https://cricketbr.github.io/Crickets-Shorthand-Site/
Rev 2025-06-08
Canonical copy and license at (https://cricketbr.github.io/Crickets-Shorthand-Site)
Since I seem to give the same advice often, here it is in one convenient place. Some of it is from personal experience. Some is from too many hours spent reading books and websites about teaching shorthand. (While it may make the hours spent actually studying more efficient, it does not effectively replace them.)
Cricket’s Shorthand Course was written some years after this. It will, hopefully, work with any shorthand book. It gives advice on when to start copying, and then when to start dictation, and how to build speed. You may find that more useful.
This page is long, convoluted, frequently-edited, and only suitable for people who learn the way I do. Some of the advice is contradictory. Follow some of it some days, and the rest of it other days. A bit of variety is good. Some ways will work better on new material, some on old, some on tired days, some on alert days.
Even though the examples are from the shorthands I know best, the advice here applies to all.
Much of this is links to Reddit, where I’m u/CrBr.
All of the advice to beginners, and how to practice, applies to all shorthand systems.
Beryl Pratt’s site https://www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/
Even if you know all the letters needed, wait. Often there’s another rule that applies.
Eg in Gregg and Forkner, C means can, and CN means cannot. If you wrote CN, then try to read it after finishing the book, you won’t read it the same. In Gregg Anniversary, L means will, LE means let, and LET means letter.
Note: Some books say, “Now you can use this outside of class.” Do so, but heed their warnings, and verify any outlines you’re not sure of. Otherwise Future You might not be able to read Present You’s writing, or you might learn something you need to unlearn.
Write the shorthand you’re writing. Don’t use another system’s abbreviations. The same sequence of letters might mean something different in a different system, or even a different edition of the same system.
(We’ve all broken this rule. Try to hold off as long as you can.)
(Some systems, such as Orthic, say you can mix levels in a single sentence, but I say it’s risky. The Supplement changes a few rules. Teeline also claims you can mix fully-spelled words with the advanced rules, and I haven’t seen any examples to the contrary, so it might be true.)
Shorthand leaves out many letters and sounds, and even entire words. Most symbols have multiple meanings. The major shorthands can survive this treatment. Hundreds of thousands of stenographers before you have proven those systems can be trusted. They’ve also proven that reading shorthand takes practice.
If you change the rules, before fully understanding all of them, you’ll create more confusion than you save, and won’t be able to read it back later if you forget your changes. (Trust me, you will forget them.)
Some shorthands, though, weren’t properly tested by their creators. Some editions added briefs for modern words, but didn’t check against older ones (which might not be a problem for you). No amount of your hard work will fix problems with the system. If in doubt, ask one of the shorthand groups before committing.
Most shorthands were created before there was serious study into how adults (and even children) actually learned.
Books on phonetic shorthands conveniently ignore different accents. Everyone trying to better themselves learns the King’s English, right? Just memorize the spellings of words in the text. Trying to change the spelling will lead to conflicts in later chapters. Trying to change your own accent will get confusing, but I find it helps to imagine an actor with that accent speaking, or to mumble a bit when reading.
Many say, “It’s obvious!” No, it isn’t. They used to believe quasi-scientific explanations for things helped students learn, or gave a system legitimacy. The scientific method used to mean having a theory from A to B, actual testing optional. In reality? That method breaks trust.
The “obvious” similarities between print and shorthand, or mouth shape, or grammar rule, might make good memory aids, but in many cases the “obvious” connection was created after the fact. Gregg books begin by saying the large circle for A comes from cursive a. The book The History of Gregg Shorthand says that JRGregg used word frequency lists to ensure shapes that worked well together were assigned to the common letter combinations. I believe the latter.
Many say that you just need to drill and work hard, then give you bad advice on what to drill and how to work. When the student fails, everyone blames the student, including herself. (That’s not to say drill and hard work aren’t necessary, just that they’re not sufficient.)
