Using shorthand

Sitting next to a friend in my Wednesday morning Bible Study recently, my friend noticed an element in my note taking that is something she doesn’t often see. I still use Gregg shorthand that I learned in college. In the same session, I took out my iPhone to make some adjustments on upcoming dates as they were announced.

My friend commented on my use of technology as well as my use of shorthand in the same conversation, and it struck me later the dichotomy of the two.

I love to stay up with technology and have the latest to work on, but most times can’t afford it. I did splurge to get an iPhone, though, and now I think I can’t live without it. It’s really a hand-held computer for all the things it does.

On the other end of the technology spectrum, I also use shorthand when I’m taking notes, and I’m thankful I never stopped using it.

To the unfamiliar eye, my scrawling looks much like a foreign language, and in a way, it is. People often look at what I’m writing, and I’m sure they wonder if I know what I’m doing. The use of shorthand has diminished greatly in the business world with the increased use of dictation machines, and later, computers. It seems to be a dying art, and therefore, not as many people are familiar with or know about shorthand as in the 1960s.

I was surprised to see, through a quick look on the Internet, there are still some courses available where someone can learn a shorthand system, but they don’t seem to be very plentiful.

I learned shorthand in 1968 but have never used it in business until the past 10 years working for the Herald Democrat. The system made it easier to take more complete notes in college, but then I couldn’t lend my notes to someone who missed class. That also meant there were fewer people willing to lend me notes when I missed. Everything has a trade off.

I do enjoy the quizzical glances I get as those who aren’t familiar with shorthand try to decipher what must seem like hieroglyphics scratched across my pad.