BETTER TYPING AND

DICTATING PRACTICES:
BY: ELIZABETH EAPEN, OFFICE
MANAGEMENT PAPER 1.
BETTER TYPING AND DICTATING
PRACTICES:
• Touch typing is all about the idea that each finger has its own area on the
keyboard.
• Thanks to the fact that you can type without looking at the keys
• Practice regularly and your fingers will learn their location as the
keyboard through muscle memory.
• Do not rush when you just started learning. Speed up only when your
fingers hit the right key out of habit.
• Take your time when typing to avoid mistakes. The speed will progress up
as you progress.
• Always scan the text, a word or two in advance.
BETTER TYPING AND DICTATING
PRACTICES:
• Take a break if you feel that you get distracted easily and are
making more mistakes.
• You will be more productive when you feel refreshed.
• Always make sure that your hands remain relaxed.
• How much time you should spend with your typing practice is
difficult to generalize.
• It depends on how fast you can type at the moment, what your
goal is, how fast you want to progress and how much time you
have available to learn to type.
BETTER TYPING AND DICTATING
PRACTICES:
• An important thing is that you should practice regularly and stay tuned for
the long term.
• It is best to plan regular exercise times in your everyday life i.e. daily 15
minutes or minimum 1 hour per work.
• Many abandon their undertaking after a short time but if you stay on it,
you will get better and better over time and will be able to type much faster
than before.
• An important basic rule is that don’t try to type as quickly as possible right
from the start but try to type as accurate and error free as possible. The
speed comes automatically as soon as the key positions are internalized.
BETTER DICTATING PRACTICE:
• It is important to practice your dictation to ensure your report is as accurate as
possible.
• AVOID NOISY ENVIRONMENT: Dictation does not work well in loud settings
so plan to work in a quite office or just a room with less background noise.
• Rather than dictating all your thought at once, break things up into paragraphs
or sections.
• Write yourself little notes. For good dictation think before you speak.
• You need to plan in your head and get yourself organized. So your dictation
follows a pattern that makes sense.
• First gather all your notes and ensure you have all relevant documents, figures
etc. in front of you.
BETTER DICTATING PRACTICE:
• You should also consider the key messages you want to impart. This way
your matter will have a good structure and contain all important
information necessary.
• It is crucial to state your identity, it’s a good idea to start each dictation with
your name, the type of report and date you want to be reflected.
• Keeping things clear and organized will make your dictations require less
editing.
• If you use an unusual word that sounds the same as another, you should
spell it out.
• If you are unsure yourself on how a certain word is spelled, do not attempt
to spell it as you could be giving false information.
BETTER DICTATING PRACTICES:
• Simply say it as clearly as possible so that TRANSCRIPTIONIST can
easily get it or confirm the spelling themselves as required.
• Enumerate each word and speak slowly. Concise and clear sentences are
best for easy dictation.
• Remember to punctuate as you dictate. If you are not sure what to say
next, then simply stop while you think before starting again. This way you
can avoid all ‘uhms’ and ‘ahs’ you might uttter as you think of what to say
next.
• Announce ending- make sure you say ‘end of dictation’ when you are done.
• Ask for feedback- as it will enlighten you and help you identify your
mistakes.