Beginning Dictation

[Deb]

Jun 9, 2015 12:03:24 GMT -5 Deb said:

Getting bored with writing the same dictation over and over? That's ok. There is need of much repetition work, as it is from repetition that skill is acquired in anything.

Here is one way to do a sentence repeatedly.

I shall pay
I shall pay for a ticket
I shall pay for a ticket at the gate
I shall pay for a ticket at the gate for the game
I shall pay for a ticket at the gate for the game may not be played
I shall pay for a ticket at the gate for the game may not be played in the rain.

You will see the first will be easy, and you may be bored of it, but by the end of the sentence you have new words each time you take the sentence again. You can then repeat the entire sentence a few more time so you learn the last few parts well.

If you decide to do this and want to do your own dictation, you could seven start the series with the last words. For example:

The game may not be played
The game may not be played in the rain today
The game may not be played in the rain today because the boys
The game may not be played in the rain today because the boys and girls want
The game may not be played in the rain today because the boys and girls want to play in the sun.

Then do that again.

Play in the sun tomorrow,
Play in the sun tomorrow, their mom said,
Play in the sun tomorrow, their mom said, today you can
Play in the sun tomorrow, their mom said, today you can stay in the house.

Remember to try to keep phrases together.

[Deb]

Another way to add repetition is to rewrite the sentences and reuse most of the words.

The game may not be played in the rain.
Today the rain may stop the game.
The rain may stop the game today.

or

Is Mary going in time?
It is time for Mary to go.

[Deb]

Did a screen clip of a 1947 training video on Internet Archives, it was on being a good secretary. This part was about taking dictation.

[Deb]

You take dictation for the first time... and you may not do very well.

When you first take dictation, you might feel a bit flustered.
You also might feel like you have to get everything perfect.

Give yourself time. You may think because you've taken notes, you know how to do this. However, in most note taking situations you're just getting the highlights, the bullet points, down. With shorthand dictation, you're trying to get everything down.

[Deb]

An 1885 book on shorthand (not Gregg) had some suggestions on taking dictation. I think they're good ideas. Use what will work for you. I've changed the text a bit, I added a few words in brackets, especially my suggestions.

--If you aren't sure of the word being written, a circle should be placed around the outline or a cross under it.

--If you aren't fast enough to keep up, put a caret ^ under the line and know that there is missing words. (My suggestion would be to leave a large space so you see that caret and know).

--The letters nh (not heard) in long-hand can show that the speaker was not audible. (I just wrote them in longhand and they were not similar to any Gregg outline.)

--A large X in the left hand margin may be used to note an error on the speakers part and may be needed to be fixed during transcription.

--In reporting a sermon, a quotation from the scripture or the text, etc., need not be written in full [if you can access their version]; use a long dash between.

--If there are outbursts of an audience, these should be recorded in shorthand. If there is applause, laughter, etc., these should be written last.

--When a speaker says the same things over and over, you can choose to make it a phrase or add a wavy line after the first outline to note it's repeated. (I would only suggest this if you are familiar with doing this or shorthand outlines. I've never done it.)

--When you are taking notes for something you can research, study the outlines, find phrases (if you can read them) and just come up with outlines beforehand.

[Deb]

Carrying Words

This is where you hear the speaker, they pause and you write down what they said.
You could be writing what they're saying, you get behind, then they finish. You continue writing the thought and carry the words until you're finished.

this will come with practice.

[Deb]

Different types of speakers.

As you get better, you may want to practice either dictating in different ways (not voices, if you can't) or finding different people you can take dictation from.

These will not be timed.

Some ways:

--Make changes. Go back and change some of the sentences. Especially if it's an older book. Or rewrite that sentence in the novel that you didn't like. Maybe choose a few different ways to say something. Then when you transcribe (type up) you can choose your favorite.

--make so many changes AFTER so you can practice writing down one column and making changes in the second column. You might find someone who adds notes or instructions to something they said. Perhaps a religious teacher will say a verse and then go back and add their interpretation (one column verses, the other the interpretation or explanation). A teacher might give instruction from a book and then add their notes to help you as a beginner in that subject (one column the instruction, the other column the more basic instruction).

[Deb]

This book had a suggestion for beginners taking dictation and not being able to keep up completely.

If you can write any of the shorthand patters, do so. If not, write a dot, a dash, or a curve for the patterns that you cannot write. You will, of course, put in all the periods.

When you're learning, you don't want to get stuck somewhere when you're actually taking real dictation, so just do the best you can with some outline. You want to put in periods, commas, etc., because that can help you with what was said.