Shorthand Dictation


On Shorthand

"God for a month of power and a good shorthand writer!"
—Winston Churchill

Isaac Newton made notes in shorthand. Charles Dickens wrote in shorthand as a court stenographer where he first observed the drama and intrigue of Victorian political life. Shorthand has a long pedigree and remains practiced today, in its various forms, as professional tool and personal hobby. It is eminently worth learning, both for its practicality and for the joy of economical writing. If you are just beginning to learn, I encourage you to stick with it. Competence takes practice.

The purpose of this tool is to help you practice while sparing some of the tedium of recording your own dictations. But don't be deceived that this is the only way to practice. It is still worth practicing with recorded audio to experience the rhythm and tone of words as they are spoken by a real person. Shorthand consists in no particular tool. People practiced shorthand before recording technology was invented. Don't ever let the lack of a perfect tool become an excuse, and just practice.