Many explain a rule, but don’t give enough examples and exercises. As adults, we think we don’t need to do the homework. That’s wrong. We need to practice, and see the rules in action, just as much as kids do. We can focus better, so we can get more benefit in less time, but we still need to practice to get the movements and thoughts into our muscles and brains, and to shift careful thought to automatic writing. I can read music. I know which note to sing and when. Actually doing it takes practice. My teacher has many tricks to help me hit the right note, such as playing a chord without the note I’m supposed to sing. She knows when I need to sing just the vowels for a bit, and which notes to hit exactly on time to keep the rest of the notes in line. She knows when that one M7 interval is throwing the entire song out of whack, and makes me practice M7s until I’m sick of them. She also knows when I’m losing focus and need a change.
Most mistakes new writers make are because they don’t know that the later rules even exist. A slight change in a stroke (eg. turning a circle in the other direction) can change the meaning. Writing more letters than necessary can also change it. Writing incorrectly will develop bad habits that you’ll need to fix later.
Reading ahead also prevents the opposite problem, of being too worried about details that don’t matter.
A teacher who already knows the entire system will look out for this, so you don’t have to.
Quickly read all the theory, so you have an idea of the patterns and what’s really important. Don’t try to learn it, just be aware of it.
Note: The advice to quickly read all the theory quickly is controversial. This is how I start any self-study project. I get an overview of where it’s going (and whether it’s actually what I want to learn), and an idea of the teaching method. However, it can be overwhelming to new students. If one step at a time, or a blend of methods, works better for you, then do that – but be very careful to write exactly as in the book, or get it checked by a teacher.
Alternatively, read the book and trace the outlines with a dry pen, or print it faintly and write with a real pen, to show where your lines don’t match the book’s. That gets you writing accurately, and slows down the avalanche of new material, without the risk of practicing incorrect outlines.
Reading is the fastest way to load your brain with a large vocabulary, and to see the rules in a variety of settings.
Many systems have multiple books and online communities. Some are keyed to the text. Others assume you know the entire system. Reading other people’s writing will help you learn what things you don’t need to stress over (eg exact angle of a line), and help reinforce the rules. It will also help you read your own writing.
Gregg says writing speed is only half of reading speed, so increasing reading speed will help increase writing speed.
Reading will help you learn which details are important and which are not.
This will help you learn what doesn’t have to be exactly as in the manual. Remember the earlier point about the importance of reading practice?
https://www.reddit.com/r/shorthand/ used to have a Quote of the Day (QOTD) with the same passage in many systems, and many comments. https://www.reddit.com/r/shorthand/search/?q=qotd+2019+january is where it started. It got more popular for a while, then faded.
Discord International Shorthand Society also has a QOTD.
https://www.stenophile.com/gregg has many.
Another edition might explain something more clearly.
Some shorthands change a lot between editions. Others don’t.
If you want to learn Gregg Simplified or later, read the Anniversary Manual quickly first. (It’s short, and free online.) Many rules that seem useless or arbitrary have an historical reason. Sometimes that reason helps you learn the rule. It will also make it easier to switch to Anni later, if you decide to.
Many of the major systems have supplemental books, such as common words sorted by textbook chapter, or additional practice material, or notes that were left out of the main book to save printing costs, or teachers’ manuals, or keys.
Use this method, with the list of possible meanings from your Rule Book Sorted by Letter, to help decipher words. The examples are Orthic, even though they look like Gregg.
https://www.reddit.com/r/shorthand/comments/fu8w9u/column_method_for_testing_spelling_options/
It will also help you find other interpretations for an outline you create, before you use it, forget what it means, and mis-read it later.
Often my brain gets stuck on my first interpretation of an outline, even though it doesn’t make sense in context. Keep reading for a few more paragraphs and come back to it. Often that reading gives even more context, or shakes my brain loose enough to think more broadly. Sometimes I was right about that word, but not the surrounding words, or the word appears later with more clues.
Come back to it again tomorrow. If you still can’t read it, ask for help.
Some books recommend referring to the key immediately. I found spending more time deciphering helped me learn that skill, which comes in very useful when I try to read my own notes.
This isn’t easy, but is one of the best ways to learn. You don’t need to be at the same level. Teaching someone else is a good way to learn. Sharing deadlines, even if it’s for different material, helps maintain motivation.
