Have you ever missed some words in a lecture? Are you wondering how to learn shorthand?
Learning shorthand can significantly improve speed and efficiency in note-taking, making it invaluable for students, journalists, and professionals.
Learn shorthand and capture information quickly!
The Gregg Shorthand System
Gregg's system is the most popular in the U.S. It uses symbols to represent how words sound when spoken.
It looks something like this:
When considering how to learn shorthand, this system feels too complex for some people, but there are other alternatives you can use for note-taking.
Tips to Speed Up Note-taking
Removing vowels from words will speed up the task of note-taking. The result might look odd, but you'll get used to it.
Examples:
Sunday > Sndy
conference > cnfrnc
assessment > ssmt
Writing the the first few letters will save time too. You need to make sure there are enough letters to recognize the word since many words have the same onset.
Examples:
rev > revolution
ind > industrial/industrialization
gen > genome
Using initials for phrases helps too.
Examples:
FS > first summit
SP > second position
Quiz
You're practicing shorthand notes. In the sentence: "The United Kingdom population has decreased by 20% in the past five years". Which shorthand would be useful? Select all that apply:
Problems with Shorthand Note-taking
Learning how to use shorthand can pose difficulties:
Too many abbreviations can leave your notes difficult to understand, defeating the purpose.
It's best to abbreviate only when it makes sense and keep short words as-is. For example, there is no need to abbreviate words like "the" or "of".
Mastering Shorthand Notes
These tips will help you learn how to write shorthand notes:
Practice with common words. Prepositions and the verb "to be" appear frequently in spoken language. You'll have some frequent terminology from your field of study as well. Practice writing those words on paper several times to get familiar with them.
Time yourself. Use a timer to record how fast you write using the system's symbols and abbreviations. Your speed will increase with practice.
Do dictation exercises. Record yourself and then take notes when you listen to your recording, or listen to online lectures while practicing shorthand. This will increase your speed and confidence in using it.
Take Action
Now that you know some basics about how to learn shorthand, take these next steps:
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