Relearning shorthand

Gidget is it a job requirement? Otherwise there is virtually no demand for this skill that took me many years to learn.

What I suggest is getting some used shorthand books==there very well may be some in your library.

Gidget said: I haven't used shorthand in many, many years and got pretty rusty at it. What would you suggest as the best way to improve and basically relearn shorthand. Also, I wasn't very good at it the first time; how could you possibly know the shorthand form of every word you might encounter?

The best shorthand book is Gregg Shorthand for Colleges and the Gregg shorthand dictionary. I took shorthand in college and in high school, it is a dying art, however, it helped me a great deal on my last job. I was responsible for taking department notes. It is an excellent skill to have along with Word, Excel and Access, you will use all these software programs in today's workplace. You can get the books at Amazon.com. Practice, practice, practice (did I say practice?) Good Luck!

I was taught Pittman Shorterhand in the 70s, but never use it. There is no demand for it. My sister knows it as well and sometimes we pass notes to each other so our kids won't know what we are writing, but other than that unless it is a job requirement, I think the demand is gone.
I agree with another post that speedwriting is probably more practical.

Patricia
secretaryhelpline.blogspot.com/

May I want to some other help for the Example type of Short hand eritting .
So please help me. given the example.
thank you

An extreme type of shorthand writing that I learned in college and in high school was Gregg method. The Gregg method used short forms for sounds. We also had to transcribe our work into sentences. We also learned types of punctuation. You can go to the website www.greggshorthand.com and their should be examples of books you can buy. Good luck.

Dear Group,

I am looking for an Executive Administrative Assistant who knows shorthand and can take dictation. My employer needs someone who can sit with him while he dictates emails and letters. There would, of course, be other duties. But these are the most important for him and I am having a very hard time finding someone. I have advertised on craigslist and found no one. I have looked for Sectretarial Schools in New York and found none. I have calls into Business Schools with Admininstrative Assistant programs and am waiting for calls back from placement offices to see if they even still teach shorthand! Can anyone here help?? Anyone looking for a full time job like this in the city? Or know anyone who is? Or know schools that still teach it?

Help if you can!!
Thanks.

Shorthand is a lost art my friend. Some older assistants will know how to use it, if they still remember. Some younger people who have gone to university may have developed their own speedwriting skills. Not exactly shorthand, but would still do the job.

I assume this employer does not want to use a dictation device as that would be an alternative to shorthand.

I do know shorthand, but am pretty rusty and I live way up in Ottawa Canada, so would be of no help.

I wish you all the best in finding someone.

Patricia

Tony Bellomy in New York, New York said: Dear Group,

I am looking for an Executive Administrative Assistant who knows shorthand and can take dictation. My employer needs someone who can sit with him while he dictates emails and letters. There would, of course, be other duties. But these are the most important for him and I am having a very hard time finding someone. I have advertised on craigslist and found no one. I have looked for Sectretarial Schools in New York and found none. I have calls into Business Schools with Admininstrative Assistant programs and am waiting for calls back from placement offices to see if they even still teach shorthand! Can anyone here help?? Anyone looking for a full time job like this in the city? Or know anyone who is? Or know schools that still teach it?

Help if you can!!
Thanks.

I can help you. I am in NYC and I still use my Pitman shorthand. Typing and steno between 80-100wpm. Mac & IBM computer literate. lainie

L. Erica Mims in Ithaca, New York said: An extreme type of shorthand writing that I learned in college and in high school was Gregg method. The Gregg method used short forms for sounds. We also had to transcribe our work into sentences. We also learned types of punctuation. You can go to the website www.greggshorthand.com and their should be examples of books you can buy. Good luck.

Hi... I'm trying to get back in touch w/ L. Erica Mims who was in Ithaca during '95-'97 years and moved to Atlanta? Please email me at sn25@cornell.edu

Non-alpahbetical shorthand is a dying art. On other hand, a skill of taking fast notes at meetings, on the phone and in school is very useful at work and personal use. EasyScript/ComputerScript method was introduced in 1990 and has become an easy alternative to traditional shorthand and speedwrting to many people of all most all walks of life.

It can be learned quickly in a matter of hours and used either for speedwriting or speedtyping or both.

