If the ice skater did not take his or her practice seriously enough, a fall on the ice would be inevitable. Court reporting students must make every attempt to practice until the writing is flawless. And though I would almost always agree that any opportunity to write on the machine is not a wasted moment, and grabbed opportunities to run through the alphabet or do a finger drill or spending hours writing to your favorite soap operas are probably better than not writing at all, the real key to success is effective, concentrated practice. Notwithstanding the occasional student who seems to progress through school at an unbelievable pace without incorporating these strategies into his or her practice, the most successful students are the ones who practice the best - not necessarily the most, but the best. Graduating from a court reporting program is an attainable goal.
Practice does indeed make perfect, but first perfect the practice.
About the Author Jen Krueger, RMR, CRI, is a freelance reporter from Cleveland, Ohio.