Reddit, Discord, and FaceBook have several groups, both for shorthand in general and specific systems.
Include brief forms and common phrases.
This will make it easy to write new words (once you finish the book). Do this as you go, and rewrite it when you need more space. Rewriting helps you learn.
Include brief forms and common phrases.
Many shorthands use the same letter to mean many different things. This sounds scary, but it works.
The rule book will help you decipher words when reading. The act of making the list, and rewriting it when it needs more space, will help you learn.
Lists make sense for some parts of learning, but a complete vocabulary list is not one of them. It would be too long! Instead, use the time to get better at using the buidling blocks in a variety of settings.
Lists are useful for practicing a rule in a variety of settings, learning abbreviations, and technical terms.
Fold a page into narrow columns. Write the vocabulary in longhand down the left column. Then write the shorthand version in the next column. Now fold the page so you can’t see the longhand. Look at the shorthand, and write the longhand in the next column. Unfold and check your work. Now fold it so you can see the longhand but not the shorthand, and write the shorthand in the next column.
Mark any outlines you struggle with.
It’s ok to learn sequences of words instead of individual words. Do that for a bit, then mix it up.
When making the first shorthand column, be extra careful to copy the outlines correctly.
This exercise can harm as much as help. Do not be more precise than your system requires. My middle-length line Gregg is between 2.5 and 4mm. The short is <1.5mm. Long is >6mm. That’s good enough. When I started, though, I couldn’t even judge “>6mm” without guidance.
There are several sites that generate graph paper to your specifications, including different horizontal and vertical spacing. Even if middle letters don’t start/stop on a line, the grid helps you measure them.
Use the Leitner system for spaced repetition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitner_system
Instead of cards in boxes, use the page from the Accordion Method above. When you finish all the columns on a page, copy the words you struggled with to one page (the first, or review sooner box), and the words you did easily to another page (the review later box).
You don’t have to follow Leitner’s method exactly. Just make sure you spend more time on the words you find harder.
There are online flashcard programs that use this, and even some Anki decks for different systems. They help, but do not replace actually writing the outlines.
This method combines practice writing, and reading your own writing, into a single exercise.
https://www.reddit.com/r/shorthand/comments/10iz42u/how_do_i_learn_to_read/
Note: This helps with reading, penmanship, and repetition. It does not help with speed building.
Some do this in rows. Leave 4 blank lines between each line of the first copy, then copy below it. As always, try both and learn which works best for you.
Using an outline from a different edition is usually ok, especially if you already know the rules used to make it.
Most shorthands have flexibility, but it’s always worth seeing what the experts recommend. Sometime it will work for you. Other times it won’t. Your vocabulary and needs are different from theirs.
https://greggdict.rliu.dev/ for Anni and Simplified.
https://halplatt.github.io/GreggDictionary/ for many versions.
Once you start writing, master each chapter, or group of chapters, before moving on. If you realize you didn’t master the material, go back and redo it. Trying to do the final chapters when you don’t quite remember the earlier ones will slow you down more than going back and relearning them.
I keep two bookmarks. One is for reading ahead. One is for the chapter I’m writing and learning.
Shorthand is meant to be written quickly, as quickly as you can and still read it. Play with speeds. Your hand will learn different things, and make different mistakes, at different speeds.
Think of each outline as a single shape. In Gregg, pay looks like the number 6 – a medium length curved line with a large circle. You write the number 6 in one smooth motion. Write the word pay the same way.
Work up to 40wpm quickly. Every book I’ve seen agrees on that. For most people, that speed forces the shift from letter-by-letter to whole word thinking. Then work on going faster, but not so fast that your accuracy suffers. You’ll find some of the shapes change as you go faster. Think about which changes are acceptable, and which aren’t.
Some teachers stay at 40 or build slightly until you finish the book, so you finish the book sooner, then spend the rest of the course building speed. Others add a bit of speed every few chapters, spending more time on each chapter and reaching target speed by the end of the book. One teacher pushed all the way to 100wpm from the start, first with “write this word 100 times at speed” then groups of words, and building up. The student who reported this thought it was working, but was still in the early lessons.
