1 - "My First Anxiety Article!"
2 - "Mark K.'s Thoughts On Test Anxiety!"
3 - "Radio Clips About Steno Anxiety!"
4 - "SimplySteno is Closing Enrollment - Special Offer!"
5 - "Test Anxiety Links"

My First Anxiety Article! (back to top)

I wrote my first article on the topic of test anxiety about 6 years ago.  Funny how it all still applies.  Enjoy!

I've been involved in court reporting for over 7 years now - as a reader, instructor, program coordinator, cheerleader - and 2 questions come up on an almost daily basis:

1. "How long does it take to get through school?"
2. "How can I stop getting so nervous during tests?"

The answer to question number 1 is easy. It depends. It depends on your commitment. It depends on your teachers. It depends on your natural proficiency for the steno machine. It depends on your home life. It depends on about a dozen other things. Whew, that was easy!

Unfortunately, question number 2 is a bit more challenging. "I get nervous when I know the test is coming." "I'm getting the test and then I lose it because I know I'm getting it." "I choke during tests." If I had a dime for every time I heard one of these comments, I'd be teaching court reporting…in the Bahamas.
First, let's figure out if you're "normal." Does everybody have test anxiety? Does everybody get nervous, an upset stomach and sweaty palms? You betcha! Take a poll in your class. There may be a couple students who claim nerves never come into play, but on the whole, everybody gets some form of test anxiety. So you're normal. Congratulations!

Now we have to determine why you are feeling this way. Is your anxiety a result of not being prepared? Are you attending your classes the way you should? Are you reading back your notes the way you should? Are you studying the way you should? If you can answer "no" to any of these, I'd have anxiety too! On the one hand, you're not giving yourself a fair chance. You're playing the game without the proper equipment. On the other hand, you can correct it, and that's nice to know. You can't complain about not passing tests if you're not giving it your all. Be fair to yourself.

Then we have the other kind of anxiety. You're fully prepared. You can write the speed. But when you hear the word, "Ready?" you freeze. It's an irrational, but completely normal reaction. And the goal isn't to eradicate that nervous feeling. The goal is to overcome that nervous feeling. Control it. Plow over it!
I speak publicly very often. It kills me…on the inside. Nobody in the audience would know this by looking at me. They see a calm, semi-intelligent man, boring them to tears. But on the inside my intestines are twirling around, struggling to escape my body! Years ago, I wouldn't have been able to overcome that feeling. Now…I just do it. I know that my skills (like yours) go much deeper than my fears.

Now let's get down to some real ideas here! First, I'm going to assume you're a good student. You're not your own hurdle. Okay. How can we approach a test? "I hope I don't screw up!" "I need to get this one!" Nope. That's setting up your own failure. You may sneak in a pass every now and then, but on the whole, that kind of thinking is not going to get you into the working world. A test is a chance to show what you've learned. It's your chance to display the time you've put in. We need tests. Passing a test is the greatest motivation of all! And if you are properly prepared, you should be looking forward to tests. You should be thinking about getting into that typing room afterwards and doing the best you can. And that's it! I didn't say you should be passing every test, just because you've been practicing hard. That's not the way it works. I have students that can write 200, but if I gave them a dense, medical lit at 170, many of them wouldn't write it at 95.5% (the passing percentage in my program). Being a 200 word per minute writer doesn't mean you can be expected to write everything that comes your way at 200 words per minute. But if I repeated the word "cat" at 200 words a minute to a 140 student, I'll bet they'd get every word. Does that make them a 200 writer? Nope. You can't expect to get everything in your speed range. It's impossible. You can only prepare yourself to pass a fair test when it comes along. Look forward to it! The next test could be that test! You should be eager to take it!

Is your heart beating fast…veins popping out on your forehead…toes curled…jaw clenched? Either a test is coming up or you're about to give birth. There are two battles to be won when it comes to test anxiety, the mental, which I was just discussing, and the physical. It's just as important. You have to condition your body for a test as well. Your 10 fingers are doing all of the work, but it's the whole package that makes them work properly. A few basics.
Nutrition. "Oh, geez! Don't lecture me about my diet!" Sorry, but it's true. Why not give yourself every benefit possible. Don't go to the test with an empty stomach. I know I can't think properly if I'm thinking about Big Macs (not recommended before a test). Fresh fruits and vegetables have often been recommended to reduce stress. Want to place a hurdle in front of yourself? Drink soft drinks, eat chocolate, fried foods, junk food, foods containing preservatives or anything else that's high in sugar. No, sugar does not give you a "writing boost." Enough said about that.