For more information visit: www.easyscript.com

Tony Bellomy in New York, New York said: Dear Group,

I am looking for an Executive Administrative Assistant who knows shorthand and can take dictation. My employer needs someone who can sit with him while he dictates emails and letters. There would, of course, be other duties. But these are the most important for him and I am having a very hard time finding someone. I have advertised on craigslist and found no one. I have looked for Sectretarial Schools in New York and found none. I have calls into Business Schools with Admininstrative Assistant programs and am waiting for calls back from placement offices to see if they even still teach shorthand! Can anyone here help?? Anyone looking for a full time job like this in the city? Or know anyone who is? Or know schools that still teach it?

Help if you can!!
Thanks.

I am looking for an Administrative Assistant job in the city and type 70/+ wpm and shorthand at 80 wpm. Please email me if you are still looking.

Trying to find somebody with a speedwriting skill may take a long time because schools stopped teaching this skill long time ago.

If you wish to look into an option for your new assistant to learn a speedwriting skill very quickly in a matter of hours take a look at EasyScript speedwriting site www.easyscript.com. Also, EasyScript books are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and many other resellers.

To see unsolicited testimonials posted at Amazon.com enter into the search box "EasyScript I", "EasyScript II" or "EasyScript Express".

One of the comments posted at Amazon is below:

"I needed to be able to take dictation at 80 wpm, in a very short amount of time, to pass an exam to keep my job. Never having taken a shorthand course & not being able to find a place to learn shorthand, I came across this book. I was amazed at how easy it was - this book takes you step by step through the process of learning the rules of speedwriting, as well as giving you practice sessions to build up your speed. It's a skill that you can use for more than taking dictation - just for writing yourself quick notes. The book is simple to understand & gets right to the point - without it, I would have lost my job!"

I highly recommend Gregg Shorthand. While many people feel that it is archaic, it just as useful that all the other so-called modern forms of shorthand. I work as a office Temp and have a Gregg Shorthand speed of 120 wpm. Most temp agencies as well as employers are incredibly shocked and impressed when I whip out my Gregg Shorthand skill during dictation tests as well as when I use it in the office. Shorthand is shorthand--and the effect on people is downright amazing. Sometimes when I am on the subway train I take delight in sort of discreetly showing off by writing in Gregg Shorthand using my earphones and microcasette recorder. I have used Gregg Shorthand with my 120 wpm speed to take minutes in meetings, to draft correspondence, to take instruction, etc. Trust me, if you really want to be different and unique, learn and use Gregg Shorthand. You will be amazed how quick you will learn the systems and it is fun. Most important with Gregg Shorthand as an arsenal along with today's modern skills (Microsoft Word, Windows 98, Poer Point, and Access as well as being bi-lingual in Spanish, I am never without a Temp office assignment whenever I need one.

It is so good to know that Gregg Shorthand is not a dying skill. Lots of people will try to tell you that it is obsolete, but believe me, it will never go out of style. I used to take dictation for department head meetings in my last job and everyone was very impressed that I could have the meeting minutes ready for all department heads 30 minutes after the meeting was held.

I still use my shorthand skills. They will never go out of style.

Please, all of you thinking of resurrecting written shorthand methods, please don't bother. What is in now is machine shorthand, touch shorthand, and closed-captioned based shorthand. Once you learn this skill and build your dictionaries, even only to about 120 WPM, you may go into many translation fields, admin fields, court, and the list just goes on and on. Please learn Computer Shorthand Theory and you'll soon be gainfully employed at your will, not theirs.

Check out the court reporting schools in New York. Surely they have countless students who have admin experience that can easily take shorthand at the 150 to 180 WPM level. What will your office pay for this experience?

The used to offer shorthand at community colleges the last time I looked about 10 years ago. I no longer see it offered there though.

Steve in Oakland, California said: Check out the court reporting schools in New York. Surely they have countless students who have admin experience that can easily take shorthand at the 150 to 180 WPM level. What will your office pay for this experience?

I don't think checking out the court reporting schools is a good idea. I was a court reporter for ten years. The machine takes about six months to learn theory (not Gregg) and may take another six months to build up to even 60 WPM.

I think what you want is a Gregg Shorthand book. (Isn't that what you learned in high school?) Check Amazon.com or put Gregg shorthand book into Google. There are some old books out there. (I got one for $1.50 at Goodwill). Then look for speed takes (court reporting takes will do).

If you already knew Gregg at one time then you don't need a school to reteach you.