Take the time to get good at it. Musicians and athletes know you need to repeat the same moves over and over. Even after years, they often return to the basic exercises. Shorthand is similar. It uses both the brain and muscles.
I usually do 3-6 takes each. If you think you can push it higher, do so. If you hit a plateau, accept it.
Some passages are harder than others. You don’t have to push all of them to the same speed, but do push each one as far as you can in a reasonable time.
I find it best to start at target, proof-read, slow down to perfect, back to target and even higher – up to 10% error, drill words I struggle with as I find them (including words before and after), then back to target.
If something is slowing you down, or just doesn’t work, write it 10x – enough that you notice it starting to get better, then stop when it starts getting worse. Be as careful as you need to get good shapes, but no more careful than that. You want your hand to write automatically.
Work on the bit that’s a problem, then add a few letters or words before and after. Work at several speeds: slow enough to be accurate, fast enough that you don’t have time to think, and a few points in the middle.
Your body remembers the last take of each passage more than any other. Go as fast as you can without sacrificing accuracy.
http://qwertysteno.com/Dictation/ converts text to speech. It doesn’t sound as nice as a human dictator, but it’s a lot more patient.
https://www.naturalreaders.com/online/ is reported to sound better, and may do other languages.
Dictation works better than copying for speed building, and even learning. It forces you to keep up. (Copying from paper is also important. Copying from the text forces you to look at correctly-written material. Copying from your own writing alerts you to bad habits, and gives you practice reading it.)
Remember: The goal is to hear a word or phrase and write a single outline (word or phrase) – or a series of outlines – not to hear a word, then write a series of letters.
It will be hard at first -- taking a new article and writing it at a speed at which you must exert yourself -- but write it that first time as if your life depended on it. Acquire the habit of “getting it” the first time. Never mind your notes (just so they are kept within reasonable bounds) and do not bother about phrasing or anything else. Just get it down some way or another. (Swem, A Systematic Course for advanced Writers, 1932??)
While learning the theory, Leslie recommends copying the material from the text, then a dictation of 1 minute, building up to 20% errors for each passage. (Leslie, Methods of Teaching Gregg Shorthand, 1953).
Once you know the theory, Swem recommends 5 minute passages of new material, starting at target speed (with no preview), proof-reading, then slow enough to be perfect, then build up to your target speed.
Other sources recommend a mix – fast and slow each teach you different things.
Start with a passage that will take 4 minutes to write. Divide it into quarters. Build each quarter up as high as you can. Aim for 20wpm faster than your target speed for long passages. Then merge them into halves and build speed again. It will probably be 10wpm slower than the shorter passages. Then build speed on the entire passage. It will probably reach your target speed, or even a bit higher. (Lamb ??)
These are a nice break from rules and penmanship, and may give you even more ideas to make your studying more efficient and your shorthand more fluent and legible. They won’t, however, actually do the work for you.
https://www.reddit.com/r/shorthand/comments/1jwpqju/pringles_twelve_donts/
https://www.stenophile.com/shorthands
This page, and other pages on the site, have tips, and entire books written for and by teachers for different levels, including teachers of teachers. Many of them have advice useful for all systems, even though their publisher wants you to buy their system.
This article is for students who have finished the basic manual in any system, but I successfully used a similar technique starting mid-way through the manual, with slower speeds, of course.
It has you re-read a bit of the manual each session, then take dictation at various speeds, drilling problem areas between takes.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xjlN0rWkkQuCMHhxqRw3T3lJP_AKsS1_pCvI6TWogv4/edit?usp=sharing
This one is a first attempt at interpretation: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5doeyyuyky93ou8fv5qvg/Swem-Shorthand-Speed-Course-Outline.pdf?rlkey=ofpjzxywadprw73cceopqp4q1\&e=4\&dl=0
This article has you analyze each passage before taking dictation, then practicing new material before the first attempt at dictation.