Avoidance. No, don't avoid the test.  Avoid students who tend to raise that anxiety in you. You know what I'm talking about. Find a group of students who motivate each other, not those who are more than happy to badmouth the school, badmouth tests and badmouth other students. Buying into that kind of thinking is a progress killer. Get away from them! They're everywhere! Like little roaches trying to bring you down! Aghhhhhh!!!

Your body. It's a lean…mean…steno-writing machine, right? It needs to be come test time. As you're sitting in class, preparing to take a test, take a mental scan of your body from head to toe. Then analyze. Start with your toes. Are they curled - rigid? Loosen them. Let them relax and keep them that way for at least 10 seconds. Move up to the ankles and calf muscles. Are they tight? Let them go. That's energy you're using that can better used elsewhere. And keep moving up your body - your legs, stomach, butt, arms, fingers, neck - whatever you have, let it go! You will be amazed at what you realize you've been clenching (don't forget the jaw). When you're through, you should find yourself in a "happy" place, comfortable and alert. That's a good time to check your posture. Make a routine out of this. Eventually it will become second nature, and you can check it off as one less thing to consider when taking a test.
Focal points. Some students have them and others don't. I have no preference on the matter. I only bring this up because I once had a student complain after a test that their focal point "ruined the test" for them. "Why is that?" I asked. "It walked away!" Good lesson. Never pick a spider as your focal point. Preferably pick something that won't decide it's time to move on.

And finally…yes, finally…remember that a test is only a test. There will be others. A single test is not an all-or-nothing proposal. Every new test is another chance to prove what you've been practicing!

Mark K.'s Thoughts on Test Anxiety! (back to top)

This comes from a live chat we did with Mark Kislingbury a couple years ago.

Here let me just copy from my book, "My System: The Road To Realtime Excellence," Chapter 18, "Preparing for Tests." This chapter is short and sweet, but I believe that it presents the only tried-and-true, works-nearly-every-time method for passing tests or competing in contests. There will be no talk of psyching ourselves up here, no talk of confidence boosters and nerve-calmers, except for one:

Kislingbury rule number 14: Preparation and practice are the only way to have real confidence. If you are not ready to take a test, then most likely you will not pass it. If you are just on the edge of being good enough to pass, then most likely you will not pass. But if you have practiced, and practiced, and put in the hours so that you KNOW that you are capable of performing easily above and beyond the test standard, so much so that it seems almost second nature, then it is almost certain that you WILL pass. Cramming does not work. Usually preparation must take place for many weeks and even months before a test or contest in order to be fully prepared.

Now, I do realize that some individuals are poor "test takers" -- that it doesn't matter what the test is, but that just the very thought of a "test" makes them nervous and unable to perform up to usual standards. Again, for those individuals, there is no better confidence builder than knowing beyond a doubt that they are fully prepared and capable of passing the test. The more prepared you are, the less anxious you will be.

Radio Clips About Steno Anxiety! (back to top)

Many, many years ago, Bill Courtland and I did an Internet radio show about stenography.  The links below are sound clips (a few minutes each) that talk about test anxiety.

Test Anxiety Clip One
Test Anxiety Clip Two

SimplySteno is Closing Enrollment - Special Offer! (back to top)

No...not forever.  But we will be closing open enrollment on May 31st - that's the LAST day you can sign up.  If you sign up before then, that doesn't mean you have to start right away.  It only means that you've secured a slot to start whenever you like.  We close enrollment every now and then to keep the number of students in our program down.  Since I like the do the bulk of the work on my own - I feel that's what students are paying for - I need to make sure I have enough time to give them all the attention they need.

And if you join in the month of April, I will pay for you to join NCRA if you're not already a member.  If you are, I'll pay for your next membership.

I can't say when enrollment will be open again.  It could be a few months.  It depends on how many current students move into the working world or leave our program.  So if you've been thinking of joining the SimplySteno program, now's the time!  If you have any questions about the program, please email me at Marc@StenoLife.com.  Once you speak to any of my students, I know you'll be convinced!
Thanks!
Marc

Test Anxiety Links (back to top)

Isn't the Internet amazing?!  How did we ever live without it?  After doing much research, I've decided that the websites below offer the best information regarding test anxiety.  Much of the advice overlaps, but that's because it makes sense. Check 'em out!

https://www.campusblues.com/test.asp
https://www.couns.uiuc.edu/brochures/testanx.htm
https://www.how-to-study.com/testanxiety.htm
https://www.sdc.uwo.ca/learning/mcanx.html

Thanks!
Marc Greenberg

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