The Steno Life
Issue #8

Getting close to 2000 members soon! When I told my mom that the other day, she asked, "Do you know that many people?" Mom's not really on top of the whole Internet thing : ) This edition of The Steno Life has a series of quick jabs, rather than a couple knockout punches - just some brief observations that may help students coming up. As always, don't tell me about grammatical errors or typos in this newsletter - I appreciate the concern, but... If you want to contribute an article, please email me at marc@stenolife.com.

Past issues of The Steno Life - Issue 1 Issue 2 Issue 3 Issue 4 Issue 5 Issue 6 Issue 7

Articles in this issue -

1 - "Cough...Sneeze...PASS!!!"
2 - "Skittles"
3 - "Bricks"
4 - "Hardcopy - Marc Was Wrong!"
5 - "SimplySteno.com Closing Open Enrollment"
6 - "TriGemini.com Trial Offer!"
7 - "Ain't Too Proud to Proof"
8 - "Something EVERY Student Should Know!"

Cough...Sneeze...PASS!!! (back to top)

Not feeling great? A little under the weather? Now’s the perfect time to pass a test! I’ve seen it happen time and time again. A student walks into my classroom, steno machine under one arm, a box of tissues under the other. “I’m really out of it today – but I wanted to come to class.” The student sits in the back of the room in a zombielike state and writes, taking time out to cough, wipe the nose and let out the occasional groan. When test time rolls around – “I’m gonna stay for the test, but then I’m going home and getting into bed.” The next day I’m grading their PASS!!!

And it makes perfect sense. Since so much of writing hinges on your nerves and brain activity, the involuntary shutdown of some of those actions is a big help. When you’re sick, you don’t have the energy to tighten all your muscles. You don’t have the brain resources to agonize over each error you make. You’re just a writer in its purest form.

You CAN write everything you hear right now – no matter where you are in your schooling program. Some things come instantly and others take a few seconds, but you CAN write everything you hear, given enough time. That’s because the information you need is stored in your brain – just like folders on a computer. The delay happens when you hear something and there’s a delay finding that information – like when you do a search on your hard drive – some things will be found quickly and others will take minutes. How long it takes to access that information is in direct relation to how many other brain activities are taking place at the same time.

Each thought process you have going on is a roadblock on the path to that information you need – the proper stroke. But when you’re really sick, you basically always have one thought process taking place, “Ahhh…I’m sick!” And the rest of the brain is up for anything – in this case, writing. Those roadblocks/hesitation just aren’t there because you don’t have the energy to put them there.

Now, I’m NOT suggesting going to class when you’re contagious! I don’t need 50 emails from irate teachers and students. But consider the process and how it works – maybe you can make it work for you.

Skittles! (back to top)

I grew up with two sisters in my house. And Sunday was the one day we got to eat junk food. My dad would order pizza and we’d pig out, then open up some Skittles for dessert! See, my mom had been on the show Name That Tune – and one of her consolation prizes was a case of Skittles. So that was the big treat around the house. My dad would open up a bag and distribute it between the 3 of us. And even before the bag was empty, I was counting how many Skittles each one of us got. “Jodi got 3 more than me!” I’d complain. “Sheri got more red ones than me!” And as I whined, I ate every last Skittle in front of me.

And I didn’t even enjoy them. I was too busy seeing what everyone else had, instead of looking down at those colorful sugarballs and thinking, “Yes! I got Skittles!” And such is the problem you face when you try to compare your speed progress with that of the person next to you. You’re so busy looking to see what they have on their plate, that you’re not minding your own – giving it the attention it deserves. It ends up being one of many distractions that both slows your own progress, and sours the journey. Granted, it’s a pretty rough journey for many of you, but that’s the nature of the beast. In what other program can you fail a test 20 times and pass it on the 21st – and consider that success?! Yep…this is an odd one.

But you need to remember to keep your eyes on your own plate – that’s the only plate that matters at the end of the day.

Bricks! (back to top)

We all know the game – step on a crack, break your mother’s back. I didn’t think about it much as a child, but looking back now…yikes! Sorry, Mom! But let’s put that game in steno terms and associate it with a 5-minute test. Let’s say the name of the game is Brick Walk – no, not a very good name, but it does the job. Your mission is to walk along a brick road for 5 minutes, avoiding all cracks along the way. And each time you step on a crack, you have to pick up a brick. What you do with that brick at that point is up to you. Are you going to carry it, or drop it along the side of the road?

Consider this – most students write best in the first minute of a test and make more errors as the time progresses. Maybe 5 in the first minute, 10 in the second, 18 in the third and so on. By the end, it’s just a lot of red marks. There’s a certain logic to this – accumulated errors. It’s that inability to let go of an error you just made. Or the one before that…and before. And by that 3rd minute you’re contemplating a lot of errors and not able to fully focus on the dictation you’re writing at the moment.

Another angle – you have a chalkboard just for your errors. If you write down every one you make, you’re going to run out of room eventually. That’s what happens in your active brain. You’ve now divided your focus and lessened your processing ability. The bottom line – when you make an error, let it go. It’s in the past and you’ll have plenty of time to dissect it when the test is done. And you SHOULD dissect it when it’s done, because that’s the only way you’re going to learn how to avoid it the next time.

