Relearning shorthand

I went to business school in 1977, we learned speedwriting but as most have said, I haven't used it in years. I would like to relearn it though, but don't remember the name of it. It wasn't Gregg, I know that. It was what the Trend Business College was using then for secretarial degrees. Does anyone remember the name? I've Binged speedwriting and what I see on-line is not at all like what I learned. I used to be able to take dictation at 120 wpm. Can anyone help? Gail

It probably was Pittman

Leanora Erica Mims in Ithaca, New York said: It probably was Pittman

Actually, I was just digging around in my hope chest, and came across my certificates of completion, and it was called Stenospeed Shorthand. But appreciate the help. Gail

Never heard of that course, glad that you found your certs.

Regarding: The Gregg Writer Magazines

I have been looking for shorthand magazines on Ebay and other sites, but I don't know what's a fair price to pay.

Ebay has some for about $19.99 each, but doesn't have much. I found a site that sells a bunch for only $12.99, at www.itemsandstuff.com , does anyone have any input on whats a good price?

I have a Gregg shorthand book that I found in a bookstore that sold used books. Since I've taken shorthand for 40 years and still use it today, I haven't lost the technique. Since they are difficult to find, I would say the price range you mention is fine. The problem with trying to learn shorthand through a book without a tutor/teacher is that the direction you begin the shorthand stroke matters as well as the angle of the stroke.

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?

I would be willing to help you. I am rusty but I am not working right now and would be willing to try

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?

I first learned shorthand in high school and took a refresher course at a community college. An easier way would be to the library and checkout a book or visit a community college bookstore and see if they have a book. I still have my GREGG Shorthand For Colleges Second Edition, but I am sure they are around somewhere. From there you can do what we did in school. Take a shorthand notepad (Target sells them) and do one Lesson each night by repeated the strokes. If they are easy, go on to the next Lesson, but we took one lessen per class and did homework. Each stroke would be done on one side of the page or the entire page if it wasn't easy for you. As we know, not all the words in our vocabulary will be in a GREGG Textbook, so you sound out each phonetic sound of the word and if possible incorporate any brief forms. I hope this helps out. Otherwise, just email me and I will be happy to answer any other questions. Shorthand always helped me in every work and school situation I ever had. Good Luck!

Traditional shorthand and speed writing methods are not popular any more because of the complexity and significant amount of time to master.

Simpler alternative systems such as EasyScript and MiniScript are English Grammar-based utilizing a small set of rules and a large volume of memorization is not required. They can be very quickly learned and used immediately.

For more info take a look at: www.easyscript.com.

I have taught myself Gregg Shorthand. Right now I am looking for a job.

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.

Contact a Stenotype School - I took a year long course at the Stenotype Institute of Philaelphia and was able to attain high speeds. But the person would have to have a stenotype machine. Check local courts to see if there is someone who could do this.

I am looking for an Executive Administrative Assistant position and could do what your boss is looking for. Have a laptop computer available with a mouse and I could type what the boss is saying and, when finished, make any corrections and print. Another suggestion is for the boss to use a tape recorder and dictate into that. The assistant could transcribe later. However, you need fast typing speed - mine is 62 wpm.

I hope this will help.

Gloria Shahan
dicglosha@earthlink.net

I

If you need someone to take minutes at a meeting or what your boss wants to say, what about (1) have a tape recorder in the room and transcribe later or (2) use a laptop with a mouse and just type what your boss says and make corrections later. Of course, the person would have to type quckly.

Good luck.

Sure, Mr. Bellomy, if you need someone to take shorthand, feel free to contact me by email, here in NYC. I take Pittman & work on Mac and pc. Give yourself a good day. lainie

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?

try greggs shorthand refresher. I still use it, just need more
speed. Also, if uncomfortable w/all vocabulary: use/create your own. ( the strokes for shorthand are just abb. for the word, or words). Good Luck!

Barbara in Lilburn, Georgia said: 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

do you know any site which is useful for me to improve my shorthand speed

lainie815@aol.com in Brooklyn, New York said: 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

how can you help us

you mail or dictate and i transcribe and send back via email?

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 learned Gregg shorthand (1-3)in high school where I attained a speed of 100. However, in collecge I was able to get up to 180. I still have my textbooks and will start practicing tonight. How much does this job pay? I can be reached at pc2u2friend@gmail.com.

JoAnn in Oak Creek, Wisconsin said: I did take shorthand a long number of years ago also and used it everyday. This is a dying art just like transcription, either by tape or digital and believe me, if you are going into an office where they require this, you can go to the local college or possibly high school and take classes for (not shorthand) but speedwriting. It is very similar to shorthand, but even faster and you can memorize more and faster because almost all the words are spelled phonetically. Even though speedwriting is not used very often, I learned this skill and it became useful to me and my boss when he was out of town and I had to take dictation over the phone and type a letter or document for him. I used it a number of times also when speaking to other people since you can't remember all the details when you are in a telephone conversation, therefore I used to take my notes in speedwriting and transcribe for memos to a file that way-a real timesaver. I wouldn't worry about having a hard time memorizing or being good at it now-times have changed and there are teachers out there on the college level or high school level that are really good at what they teach and they are very helpful too.
Those are my suggestions.

Other suggestions to get into the marketplace-see if you can take some short classes in Word, Excel, etc. at the high school or college level before you attempt anything else. It is computers, computers, computers no matter where you go.

Good luck and hope that this has helped you.

I GIVE FREE LESSONS IN SHORTHAND, GREGG SHORTHAND THAT IS, ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL, I HAVE ABOUT 30 VIDEOS UPLOADED ON IT, FROM A TO Z, WITH A NUMBER OF BRIEF FORMS ALSO. JUST GO TO THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL OF : moseseseseses, AND SEE MY UPLOADED LESSONS ON SHORTHAND.

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 teach Gregg Shorthand, on my youtube channel of : moseseseseses. I have about 30 videos on it uploaded, and will continue uploading more videos in the future. I'm in the process of moving, but if you would like to afford yourself at leisure to check it out, please do so.

Gee, Tony. I used to live in Northern NJ (Caldwell) and if I still lived there, I would apply for the position! :) I've taken shorthand throughout my career and continue to do so in my position working for the President/CEO of a firm in Atlanta. Amazing as it may seem, there are still some employers (CEOs mainly) who prefer dictating either over the phone while they're driving or at their office, rather than sitting behind a computer all day, responding to emails, etc. Did you know that Ted Turner's Exec. Asst. takes shorthand and that he dictates while on the road. Unfortunately, I've been told that there aren't any schools who teach it anymore. Sorry I can't be of more help. Barbara

Yes, Tony, I will be able to support you. I take Pitman Shorthand (about 100wpm and typing 90-100wpm) with Mac and pc proficiency. Employed by 2 media giants for 2 decades. Please contact me. I can work in Manhattan or wherever, and have an office also in a separate apartment. Thank you. And give yourself a good day. Elaine

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 hold the requisite qualifications in Pitman/RSA and expertise to do the job.

Please contact me if the vacancy is not yet filled.

Sincerely

Emmanuel

I am a legal secretary and of the old school. I am from England and did Pitmans shorthand at College years back. I have been in LA for about 25 years and oddly enough am on a work assignment at a law firm and have been taking SHORTHAND notes and drafting letters and stuff and taking dictation from some Gmail thing. I have not used it in years but now am interested in doing it again. Anybody out there need me?