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On this page:
Lessons
Notepad
Pen/Pencil
Shorthand Dictionary
Posture
Pen Hold
Study & Practice
Shorthand at Work
About Me
NEW Oct22:
Downloads
Exercises/Ten Word Speed Ups Drills
LESSONS
These graded lessons will take you through the entire system. Each
lesson has example outlines using only the principles learned so
far. There is an Extra Vocabulary section at the end of each lesson,
these are not used in the exercises but are for later use once the
system is learned, to vary or create new exercises.
As you are working through and practising, please ensure that you
only use words that are shown here and avoid creating further
outlines for apparently similar words, as those may use other
principles that are introduced later on, or may have special
outlines that avoid clashes. Spend your time
consolidating knowledge of the vocabulary given.
Once you have completed all the lessons, it is a good habit to
always look up a new outline in the shorthand dictionary, to check
it is correct. This will save the future frustration of
unlearning an incorrect one, and is also an opportunity to learn or
revise the derivatives as well.
NOTEPAD
Lined paper is necessary because Pitman’s Shorthand outlines
are written in different positions relative to the notepad line. The
ideal is a top-bound spiral notepad so that
the pages can be flipped over rapidly. When taking down from a
speaker, the flipped pages are left where
they fall and not tucked under. Before starting a new notebook, bend
and fan the three edges to separate the pages, and flip over enough
pages for the assignment, so there is no sticking at the holes and
spirals - essential for an exam or work meeting situation.
A minimum of 8mm between the printed lines. Narrower
than that will produce cramped outlines which will be more difficult
to write neatly.
Draw a 2cm margin
on the left side, for extra notes and corrections. If
using shorthand for work, the margin is helpful for
subheadings, for quick reference and for the names of different
speakers at a meeting.
A notepad used only for
outline repetition and facility drills can omit the margin.
A central line on the
notepad page is not recommended, as this doubles the interruptions
to the flow of writing, incurs travelling back to the top of the
page, and prevents good phrasing because of the very short line
length of each column. If you have to use A4 paper, then ruling in
half would be necessary, to get the column size down to a manageable
size, or rule off two-thirds for writing continuous matter, so that
the line length remains the same as in purchased pads, and use
the other third for outline drills.
-
Whilst writing, with the other hand get
hold of the bottom corner of the page, ready to flip it over
rapidly.
-
Work through the pad
only using one side of the sheets, then turn the pad over and
work back through.
-
Keep a rubber band
around the used pages, so that the pad always opens at the next
blank page. It is alarming to turn the page only to find it has
already been written on.
-
Draw a vertical line
through pages that have been read/transcribed and are no
longer needed.
Transfer marginal notes, such
as corrections or items that need further practising, to a more permanent notepad, so that they are available for revision.
With a very thick pad arrange
it so that only a small wad of the sheets is
under the hand.
PAPER
Good quality smooth paper will prevent bleed-through of ink, which
means you can use both sides, and the pencil will make a
clearer black line without having to use too
much pressure. Ink bleed-through may also reach the sheet
underneath, producing marks and dots which may lead to a misreading
of the shorthand.
See Print Your Own Notepad
PDF on the Downloads General
page.
It may be helpful to keep
separate pads, one for outline repetition and facility drills, and
another for dictations, so that you can discard the former once
filled, but keep the dictations pad for repeated re-reading of your
shorthand. A drill pad once filled could be reused by writing over
the outlines again in a red pencil, or a very hard pencil that makes
no mark, as long as the outlines being overwritten are correct and
well written.
PEN/PENCIL
An ink fountain pen with a flexible nib is the ideal implement for
writing Pitman’s Shorthand, but a pencil is recommended for
beginners, so that entire concentration is on the shorthand and not
on the implement.
Flexible nibbed fountain pen The shorthand on this site, and
the other sites, was
written with a Noodler's flex pen. These pens are not expensive and
are designed to be easily taken apart for cleaning and adjusting the
nib position for flex and ink flow - all the parts are either
friction fit or screw thread. The Ahab version holds much more ink
than the average fountain pen, although it is a little larger in the
hand. The pen needs to be as lightweight as possible when writing,
so I advise that the cap is not posted on the pen.
Be aware that some pens sold as "shorthand
pens" may be for Gregg or Teeline which do not need a flexible nib.
HB or F pencil The pencil must be able to make thick and
thin strokes without denting the paper. If you can see indentations
on the reverse of the paper, you are pressing too hard, the pencil
is too hard or the paper is too low quality and soft. A very soft
lead will rapidly become too blunt to form the finer details of the
outlines. Have several pencils to hand, ready to swap over, so you
always have a good point right through the shorthand session. It is
helpful to also have a red pencil, which is clearer for
circling errors without obscuring the other outlines.
Normal hexagonal pencils
are fine for the learner, but a professional taking notes for long
periods may find a shorthand pencil preferable, with a circular
section, as being more comfortable in the hand.
Ball points and gel pens are not recommended
for Pitman's Shorthand, as they do not
produce the necessary distinction in stroke line width.
