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Are touch-typing and shorthand still valuable skills for EAs?

Posted on 09 July 2015

There is no doubt that as technology has advanced, devices and software have rendered some jobs and skill sets almost irrelevant in the modern world. Skills such as touch-typing and shorthand which may have once been considered as vital to any candidate's successful job application no longer make the CV, which begs the question, do EAs need them any more?

Shorthand note taking 

The favoured tool of minute takers and journalists across the world, shorthand stems from the centuries old Ancient Greek practice of stenography. But it was John Robert Gregg who was responsible for forming the basis of shorthand as we know it today. 

The shorthand alphabet is constructed of a series of swift pen marks and elliptical lines which use less stokes than traditional longhand. 

According to Dennis Hollier, writer for The Atlantic, in the early 1900s you needed to obtain a certificate for Gregg shorthand in order to be eligible for certain positions. In the days before handheld Dictaphones, executive secretaries would have needed to demonstrate that they could write 150 words per minute, whilst court reporters had to write at an astonishing speed of 225 words per minute. 

Accuracy was key to the skill, making it one which required proper training and was therefore a valued skill. With legal meetings being recorded digitally in both audio and video formats, the need for lightning speed stenography would appear to be near obsolete.

For off-the-books gathering, however, or meetings in which the venue doesn't allow recording equipment, the ability to take notes in shorthand becomes a potent skill. With the vast majority of the population not having undertaken shorthand classes, it also makes it highly unlikely that a passerby should catch a glimpse of your notes and be able to comprehend them. 

Finally, shorthand note taking also has an inherent layer of security unlike digital recordings. In case of a computer system failure, you will still have your notes, which are also impregnable by hackers. If it's not on a screen, it can't be downloaded by any shady third parties seeking confidential information.

Touch-typing

With the arrival of typewriters and the development of the QWERTY keyboard, the speed at which you could type became the new focus. 

According to the Associated Press, American typing instructor Julie Phillips expressed her concern over the skill going the same way as cursive writing. Modern screen based devices utilise our thumbs more than anything else, and many programs and operating systems come with built-in predictive text, which can skip ahead and guess what you're about to type. 

Now many children will have interacted with keyboards before reaching school, somewhat negating the need to be taught to touch-type. Methods of typing may vary, but it's fair to say that many will be caught somewhere between what has been dubbed the 'hunt and peck' method – two finger typing where the user constantly references the keyboard – and something akin to touch-typing, where the majority of the time the attention is focussed on the screen, but still the occasional glance is needed to verify keys or correct errors. 

As with shorthand, touch-typing is no longer a pre-requisite qualification for securing a job, but it certainly would appear to be a skill which could greatly improve typing speeds and performance for EAs who spend long hours at a computer. 

Fortunately, neither shorthand nor touch-typing are unattainable goals for EAs looking for ways to broaden their skill set beyond what is expected. Many guides are available for those keen to take on the challenge of learning shorthand, while touch-typing programs are available online for anyone wanting to brush up on their keyboard skills.