In case anyone who is speedbuilding is interested, I think the best resource I have ever used, and still use quite a bit, is GREGG REPORTING SHORTCUTS by Zoubek and Rifkin. Although many of the outlines are specific to testimony, there are so many others that are wonderful time-savers. I increased my speed from 110 to 140 when I first obtained the book many years ago. This is an invaluable speedbuilding tool and I urge anyone interested in boosting their speed to try to obtain this book. Although this is based primarily in Anniversary and Simplified, I believe that when you pass the 150 point, you’re really beyond any specific version. I started as a DJ writer, drifted into Simplied, and combined both. Aside from all this, the outlines in this book are visually stunning!!
I am very interested in your thoughts about your specific experience in building to high speeds, i.e. what do you find most useful, etc.
Thanks.
(by mountainmaningerogia for everyone)
Is there a pdf version of this book anywhere. Would you recommend a certain proficiency in shorthand first. I'm up to 70ish words a minute, but I think first it would be important to cement the fundamental principles before applying advanced shortcuts.
Michael.
Michael: You're absolutely right about really getting your theory down pat before starting on advanced shortcuts. Although, if at 70 wpm you have a strong hold on theory, then choose a short list of shortcutting principles to start with. You could boost your speed to 100 wpm using the advanced shortcuts that you're the most comfortable with. The trick to shortcutting is to make sure you KNOW THEM, and that you're not thinking about them while you're writing. If you are, then the shortcut becomes a hindrance instead of an asset. –Joe
Zoubek, Charles, and Rifkin, Morris. Gregg Reporting Shortcuts, 2nd Edition. New York: Gregg Publishing Division, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1959. No ISBN number, although the book is stamped with 73040 on the cover and the same number is listed on the copyright page. No PDF I know of; you might search for it via abe.com and amazon. Alex
This may be considered an "afterward" but I am holding a copy of Gregg Speed Practice published in 1907 and marvel at the ingenuousness of the presentation. The Preface describes the rationale behind the book's organization. There is a comprehensive review of theory, a great chapter covering phrases, and a wealth of industry-specific business letters. For 1907 there is a surprising amount of shorthand written beautifully. The printed dictation has plenty of outline previews. Whoever owned the book before I found it through an Amazon reseller kept in in beautiful condition. There is a page torn from a Gregg Writer folded and obviously used as a bookmark. Since the shorthand on the bookmark is in the same style as that in the GSP (smaller and more concise than we are used to seeing in Anniversary and later material), I suspect it's also from the first decade of the 20th century. What a treat!
PS-I also am a huge fan of Gregg Reporting Shortcuts.
However, my well used copy of Gregg Reporting Shortcuts lists only John Robert Gregg as author and is a 1944 reprint of the 1922 book.
It's worth noting that throughout the '30's and the '40's, The Gregg Writer would collect reporting shortcuts from contributors and publish the ones the editorial staff liked best in the magazine.
Re: 1907 Gregg Speed Practice
Chapter 2 consists of phrase letters written in shorthand. I confess, a few of the phrases I've encountered are so abbreviated I can only guess at a correct transcription. As I mentioned before, it's very clear that the original Gregg as published in the 1902/04 Manual was designed expressly for verbatim reporting.
If anyone has the 1907 book and could offer a complete transcription of Chapter 2, I'd be happy to do the word count so that those who are interested could use the material for dictation practice.
Perhaps my ability to transcribe the esoteric phrases would improve if I sat down and wrote the text of Chapter 1 (which is counted dictation and previews for theory review) in shorthand.
Chuck, I appreciate your comment. If you could simply give me a transcript "preview" of the phrases in the first two letters in Chapter II, that should be sufficient info for me to struggle on. The more I examine that pre-Anniversary material, the more I admire the cleverness (genius) of JRG in the creation of his system.
'Tis true, the phrase letters appear to be short because of all the phrases, butt an actual transcription of every letter would be a lengthy project.
With respect to word-count, the September 1931 Gregg Writer on page 24 announces "An Innovation": that rather than counting real words, the Gregg Publishing Company will begin to count 1.40 sylla bbles to a word. That is, 100 words a minute will always be 140 syllables a minute.
Chapter 2 has 44 phrase letters. Taking one letter a day, it would take me about a month and a half to transcribe all letters. Any volunteers to help out?