Hardcopy - Marc Was Wrong! (back to top)

I’ve only been wrong twice in my life. I’ll explain the second one in a moment. The first time was when I said “I’ve only been wrong twice in my life.” In fact, if you ask my wife, I’m wrong most of the time : )

When students have asked me about the value of doing hardcopy in the past, I’ve kind of shrugged it off as a tool that was more of a time waster and not truly helpful. For those who don’t know, working from hardcopy is writing on your machine to any written material – magazines, books – anything you can see and write at your own pace. Anyway, I saw it more as busywork. But I’ve reconsidered over the last year, and I, in fact, think I was very wrong! Ouch, that hurts to say. I feel so very…dirty.

While there is no doubt that you are, or will be, working in an auditory profession, that doesn’t mean that the learning process has to be exclusively auditory in nature. There are many statistics which show that anywhere from 40 to 65 percent of the population are visual learners, 30 to 40 percent are auditory learners, and 5 to 20 percent are tactile learners. So to exclude the visual aspects of learning in this field is to cut out a huge learning advantage.

I should have changed my thinking much sooner, considering I’m a visual learner. When I was in high school, I pretty much failed in most lecture-related classes, yet excelled in chalkboard classes. If I could see an outline or math equation, I was good to go! Of course my parents always took the, “He’s a smart boy, but he just doesn’t apply himself” approach. The fact was that I DIDN’T apply myself, but that may not have been the cause of all my bad grades.

So for visual learners, writing on the steno machine while looking at the words actually creates a writing link - the next time you hear that word spoken, you get a visual image flash in your head and your fingers respond. If you want to have a little fun, check out this link and download the BRAIN.EXE program at https://www.jcu.edu.au/studying/services/studyskills/learningst/ It will show you what kind of thinker you are and even give you a little evaluation about yourself. It’s meant to be fun – don’t take it as 100% fact!

And for the record, I’m still not a big fan of practicing with a metronome. But….give me a year and I’ll probably change my mind : )

SimplySteno.com Closing Open Enrollment! (back to top)

While I'm very proud of the fact that I do most of the work in my own program - grading, coaching, cheerleading, feedback - it's finally catching up with me. We've now reached a student enrollment number that has pushed my workload to the brink. So in order to maintain the kind of personal service I like to provide in my program, I'm cutting off open enrollment starting December 1st, 2005. That means that new students will only be allowed to join the program once current students have graduated or leave the program.

So if you have any plans to join the SimplySteno program, and you don't want to wait, I suggest you join before December 1st. If you don't, I estimate the waiting time will be between 3-5 months to get in. That's based on the current enrollment numbers of between 10 and 15 new students per month.

If you would like to start the program, but won't actually be able to start till later, you can still join - make your first payment - and just let me know the date you would like to start. If you would like to sign up after December 1st, there will be a $50 placement fee to put your name on the waiting list. Once your name comes up, that $50 WILL be put towards your first payment. The $50 fee is non-refundable.

Again, thank you all for spreading the word about the program and making it such a success. I'm working hard to make sure we live up to those kind words.

TryGemini.com Trial Offer! (back to top)

If you're about to plunk down more than $1000 for a steno machine, DON'T!!! Don't you want to make sure you've made the correct choice before you put out that kind of money? Do yourself a favor - for $25 you can test drive a new Gemini machine and feel the difference for yourself. And if you ask for the trial through the TryGemini.com website, you'll get a free week of dictation from SpeedBuilders.com! If you end up purchasing a new Gemini, you get other goodies as well. So take my advice, spend $25 and make sure you're doing what's best for your future.

Ain't Too Proud to Proof (back to top)

Is it pride? Is it laziness? Is it over confidence? What is it that stops students from taking every last second to proof their work and check every word they are not 100% certain of? I've been doing this for over 10 years and I still sit with a dictionary on my lap. Granted, I don't use it as often as I should, but I'm not being tested - you are! I can't even begin to tell you how many tests I've graded and found them to be 1 error over the passing amount...and there was a careless error of some kind.

And most of these errors would have been caught with a spellchecker! On the other side of the coin, you CAN'T count on a spellchecker to catch everything. Many times you will write a real word - the wrong one, but a real one. So don't be lazy! Proof that test up and down and take every last second you are allowed.

Something EVERY Student Should Know! (back to top)

My wife is running for the office of President of the United States! Okay...not really. But if that was her plan, you better believe she'd know the requirements to fill that position - be a natural born citizen of the United States - be at least 35 years old - have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years. Well, 2 outta 3 ain't bad - she was born in Russia.

But I am amazed at how many students DO NOT know the requirements to work in the state in which they plan to live! You'd think that would be the first thing to know before even signing up for school - know what your goal is! I've had many students tell me they thought they just graduated from school and went to work - had no clue about state tests or licensing. Granted, they should tell you all that when you sign up for a program, but this is YOUR future. So your homework is to find out what you need to do in your state to ensure you can work.

As for my wife...she can still become Governor!

Thanks!
Marc Greenberg

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