QUESTION:  Hello, I ordered a practice CD from your website today.  I am currently
a student in Court Reporting school and I'm having some trouble with getting past the
speeds of 120(Literary) and 140(Jury and Q&A).

I believe it's my whole mindset because I know I can do it; but seem to get frustrated
about it at times.  You will notice that I ordered the drill in the speeds of 160 to 180.
Please let me know if that's a good speed to practice at this time. I visit your website often
and find so much of the information to be so helpful. I was really excited to place my order
today for the practice drills and I look forward to ordering more in the future.


Thank you

ANSWER:  I won't get into the whole theory of how to write.  The subject is too large. .
In a nutshell, we say that if you cannot write the drill professionally at a low speed, then you
have no business doing the drill at a high speed.

That statement is generally true, but students must also practice how to survive the
rough passages on the test.  That kind of practice requires drill that you cannot
completely master.  There is a great benefit in knowing how to turn a potential ten-
word drop into a mere two or three-word drop.  This kind of drill needs to be done in a
specific way with a specific purpose.  You must know exactly what you are
doing.  Control and clarity is necessary at all times, especially at high speed. 

Don't believe those guys who tell you to crank up the speed and pound like a
madman.  Those guys can't tell you why it is good to write like that or how it will make
you better or when you should expect results.  We can tell you why and how and when
about our "theory" of writing.  You should write clean because you are training to be a
professional who needs clarity.  It will make you better by imprinting the correct
outlines into your brain.  Then when you attempt these same strokes at high speed,
your brain will be able to supply the correct stroke to you.  As far as when you should
expect benefits from writing clear controlled strokes, you should see improvement within a
half hour.  Few people have to go a week without seeing positive tangible results.

Anyway, we will send you the disc that you ordered, but we are going to include the next
lower speed at no cost to you.  When you find that a drill is too challenging, the proper
move is to practice that drill at a lower speed.  When you conquer it at the lower
speed, you will also be conquering it at the higher speed.

In short, if you can't write it slow, you can't write it fast.

Stephen Shastay

Steno Rebel