Admittedly I haven’t tested it (having just read New Speed Building), but my current plan is to use A Systematic Speed Course, but take the advice of A New Speed Building Plan to review the rules and drill similar words whenever a word or phrase gives me problems. That will give me old words that I still haven’t mastered, and not waste time with new words that don’t give me problems. It will also reinforce similar words, so the rule sticks in general, and those similar words are less likely to need drilling when I encounter them in future material.
Although…the first attempt at dictation usually tells me which parts I need to work on. Sometimes it’s detailsI thought I’d mastered. Sometimes new words are easy, not worth the time to drill first.
This was written for Gregg, but has much good advice for all shorthands. The first part is about the benefits and method of identifying different levels of students. Then it describes how to help students overcome specific problems.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m7cIfKiprh_gdtYJoxu6iv_6_VoEBPQ3/view
https://greggshorthand.github.io/speedpoints.html
Does your hand prefer a narrow or thicker pen barrel? Do you like to hold near the nib or farther back?
What size does your hand like? Close your eyes and write the alphabet in longhand or print. Now write a shorthand exercise without looking. Repeat this exercise often. Look at the height of the letters, and also at the distance between lines. I prefer slightly larger letters, with lots of room between lines.
Your hand’s preferred size will change as it gets used to the system. I used to write smaller, then relaxed, and realized writing larger helped me write faster and neater. My preferred size also changed after a long break.
What about the angle of the paper? Or the size of your desk?
Do you like a pen that glides or one that grips the paper a bit? Some pens do better with some papers.
Experimenting will help you learn if anything makes a huge difference, and adds interest. (I use fountain pens with ink from mystery bags.)
Eventually, you will be so good with all the rules, and have such a large vocabulary, that you will write confidently, knowing that Future You will be able to read it.
Until then, be prepared for words that worry you. Do NOT simply drop to longhand. That is a bad habit. Write the shorthand as best you can. Mark it. Then write the word in longhand in the margin when the speaker pauses. It’s better to have a few partial words that you clarify immediately after the meeting (or when the speaker pauses), than to lose entire sentences while you puzzle out the new word.
At home, experiment with the word, ask fellow writers about it, and look it up in the dictionary, so you have a good outline for it next time. Then drill the entire sentence.
Also think about words you might need, before you need them. Most meetings begin with introductions. Record names and spellings then, and make a plan if anyone has similar names.
As always, some disagree with this, and recommend dropping to longhand instead of struggling with an outline during dictation. I say it’s a bad habit, but it’s probably not too bad if you still do the work at home.
You will remember the correct spelling of all speakers in the meeting, right? The short form for an awkward name or new long word will stick in your memory forever, right? No.
As described earlier, I write names and new words in the margin, with correct spelling, the first time I write them in each meeting (or during introductions), even if I have several meetings with the same people. Looking through old meetings for spelling is a pain. If I don’t know the spelling, I write it as best I can and mark it for later clarification. Future Me only has to look through the margins of a few pages to find the answer. If I have several meetings with the same people, or the same topics, I might move the list to the back of the book. I don’t do that immediately because flipping to the back takes more time than writing in the margin, and the list might get filled with outlines I only use once or twice.
I experimented with a single list of new words. This quickly got unwieldy, filled with words I only used a few times, and was an extra piece of paper to keep track of.
Your needs are different. Experiment, and find a system that balances ease of recording with ease of finding it when you need to read it.
Some say it helps you reinforce the shorthand words you already know. That’s good.
Others say it creates the habit of using shorthand in notes for others (who don’t know shorthand). That’s not good. Or maybe it’s good, if it encourages others to learn shorthand.
Several sites have a Quote of the Day or Week.
Read what others write, and the comments it receives.
Comment on what others write. As a new learner, you will be more alert to some mistakes, and less tolerant of minor differences (that might become major if not corrected).
The writer might share good reasons for the way they did something, that aren’t in the book you have. Your book might have a better way to do something.
You might get a study buddy, which helps with motivation.
Others will be more willing to comment on your writing, after seeing that you are working hard, and will pay it forward.
Thanks to:
Shorthand Discord V2, especially @vevrik, @stenophile, @richard for ideas and review.
Reddit Shorthand, especially u/BerylPratt.
2025-06-08: