes vowels unless it’s at the beginning of a word or sounded at the end. So you’d keep the vowel ‘I’ if you were writing ‘it’ and the ‘e’ of coffee.

At some point I’ll do a video to explain more about Teeline shorthand and have a look at my other posts on the blog under the label Teeline Shorthand that will hopefully help you out too. So yeah, watch this space for more posts!  

Make no mistake! Learning shorthand is key to reporting

If you want to be a journalist you are going to have to learn shorthand, especially if you have ambitions to be a court reporter.

Shorthand is a writing system that allows you to write words quickly and Teeline is the preferred choice of shorthand for many journalism schools and journalism training colleges as it is fairly easy to learn.

It uses letters of the alphabet but excludes unnecessary letters such as double letters, silent letters and vowels in the middle of words.

For instance, bubble would become bl. The vowels U and E have been deleted and only one B is included. Similarly, hedge would become heg, thereby eliminating the silent letter D and the vowel E.

However, rather than writing bl or heg, Teeline uses symbols called outlines that make the shorthand even quicker to write.

If this is the first time you have heard of Teeline shorthand or think that you will never be able to do it, then don't panic! It is not as hard as it appears and trust me, if I can do it so can you!

And as most journalists will tell you, it is getting your speed of writing shorthand to the standard 100wpm that takes the time, not learning the shorthand outlines.

But it is vital to the job of being a journalist and a skill that you will be glad you have if you are in a public meeting or doing a spot of court reporting.

At the UK's Society of Editors' Regional Press Awards 2012 the five shortlisted candidates said shorthand was the one skill they couldn't do without.

You can read their comments here 

Teeline shorthand: learn the basics

If I could go back in time to when I was planning a career in journalism, I would try to learn shorthand before I went to journalism school.

No matter where you study to be a journalist, learning shorthand is going to be part of your course, so being familiar with the basics beforehand will come in very handy.

In the UK, and certainly on university or college courses which offer NCTJ examinations, the shorthand you will be expected to learn is Teeline.

It is a shorthand made for journalists and isn't that difficult to learn. I'm told it's also much easier than other systems, such as Pitman, although I've never put that theory to the test!

Teeline shorthand basically excludes all silent letters, double letters and vowels in the middle of words.

For example:

• know = nw 

• bubble = bl 

• have = hv

However, it does retain vowels at the beginning of words and vowels at the end of words if they are sounded.

For example:

• about = abt

• coffee = cfe

Got it?.. Great!.. If not, don't panic! Learning shorthand for these words and more is easier than it looks!

Have a read of the following shorthand sentences and see if you can decipher what they mean. Again, don't panic if you get stuck, you'll get to grips with it soon enough.

• Tln is vry esy to lrn and I wl mstr it  

• We shl go to Lndn nxt wk to do sm shpng and vst Bknghm Plc 

• It hs bn a brt and sny da tda bt rnd in th evng