Propelling pencils are not suitable for shorthand learning or
for writing at speed, as the thin leads are too likely to break
and they encourage you to write more slowly as you
to try to avoid that happening. There is no time during writing at
speed to advance the lead, even with a side click mechanism. A
propelling pencil may be useful for leisurely shorthand such as
composing a report or diary, although again they will still
encourage the habit of slow writing, which will have to be overcome
if you are aiming to be a faster writer.
Pencil sharpener Ensure the blade is very sharp, so there is
no forcing, which may make an invisible break further up in the
lead. Have enough pencils so that you do not need
to sharpen during a study period, or for swapping to if a broken
lead is encountered. Consider sharpening both ends.
NOT NEEDED Rubber/eraser, either loose or on the end of the
pencil. Shorthand is never erased, corrected or scrubbed out, any
error is circled and the correct outline written next to it or in
the margin. Cut off and discard the eraser, and sharpen the second
end of the pencil instead.
SHORTHAND DICTIONARY
A shorthand dictionary is essential. A pocket size dictionary is
adequate for the learner. The serious speed aspirant should obtain
the largest one they can. If it does not say “New Era” on the cover
or title page, it will be an older version of the system, which will
be of no use to you.
See
Downloads General page for my 3000 Common Word Dictionary PDF, plus
other more internet shorthand books download links
on my other website
https://www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/links.htm#shorthand-books
POSTURE
Arrange your study area so you can sit fairly upright with the upper
arm vertical, so you are not carrying its weight when writing. Fingers and hand form
the outlines, and the lower arm provides the horizontal travel
across the notepad. The side of the little finger or palm should
touch very lightly on the paper, to keep the hand steady, but not
taking the weight of the arm.
If the desk is too low, it may be helpful to
have a slightly
sloping surface, using a board with the far end propped on a book,
to help avoid stooping or leaning over the pad, as long as the
notepad can remain stable on it, and there is room for the flipped
pages to stay out of the way.
PEN HOLD
Hold the pen or pencil between the first two fingers and the thumb.
A tight or clenched grip of the pen prevents the fine movements
necessary to form the outlines, and you cannot make those small
shapes just using the movement of the arm.
HOW TO STUDY AND PRACTISE
Read the section of the Lesson.
Write each outline several times, saying it out loud. Form
the outline carefully and neatly, without stopping at any angles.
Write each outline in one continuous movement, at the same speed as you
would write a letter of the longhand alphabet. The aim is smooth
writing with a light touch, not hesitant or heavy-handed drawing.
Read the exercises for that section. Repeat until they can be
read at an even rate, with no hesitations. Keep
the text below the screen, so there is no temptation to read
the key too soon. Reading the shorthand out loud helps to maintain
focus and avoids the temptation to skip any
words.
Do the facility drills The Facility Drill PDFs have the
sentences more spaced out vertically, so that they are easier to copy.
Copy them into your notepad - 3 per page, leaving six blank lines
after each. Once your pad is prepared, go back and fill in the blank
lines, repeating one sentence six times before moving on to the
next. The aim is to write neatly at an even speed, with no
hesitations. When you are confident, you can leave out some of the vowel
signs on obvious words as you copy the sentences - see Lesson 35 for
advice on this.
If you prepare a facility drill
pad in advance, you
can use it at odd moments, outside of study times or away from home.
An additional method is to print out the
drill PDF pages and write over the top of the outlines many times in
a hard pencil that makes no mark, to further accustom the hand to
writing the outlines.
Take from dictation Take down one 6-sentence exercise
paragraph at a time. Read and/or type back your shorthand
note. Ring round anything that needs checking or correcting, and
transfer to your revision notebook. After practising the
corrections, retake the dictation.
Start each study session with a warm-up by reading and
writing some of the exercises from the previous session.
SHORTHAND AT WORK
When using a fountain pen, keep some sharpened pencils to hand, in
case the ink runs out or the nib dries unexpectedly. A dry nib can
be avoided by keeping a wet tissue handy to quickly push it into, to
get the ink running again. For longer pauses at a meeting, keeping
the cap close by, to put the nib into will help prevent
drying. If the ink runs out when you are away from your ink supply,
e.g. in a meeting, you can quickly half refill the pen with drinking
water. An "empty" pen still has a good amount of ink hidden within,
so the writing will still be readable. The pen should be cleaned as
soon as possible afterwards, so that the water does not dry inside
the pen, with possible limescale deposit problems.
Date and number pages for a particular assignment, and draw vertical line through
when transcribed.
Treat your work notepad as you would other confidential papers, if
necessary removing confidential pages and filing them with the other
paperwork, and shredding when no longer required.
Keep a separate notepad for your own private notes on shorthand
matters, such as words to look up and practise, so that you can take
it home.
About Me
I learned shorthand on a one-year
course at commercial
college in South East London, UK, in 1972, leaving with certificates for 120 and 130 wpm and
went into office employment, taking shorthand notes for various
departments. Several years later I attended evening classes and
gained certificates for 140 and 150 wpm.
Shorthand has different uses
nowadays, for personal notes, diary, meetings and hobby, but I am
sure that, once you have learned it to a reasonable level of skill,
you will wonder how you managed without it, and longhand will seem
insufferably slow!
Shorthand on your CV will make it
stand out amongst scores of others and prove that you are a person
with the determination to see a project through to completion.
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