Writing short means using as many brief forms as you can learn.
You might say, "But there are thousands of excellent court reporters who use few briefs and write most things out."
Yes, this is true. However, the following facts are indisputable:
Speed is a combination of exactly, and only, two things:
1. How many/few strokes you write
2. How fast your fingers can move
A reporter who "writes everything out" can SOMEWHAT make up for that with faster fingers than most.
A reporter who has very slow fingers can SOMEWHAT make up for that by using lots of briefs.
But the court reporter who both writes very short AND has fast fingers will be among the best court reporters ever!
It's all in the math. Let's look at that math.
Let us imagine three kinds of court reporters, in terms of how "short" they write:
MEDIUM: 1.2 strokes per word
SHORT: 1.0 strokes per word
VERY SHORT: 0.8 strokes per word
And let us imagine three kinds of reporters, in terms of how fast they can move their fingers:
MEDIUM: 3.5 strokes per second
FAST: 4.0 strokes per second
VERY FAST: 4.5 strokes per second
The following table shows how many WORDS PER MINUTE you would write if you had a certain "strokes per word" combined with a certain "strokes per second":
| Strokes Per Word | ||||
| Strokes per Second | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.8 | |
| 3.5 | 175 | 210 | 263 | |
| 4.0 | 200 | 240 | 300 | |
| 4.5 | 225 | 270 | 338 | |
So, we have THREE kinds of reporters in terms of briefs, and THREE kinds of reporters in terms of finger speed, and that gives us NINE different words-per-minute figures as top speeds for that reporter, ranging from 175 to 338!
In 2004, Mark set a Guinness World Record by writing 360wpm for one minute, at 97.23% accuracy. He achieved that by averaging .8 strokes per word and 4.8 strokes per second!
Mark Kislingbury's seminars and products teach YOU how to both write short and move your fingers fast, so that you, too, can achieve speeds of well above 300wpm.
Call 713-837-6595 to order Mark's "magnum opus," his latest-greatest work, his new book called MAGNUM STENO. It will be your #1 tool for becoming the best reporter you can be.