Clickable dictation at various speeds is available at the bottom of this page. The transcript of the dictation appears here as well.
Yet another attribute whch is needed in the office of yesterday which is still relevant today. But be careful with this one! As the piece says, self-condifence is not egotism and there's a fine line between the two. Once more, as with other postings from this book, the take is far too short for adequate testing at speeds at of 100 wpm or higher.
Applied Secretarial Practice, The Gregg Publishing Company, 1934, p 328
Confidence in Self
In any situation we must have confidence in our ability to decide rightly if called upon to exercise judgment. Self-confidence comes from a proper appreciation of our own abilities and our power to carry out courses of action once decided upon. It is based on knowledge of our accuracy in judgement. A self-confident person is one who has tested his judgment sufficiently to give him faith in his decisions. Self-confidence is a great power in all business relations. It wins the confidence of others in our ability. If we attack a task, feeling that we have the ability to perform it successfully, many of the rough places in our path will already have been passed.
There must be an actual basis for self-confidence. Knowledge is the greatest background for effective self-confidence. The secretary who knows his duties, who feels capable of meeting every emergency and of dealing with it in a satisfactory way, has this necessary background.
Self-confidence is not egotism. It is based on an appreciation of real ability, while egotism is based on an exaggerated idea of one’s abilities. In all dealings with his business associates, with people who come into the office, and with the employer, the secretary must reflect an air of confidence. Lack of self-confidence arises generally from timidity. If we can do a thing well, we naturally have confidence in our ability to do it. Consequently, the first aim in securing sufficient self-confidence is to perfect oneself in the work one is doing. “Bluff” has no place in self-confidence. A self-confident person is willing to be put to the test, knowing he will survive the ordeal creditably.
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Instructions for Self-Dictation Practice:
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