How do court stenographers keep up with speech?

Court stenographers do not type letter by letter. They use a stenotype machine on which several keys are pressed at the same moment, like a piano chord, so that a whole syllable, word or even a phrase is recorded in one stroke. Software then translates those strokes into English using a dictionary the reporter has built up. Years of practice make the system fast enough to match or beat normal speech. [1] [2]

According to [npr.org](https://www.npr.org/2005/05/31/4673515/slates-explainer-court-stenography-machines), the machine has a modified keyboard of about 22 buttons rather than the standard layout. The left hand spells the start of a syllable and the right hand spells the end, and all the keys are struck together. Another source describes 23 keys, including four vowel keys at the bottom and a number bar, so the count varies by how it is described. Because there are too few keys for every sound, some letters come from combinations. For example, there is no M key, so P and H are pressed together to make that sound. [1] [3]

Reporter Merilee Johnson told [cbsnews.com](https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/good-question-court-reporters/) that she can write "state your full name" in a single stroke, and she compared the job to being a cross between a pianist and a translator. [4]

Speed also comes from shortcuts. Reporters build an electronic dictionary that translates their key combinations into full words and phrases. Ohio court reporter Crystal Hatchett says the goal is one stroke for each word. Shortened forms are called briefs, such as "WEJ" for "we the jury." Andrea Hodapp, of the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, adds new entries over time and prepares for a case by reading documents and loading case names and likely terms into her dictionary beforehand, as reported by [courtnewsohio.gov](https://www.courtnewsohio.gov/inDepth/2024/August/default.asp). [2]

Mark Kislingbury, who holds a record for real-time court reporting, told [nymag.com](https://nymag.com/speed/2016/12/how-to-type-360-words-a-minute.html) that he writes whole words and groups of words rather than every syllable, for example "SPIBL" for "responsible." He estimates he has memorized around 100,000 short forms and attributes his results to his system and hard work more than to talent. Unclear or unfamiliar words can be typed phonetically and fixed later, according to the CBS report. [3] [4]

The Ohio court news article cites an estimate that average everyday typing is about 40 words per minute and advanced typists reach 80. Court reporting students must pass tests at 180 words per minute, 200 for a jury charge, and 225 for two-voice testimony, each at 95 percent accuracy or better. Kislingbury set a record in 2004 of 360 words in one minute at about 97 percent accuracy. He trained by practicing at roughly 25 percent above his target speed. [2] [3]

Few people complete the training. The Ohio article says only about 14 percent of students nationally graduate within two years, and Hatchett was the only one in her class of 14 to finish. [2]