Clickable dictation at various speeds is available at the bottom of this page. The transcript of the dictation appears here as well.
Happy New Year, everyone! May we all enjoy happiness and good health with a solid writing speed of 200+ words per minute!
If you've been paying attention, you know that the dictation selections from the book we've been using for a while now all sound somewhat the same, don't they? Fear not, thought. I think there are only three more months from this book before I move on to another book which will, most likely, be something used in the distant past.
Remember, the dictation pieces must be a minimum of three minutes to be a valid test. Anything here under three minutes is therefore not acceptable for testing purposes. Keep in mind that before Diamond Jubilee Gregg, all shorthand tests were five minutes.
Applied Secretarial Practice, The Gregg Publishing Company, 1934, p 345
Resourcefulness
From the secretarial point of view, resourcefulness is simply sizing up a given situation and acting in the most practical way.
Resourcefulness is largely a matter of adaptation. Suddenly we encounter a situation which requires decision. Some of the elements necessary in the decision are absent. By adaptation, we reach a satisfactory solution. This is resourcefulness.
Resourcefulness consists in following the next-best procedure if the best is not available under the circumstances. Oftentimes, a resourceful solution of a problem is better than the ordinary or commonplace one, especially in business relations.
An advertising man was discussing an advertising campaign with a board of directors, but seemed to be making no progress in winning the hearers over to his way of thinking. Suddenly he said: “We are getting nowhere with this problem. There is only one man amongst you who knows anything about advertising. If that man will come to me privately, we can discuss and settle the matter satisfactorily to all.” He was finally approached by every member of the board—each thinking he was the man. By his resourcefulness, he succeeded in selling his idea to all and composed the various views in such a way that each man thought that his decision had turned the tide.
Resourcefulness is not deception. It is making the most out of a given situation by adaptation. Resourcefulness connotes a large fund of information and experience upon which one may draw. Adaptation of solutions of other problems may often be made into new ones. A resourceful person does not evade a question; he reaches a solution in a distinctive way, taking the materials as he finds them.
For more information on shorthand speed building, click here.
Instructions for Self-Dictation Practice:
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Dictation Practice:
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