is a thorough knowledge of the business in which you are engaged. Master the vocabulary of the technical part of the business from the very start: invent phrases wherever necessary and resolve each difficult outline into an easily executed, nicely flowing form. Thus you will soon be characterized as a first-class stenographer, and remunerated accordingly.
PHRASE-WRITING FOR THE OFFICE STENOGRAPHER.
One of the greatest obstructions to speed in shorthand is the constant lifting of the pen. The closer the pen or pencil is kept to the paper and the less frequently it is lifted, the more speed is possible. A phrase, however, should never be striven for. It must come naturally without effort, or it would better not be written. "Too much phrasing," writes Mr. Dement—who claims to be the most rapid shorthand writer in the world—"retards speed." The following most excellent advice by that eminent reporter, Mr. Theodore C. Rose, is culled from an old shorthand magazine and should be read by every stenographer:
"The question whether phrase-writing does or does not retard speed, is one that is often asked. but seldom answered with a direct 'yes' or 'no.' In fact I doubt if it can be answered other than with a qualified answer. If the answer means phrase-writing when carried to its fullest extent, as laid