Steve in Oakland, California said: Please, all of you thinking of resurrecting written shorthand methods, please don't bother. What is in now is machine shorthand, touch shorthand, and closed-captioned based shorthand. Once you learn this skill and build your dictionaries, even only to about 120 WPM, you may go into many translation fields, admin fields, court, and the list just goes on and on. Please learn Computer Shorthand Theory and you'll soon be gainfully employed at your will, not theirs.

All is true - but it is impractical to carry a ten pound Stenograph around. A stenopad is very lightway and portable.

I tend to disagree. They only weight 5.2 pounds and are paperless. Have you seen what people lug to work these days? Heck, you'd think they are going on a six-month cruise around the world. Lord today!

I still remember my Gregg shorthand from high school and I know when someone is asking for that skill, they are open to employing a "mature" person. On my resume; however, I refer to "fast notes", rather than shorthand. I truly appreciate the advances in technology, but it is still great to be able to take notes really fast when needed.

can someone who was a court stenographer or anyone else w experience translate "laugh now cry later" for me? i cant find any websites that will do this for me. id be really grateful if someone could help!
thanks!

Tony Bellomy in New York, New York said: Dear Group,

I am looking for an Executive Administrative Assistant who knows shorthand and can take dictation. My employer needs someone who can sit with him while he dictates emails and letters. There would, of course, be other duties. But these are the most important for him and I am having a very hard time finding someone. I have advertised on craigslist and found no one. I have looked for Sectretarial Schools in New York and found none. I have calls into Business Schools with Admininstrative Assistant programs and am waiting for calls back from placement offices to see if they even still teach shorthand! Can anyone here help?? Anyone looking for a full time job like this in the city? Or know anyone who is? Or know schools that still teach it?

Help if you can!!
Thanks.

I love using my shorthand - it helps me to retain many things each day, both trivial and important.

I saw your email regarding looking for someone with shorthand. Actually, since about the 1990's they have taught speedwriting instead of shorthand because it is an updated version of the old shorthand. You may want to look for someone who does speedwriting instead because many of the more mature secretaries who were required to shorthand, don't anymore or if some still due, it is very limited. I used to work for a lawyer many years ago and took shorthand daily but when I changed jobs, I used it sparingly for my own notes. When I went back to college, they were no longer teaching shorthand-speedwriting was being taught only and to many younger women. You may want to check some law firms out because there may be secretaries who are still required to use it and the younger women in those firms or companies may be using speedwriting only. You may want to go through one of the bigger temporary agencies (like Adecco which has their corporate headquarters in New York or Manpower)y who can recruit for you from the legal firms - my guess is that a lot of secretaries in the legal firms, still use shorthand or speedwriting.

By the way, even though I am not required to use it anymore, I still do for my own notes and I can do both shorthand notes as well as speedwriting and believe it or not, sometimes it can be a mix, but I still can transcribe it just like I used to do many years ago.

I agree with you - shorthand or speedwriting is a great skill to have and retain.

Hope that this has helped you somewhat in your pursuit of looking for that Executive Administrative Assistant.

If I lived in New York, I would love to have applied for the position.

bp in Clifton, New Jersey said: can someone who was a court stenographer or anyone else w experience translate "laugh now cry later" for me? i cant find any websites that will do this for me. id be really grateful if someone could help!
thanks!

HRA F
T P H O U
R B G S
K R EU
HRA EU TS

This is machine shorthand for "Laugh now, cry later." The "RBGS is a comma.

James Moyer, Certified Shorthand Reporter
Philadelphia, PA

I have notebooks of old style court reporting in the gregg shorthand. These are from my Mother's murder trial in 1954. I'd love to know the details of my Mother's death, as a child I was told very little. I have exhausted every resource to me. Does anyone have in interest in helping me to get these transcribed?

I take Pitman, my friend, can't read Gregg. Too bad, because I rather enjoy it. Typing / shorthand 100wpm.

I take Pitman.
typing & shorthand 100wpm. Mac & pc

lainie

Steve in Oakland, California said: Please, all of you thinking of resurrecting written shorthand methods, please don't bother. What is in now is machine shorthand, touch shorthand, and closed-captioned based shorthand. Once you learn this skill and build your dictionaries, even only to about 120 WPM, you may go into many translation fields, admin fields, court, and the list just goes on and on. Please learn Computer Shorthand Theory and you'll soon be gainfully employed at your will, not theirs.

Hi Steve,
I like to use my shorthand for think tanks and lectures and mtgs. so this way I have the freedom of not carrying a computer. typing/pitman 100wpm, mac & pc literacy. lainie

Hi, Steve.

One cannot step into court writing machine shorthand at 120 wpm. The certification speed is 225 wpm, and that is only basic entry level. Trust me, 225 wpm is not fast enough sometimes.

I've used my machine shorthand for years in an office environment for dictation of letters, legal pleadings, etc., before graduating from court reporting school. It is called stenoscriptioning. The machine skill is invaluable, I agree. I possess it and still use my pen method because a machine is not always available. I also use it to make notes on my case sheets in court, the stuff I would normally have to write in longhand. These notations do not go in the official stenographic record, therefore, they are not written on the machine. Also, the machine can be intimidating to people, unlike a steno pad. I know friends who possess both skills and they do get calls from attorneys asking them to come to depositions with a steno pad, posing as their secretary to "take notes," as if it would be general notes and not verbatim. These friends were verbatim court reporters using Gregg and have switched to the machine.

I also use my Gregg for quick notes, grocery lists, notes at meetings, etc. There are some companies who do not even want you typing notes up on a laptop during a meeting, but you can take all the handwritten notes you want. Why lose getting more? Longhand is too time-consuming and cumbersome! Shorthand enables you to capture more. It also allows you to capture even more than speedwriting. Thanks.

James Moyer, Certified Shorthand Reporter
Court of Common Please, First Judicial Dist. of PA
Philadelphia, PA

Donna Williams in Birmingham, Alabama said: I have notebooks of old style court reporting in the gregg shorthand. These are from my Mother's murder trial in 1954. I'd love to know the details of my Mother's death, as a child I was told very little. I have exhausted every resource to me. Does anyone have in interest in helping me to get these transcribed?

E-mail me at steno@localnet.com. I can be of assistance to you.
Regards,
Jim

Jim in York, Pennsylvania said: Hi, Steve.

One cannot step into court writing machine shorthand at 120 wpm. The certification speed is 225 wpm, and that is only basic entry level. Trust me, 225 wpm is not fast enough sometimes.

I've used my machine shorthand for years in an office environment for dictation of letters, legal pleadings, etc., before graduating from court reporting school. It is called stenoscriptioning. The machine skill is invaluable, I agree. I possess it and still use my pen method because a machine is not always available. I also use it to make notes on my case sheets in court, the stuff I would normally have to write in longhand. These notations do not go in the official stenographic record, therefore, they are not written on the machine. Also, the machine can be intimidating to people, unlike a steno pad. I know friends who possess both skills and they do get calls from attorneys asking them to come to depositions with a steno pad, posing as their secretary to "take notes," as if it would be general notes and not verbatim. These friends were verbatim court reporters using Gregg and have switched to the machine.

I also use my Gregg for quick notes, grocery lists, notes at meetings, etc. There are some companies who do not even want you typing notes up on a laptop during a meeting, but you can take all the handwritten notes you want. Why lose getting more? Longhand is too time-consuming and cumbersome! Shorthand enables you to capture more. It also allows you to capture even more than speedwriting. Thanks.

James Moyer, Certified Shorthand Reporter
Court of Common Pleas, First Judicial Dist. of PA
Philadelphia, PA

OOOPPPPSSSSS! Typo!!!! Sorry about the "E" on "pleas." This is what ones gets for being up all night transcribing, after being in court all day. LOL

***

[QUOTE **

***

Jim in York, Pennsylvania said: OOOPPPPSSSSS! Typo!!!! Sorry about the "E" on "pleas." This is what ones gets for being up all night transcribing, after being in court all day. LOL

Nevermind. My edit did take. Now the posting regarding this typos appears. Oh, well.

Jim in York, Pennsylvania said: Nevermind. My edit did take. Now the posting regarding this typo appears. Oh, well.

*

Actually, James, an attorney would take a paralegal (not a secretary) to a deposition. I was a court reporter for ten years and a legal assistant for twenty years. My attorneys never took anyone along - because it was not billable. My attorneys always took their own notes. Many attorneys now take a laptop, or netbook, to depos - faster for keeping notes, saved and can't be lost.

