I am running out of time!!!

[Kwanna Collins]

Hello my CSR Nation friends!!!! I am a student and i am at 190 in Q and A. I would like to reach my goal, 225, by October. Do you think it's possible?

Thanks

[Marge Teilhaber (TILE hobber)]

With 3 hours a day of concentrated practice and learning smart briefs and phrases, possibly.

[Dana Serrano]

Anything is possible. Quit doubting yourself.

[Janet]

Hi Kwanna,

Yes, you can reach your goal. Practice, practice, practice. Another HUGE part of it is relaxing. The faster the speaker, the more we tend to tighten up. That causes a loss of speed. If you really focus on relaxing, right down to your fingers, during high speeds, you will write faster. Remind yourself to relax when you start to feel stressed.

You also have to change your thinking to believe and know that you can and will reach your goal.

Janet

[Kwanna Collins]

Janet you are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!!!! Whenever I am getting a test word from word, OMG all of a sudden my hands start shaking, i forget my briefs, and i start to hyperventilate. When i practice at home, i don't have this problem. I really need to relax and listen. I don't know how to overcome the anxiety when i am testing...Thats a major problem that i am working on.


Thanks everyone. All of the answers are very helpful!!!

[JiLL]

MoSt deF! Im righT there WitCha... I haVe faiTh. PRACTICE PRACTICE

[Lisa Paige]

Did you already talk with someone over at Stenograph about their practice materials? I just got an e-mail from them a few days ago about a speed building and vocabulary thing that they offer... Literary Performance something or other.

[Kwanna Collins]

Hi Lisa. I recently purchased two Cd's from NCRA at 200 WPM. Both of them are super fast. Faster than the speeds in my school but i try to keep up. So i am going to focus on those two Cd's over my break and hopefully when i go back to school in July, i can pass my 190's and 200's.I should be on my way from there :)

[Janet]

Hi Kwanna,

Practicing at higher speeds is good, too. I passed the RPR and CRR on my first try after practicing at higher speeds. The tests actually seemed slow, and I had time to work through the jitters. I did the same thing with the RMR. When I first started practicing, I thought I'd never get the speed. But I practiced every day for at least an hour for a month before the test. Right before it, I prayed that I could relax so that I could be at my best. It worked, and I passed all legs of the RMR on my first try. I worked in Federal court as an official, and that's when it really kicked in that I have to relax even when the speed is out of control. If I stiffen up, there's no way I'm going to get it. When I get tense, I tend to pound the keys, and lift my hands up too high between strokes. Try to keep your hands low to the keys between strokes. That helps increase your speed, too.

I know you can do it.

Janet

[Judy]

I agree with Janet. Plus, B-R-E-A-T-H. Things start to get fast and you hold your breath. Remember to breath. If you have the speed, you just have to get past the test jitters, and breathing really helps with that.

[matt hanneman]

Hi Kwanna,
my name is matt and I am a student. It was hard for me to envision typing 225 at first, but like many of the replies I would say practice high speeds 25% to 30% past your goal speed. Also practice putting different phrases together. That helped me pass a practice 225 at school! matt

[Christine (Steno Nerd)]

Hi, Kwanaa.

I'm so glad you posted this here, because I'm a court reporter student, too. It's been great reading the replies from our wonderful CSR Nation friends here. Glean all that rich knowledge! (I'm talking to myself, too!)

Mark Kislingbury of Magnum Steno says to practice during the day, but take breaks in between. He says it's better to practice once in the morning and once again in the evening instead of a huge block of time, say, mid-day. He says when we go to our machine at different times during the day, it helps our brain recognize that we are supposed to learn all this writing at 225 WPM stuff and use it at will, instead of just trying to learn it at one shot, right then and there kind of thing. We don't want that! Anyway, that's one strategy that has helped me a lot.

Also, besides practicing in higher speeds, make sure you get your briefs down! Get the typical phrases you know will come up during testimony and get the little words, too! I need to work on the little words because I anticipate what speakers will say, and it's the little, little words that trip me up the most!

Please let us know your progress! I'm not at 190 yet. Just got into my 160s, but I'm hoping to be in 180 by the end of July!

We can do this, Kwanna! We gotta stay disciplined... and believe! ;)

Good luck & God bless!

---
I'm a Steno Nerd!

[La Toya Youngblood]

Hi, Kwanna

When I was in my last speed class, it seemed like I would never be able to pass my 200 Q&A. It took me almost the whole semester to pass it. I knuckled down practicing mostly Q&A and finally passed it the last month of that semester. Within the next two to three weeks, I passed all three 225 Q&As as well as a couple of other tests that I needed to complete the course.

Don't give up. You will get there in time.