Keyboarding Technique

Beginning Keyboarding
 Why Good Posture?
• Increase keyboard accuracy
• Decrease eye and body fatigue
• Reduce chance of physical injury
• Increase keying endurance
• Build keyboard confidence
• Achieve correct finger placement
Step 1: Balance
When you sit at the
computer, your body
weight should be evenly
distributed so that you do
not cause any fatigue in
your neck, back, or arms.
Starting a keyboarding
program is similar to
starting a new exercise
program. You are going to
be using muscles that
have not been used before
and you need to start
slowly and build your
muscle tone and
endurance.
Step 2: Feet
To achieve this balance,
your feet must be flat on
the floor.

Do not cross your ankles

or your legs.
Step 3: Back
Your chair should be
ergonomically correct for
your height. While
sitting, your back should
be flat against the chair.
Your chair is the right
height if you can place
your thumb at your waist
and your pinky reaches
straight to the keyboard
or wrist guard.
If your pinky is up, your
chair is too low. If your
pinky is down, your chair
is too high.
Step 4: Wrists
To avoid carpal tunnel
and other repetitive
stress injuries, be sure
your wrists are straight
and resting on the wrist
guard.
If you do not use a wrist
guard, be sure to pull the
keyboard to the edge of
the table and keep your
wrists in a straight
position.
Step 5: Fingers
Place your fingers over
the home row in a
slightly curved position.
When you are keying,
your fingers should be
the only body part
moving.
Your arms, wrists, head,
and feet should not be
moving.
Step 6: Eyes and
Head
Keep your head straight and
eyes on the screen or the
book/text you are keying. Do
not move your head back and
forth from the text to the screen
- you'll get whiplash! And
you’ll also lose your place and
cause more errors.
Key for a period of time and
then stop and proofread to
correct your errors.
When you are experienced,
you will feel when you make an
error and you can use the
backspace key immediately.
In our program, the backspace
key is disabled to help you
learn where the keys are
located.
Keyboard Posture
• Feet flat
• Back straight against chair
• Arms tucked into your sides
• Wrists straight
• Fingers on home row and curved
• Head straight
• Eyes on screen or copy
You look like a lowercase “h”!
Review

Click on the link in the next

slide to view a short
keyboarding posture
video.
Correct Posture While Keying
Taking a Break
If you follow these guidelines for
keyboarding posture, you’ll be
refreshed and ready to learn.
When learning new keys, practice for 15-
20 minutes at a time.
Get up from the computer; walk around;
shake your arms, wrists and rotate your
head.
Continue practicing.