More than 200 people attended my presentation at the 2026 NCRA Convention.

Another 40 had joined the livestream before I began, and more undoubtedly arrived later.

NCRA expected approximately 650 attendees for their entire convention. Nearly one-third of the convention was in my room at 8:30 Saturday morning, with four other sessions running and the Expo Hall open.

More than 60 educational sessions were offered during the convention. Most taught court reporters how to practice better, use technology better, manage stress better, or work more effectively inside the existing steno system.

Mine was the only session that asked whether the system itself was creating unnecessary difficulty.

What if the reporter isn't the problem?

What if searching for briefs creates hesitation?

What if difficult steno outlines remain difficult no matter how often they're practiced?

What if court reporting students are being told to work harder at problems created by the writing method itself?

For decades, the profession's answer has been more practice.

But every skill requires practice. "Do more of it" isn't instruction. It doesn't explain what is failing, why it is failing, or whether the task is badly designed.

Practice reinforces whatever the method asks the writer to repeat.

That may be dependable writing.

It may also be hesitation, difficult finger combinations, constant brief searches, and bad habits hidden by a reporter's ability to carry them.

Nearly one-third of the NCRA convention chose the only session that questioned the demand.

That doesn't prove they agreed with every conclusion.

It proves they wanted someone to finally say:

Maybe court reporters and students aren't failing the steno system. Maybe the system is failing them.

The completion data is published and anyone can check it. So is the math behind the outlines.

Related: Why Bad Steno Theories Drive Out Good Ones

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