CRR BOOT CAMP

Thanks to Kathryn “Steno Kat” Sweeney, RMR, CRR, on an informative and invaluable seminar given at the Massachusetts Court Reporters Association seminar held this past weekend on Cape Cod.

In her own inimitable style, she patiently walked all 20 of us through the test-taking process, which is now a Testimony take given at 200 words per minute for five minutes with 40 allowable errors.  On the technical side, she explained every step from setup to final ASCII and provided assistance when necessary.  She covered a lot of material, but all of us will have ample opportunity before the test date to practice the procedures and become more familiar with our software.  Kathryn also gave us tips on how to improve our chances to pass and educated us on what constitutes errors by NCRA.

After cheering us on and reminding us to focus and breathe, she gave us a sample test.  Some vocabulary words were provided at the outset so that you could create briefs and input them into your dictionary.  I defined “Ruth Drake” in my job dictionary, but naturally “Drakes” came up and, you guessed it, it did not translate.  Several times!!  On the second test take, we were given the words “Global Cruise Line,” and I promptly came up with a brief.  After the take a fellow reporter said, “Did you notice they said ‘Global Cruise Lines’?”  “No, I didn’t’!” 

What I learned is that I have a lot to learn. 

Be that as it may, I would highly recommend that all reporters take this seminar.   Congratulations to all those who participated and who are working to improve their knowledge and skills.  As for Kathryn, she is an inspiring, entertaining, and accomplished cheerleader with the credentials to prove it.  As she says, in her own words, “I’m the bomb!”  No argument there.