Princess Sparkle in Birmingham, Alabama said: Gidget is it a job requirement? Otherwise there is virtually no demand for this skill that took me many years to learn.

What I suggest is getting some used shorthand books==there very well may be some in your library.

I use shorthand in my job every day. I'm an Executive Assistant to the President of a firm in downtown Atlanta who is in his early 40's, yet prefers to dictate all emails rather than reply himself, which takes too many hours out of his busy day. There still IS a need for this art!

Tony Bellomy in New York, New York said: Dear Group,

I am looking for an Executive Administrative Assistant who knows shorthand and can take dictation. My employer needs someone who can sit with him while he dictates emails and letters. There would, of course, be other duties. But these are the most important for him and I am having a very hard time finding someone. I have advertised on craigslist and found no one. I have looked for Sectretarial Schools in New York and found none. I have calls into Business Schools with Admininstrative Assistant programs and am waiting for calls back from placement offices to see if they even still teach shorthand! Can anyone here help?? Anyone looking for a full time job like this in the city? Or know anyone who is? Or know schools that still teach it?

Help if you can!!
Thanks.

I take shorthand every day and have worked for Presidents of large & small firms, who still dictate emails and don't want to be bothered wasting time answering emails. I'm interested in the position and I also tutor in shorthand if anyone is interested.

Hi Barbara, I use to take speedwriting, but I haven't done it in sooo long, I am quite rusty, I may be able to take a crack at it, the only thing is, I live in west palm beach, florida. Let me know if you are still interested.

I used to live in Boynton Beach for 15 years back in the 80's to mid 90's. I don't do speedwriting but I just love shorthand and used to take it when I worked in Palm Beach County as well.

Barbara in Lawrenceville, Georgia said: I used to live in Boynton Beach for 15 years back in the 80's to mid 90's. I don't do speedwriting but I just love shorthand and used to take it when I worked in Palm Beach County as well.

I learned shorthand in the late 1970's in New Jersey. HOWEVER, nobody uses it now and it can only reinforce your age, IMHO, so I don't even MENTION it.

Shorthand is an outdated and obsolete office skill. It has practically gone the way of the dinosaur. How may office jobs today require the use of shorthand? Very little or none at all.

I know of at least 2 offices that use it... mine (Executive Assistant to the President -- and he's only 42!); and the Executive Assistant to Ted Turner, who dictates all replies to his emails as well as a monthly summarization report. Many people nowadays think that shorthand is obsolete; however it comes in very handy in everyday life... taking down directions by phone or other information that someone may give you since most people speak much faster than a person can write in longhand.

I agree with you... I don't indicate "shorthand" on my resume, however, it sure did come in handy at my job and the President whome I work for has said that it's a "lifesaver" in terms of letting him do other things rather than just answering emails (he gets over 100/day.)

Donna Williams in Birmingham, Alabama said: I have notebooks of old style court reporting in the gregg shorthand. These are from my Mother's murder trial in 1954. I'd love to know the details of my Mother's death, as a child I was told very little. I have exhausted every resource to me. Does anyone have in interest in helping me to get these transcribed?

If you still need help, I am expert with the latest version of Gregg Shorthand, and also very familiar with the version taught in the 1950's. teresaalvarez@adelphia.net

Hi Donna,

I live in Atlanta, so you're not too far from me. I took Gregg shorthand in the 1950's and continue to use my shorthand to this day. I also have experience in transcribing court transcripts, police work, etc. I would be glad in helping you and transcribing them. You can email me at bh2281@yahoo.com

Barbara

Donna, I took Gregg shorthand back in the 50's and still use it today. I live in Atlanta so I'm not far from Birmingham, if you'd like me to help you transcribe it, I'd be happy to. Barbara bh2281@yahoo.com

Thank you so much for your reply, It is my life's dream to know the details of my mother's untimely death. I would be so happy if you can help me. I have the original steno pads from the trial.If you need more details, I'll give them to you.Again thank you so much.

Happy to help. I would need to be paid for my work, though... Have no idea what I would charge since I haven't seen how much work is involved. I do work fulltime during the week and with Christmas coming up, things are pretty hectic right now. You can email me at bh2281@yahoo.com and we can discuss further. We probably would need to meet somewhere along I20 which would be about half-way for each of us. Let's follow through with this conversation on my regular email address and we'll see how we can get this done for you.

Regards,
Barbara