Court Reporter Schools

If you’re a good listener who is able to absorb ever spoken word, then perhaps you have a head start to becoming a good court reporter. But since good is not enough, you need to become better and finally the best at what you do; so if court reporting is your chosen profession, you need to know how to do more than just type at breakneck speeds, and here’s how you can hone your skills and do your job more efficiently:

• Practice: It’s not easy to be able to take down every single word that is being said, especially when the talking is non-stop and you have to include not just the right words but the right punctuation as well. If you don’t practice long and hard enough, this is one job that you’re never going to master. If you’re a court reporting student, besides learning the theory of the subject, practice helps you to hone the skills you need to perform on a real playing field where there is no room for errors.

• Observe: When you’re learning to be a court reporter, you need to be observant and see how things are done. You could befriend someone at the courthouse and get them to take you inside so that you can watch the proceedings. You could even talk to the reporter in the case and ask for tips on how to do the job more efficiently.

• Learn: Being a court reporter involves learning to grasp facts quickly, remembering names and associating them with people, and being knowledgeable about humankind in general. You are bound to come across a variety of people, from different cultures, with different accents and different mannerisms. You need to be able to understand everything that is being said and transcribe it with a great deal of accuracy. And the only way to do this is to read a lot, about a whole range of topics, and be as knowledgeable as you can.

• Stay current: Reading newspapers and magazines about current affairs and other events helps you grasp court proceedings faster and makes your job easier.

• Memorize: It takes a great deal of mental gymnastics to be able to remember all the names that are involved in a case and get them down correctly. So practice honing your memory power and keeping your senses alert.

Court reporting is all about experience and learning – the more you keep at the two of them, the better and more efficient you will become at your job.