The BREVITY Experience

A free introduction at your steno machine

The BREVITY Experience

Try both. Feel the difference.

Could another outline feel easier in your hands? Try seven pairs, then use them in short dictation at a pace that gives you room to notice.

You can explore a few new outlines while keeping the rest of your writing familiar. Let your own experience help you decide what to keep.

Welcome from Tom

Meet Tom Fernicola, the creator of BREVITY, and hear what to notice as you try the experience.

Press play to hear Tom’s introduction · about one minute.

Read the introduction

Welcome to the BREVITY Experience.

I’m Tom Fernicola, the creator of BREVITY. I’m a working realtime reporter with 37 years of experience. Thank you for taking a few minutes to try this.

People speak different languages, and stenographers use different styles and methods. We can learn more than one way to write. The question is which approach works best for us.

BREVITY considers both how an outline feels in your hands and how readily it comes to mind. The aim is comfortable, uninterrupted writing.

This experience gives you a practical way to compare. You’ll write a short passage using your usual outlines, practice seven BREVITY alternatives, then write the same passage again at the same comfortable pace.

Notice the reach, coordination, and effort in your fingers. Give unfamiliar outlines time to become comfortable.

Which outlines feel easier to form? Which would you like to keep practicing?

Let your own experience guide you.

Try the seven outlinesOpen the practice player

The exercise on this page is free. For more practice, use it with the seven-day Woodshedder trial.

1 · Get a feel for the keys

Same word. Same one stroke. Different combinations.

Write each outline several times without dictation. Give an unfamiliar outline enough practice to form it comfortably. Notice the reach, the coordination, and the effort in your fingers.

time

Magnum exampleTAOEUPL7 keys · one stroke
BREVITYT-PL3 keys · one stroke

exhibit

Magnum exampleKPEUBT6 keys · one stroke
BREVITY-BT2 keys · one stroke

counsel

Magnum exampleKOUPBS6 keys · one stroke
BREVITYS-L2 keys · one stroke

describe

Magnum exampleSKRAOEUB8 keys · one stroke
BREVITYTK-B3 keys · one stroke

page

Magnum examplePAEUPBLG8 keys · one stroke
BREVITY-PG2 keys · one stroke

document

Magnum exampleTKAOUPLT8 keys · one stroke
BREVITY-PLT3 keys · one stroke

client

Magnum exampleKHRAOEUPBT10 keys · one stroke
BREVITYKHR-3 keys · one stroke

For client, BREVITY uses K, H, and R on the left side. HR is the left-side L combination: K + L, with no vowels.

These examples were selected from Tom Fernicola’s paired lists because BREVITY uses fewer keys. Your own Magnum outline may differ. Key count describes the combination; you decide how it feels. See all 100 comparisons, including ties and Magnum’s advantages.

2 · Feel them in a sentence

About a minute. Time to feel each outline.

Choose one set of outlines before you start. Use your usual writing for everything else. Try the same passage with the other set, then reverse the order on another session.

Each word is spoken completely, with a pause before the next word. Begin at the gentle pace. Give yourself time to form the outlines and notice how they feel. Use the same pace for both outline sets.

1× is the gentle starting pace. Move right for quicker playback or left for more time. The player preserves the voice’s pitch.

Recorded with the ElevenLabs Roger voice. All three passages use complete words with spaces between them.

Ready. Put your hands on the machine after you press Start.

The current sentence will appear here.

Download the selected dictation as an MP3

Use Start to begin again after a three-second count-in. The audio player’s Pause and Play controls let you stop and continue.

Using a CAT dictionary for the comparison?

A new outline may already translate as another word in your dictionary. Check for conflicts first. You can compare raw steno notes, or use a separate practice dictionary instead of changing your working definitions.

3 · Check your own experience

What did your hands tell you?

  • Which outline felt easier to form?
  • Which combination asked more of your fingers?
  • Where did you hesitate because the outline was unfamiliar?
  • Which outline would you like to keep practicing?

Look at your notes as well as the translation. Familiarity and physical comfort may give you different answers at first. Return to the exercise after practice and see what changes.

Use the second and third passages to find out how the outlines feel in different sentences.

Download the three recorded dictations

These downloads use the gentle starting pace, with pauses between complete words.

Your practice passages

Each passage uses the same seven target words in a short question-and-answer exchange. Open a passage to read it, or download all three for the Woodshedder.

First take · At the meeting · 35 words · about one minute

What time did your client arrive at the office?

Please describe the document you brought to the meeting.

Did counsel have a copy of that page?

Look at the exhibit and describe what you see.

Second take · A different copy · 31 words · about one minute

Which document did you send to counsel?

Please turn to the last page of the exhibit.

How did your client describe the call?

Did you have time to review the exhibit?

Third take · A fresh look · 30 words · about one minute

Please describe your first meeting with the client.

What time did you speak with counsel?

Does this exhibit contain the complete document?

Which page of the document did you keep?

Keep exploring

Give yourself seven days.

Use the Woodshedder to practice these sentences in smaller parts, then return here for connected dictation.

Start the free Woodshedder trialOpen the Woodshedder

The existing trial includes a separate 160-WPM drill. For this outline exercise, use the comfortable-paced player above and load this page’s practice text into the Woodshedder. Access to the Woodshedder follows the trial’s seven-day terms.

A simple seven-day practice plan
  1. Day 1: Explore the outline pairs at your machine. Start with two or three if seven feels like too much.
  2. Day 2: Practice the unfamiliar outlines in short sentences.
  3. Day 3: Write the first passage with each set. Note how your hands feel.
  4. Day 4: Work on the words or transitions that interrupted you.
  5. Day 5: Try the second passage. Start with the set you used second last time.
  6. Day 6: Try the third passage and read your notes back.
  7. Day 7: Review what became easier and choose what deserves more practice.

To use the downloaded text: open the Woodshedder, choose Set up → My own material → Choose a file, load the .txt file, and choose a pace you can control.

Seven days is a chance to explore a few outlines. Keep practicing the changes that show promise for you.

Where to go next

Three books. Three ways to go further.

BREVITY: The Theory

Learn the complete BREVITY writing system through structured lessons, outline instruction, and practice. Start here if you want to learn the theory from the beginning.

Explore The Theory

BREVITY: Write Simply

Explore outlines and writing choices you can bring into the steno you already know. Start here if you want to simplify parts of your existing writing.

Explore Write Simply

The Science of Steno

Explore Tom’s research and measurements on stroke count, mental load, hesitation, and the demands of realtime writing. Start here if you want to understand the reasoning behind the approach.

Explore The Science of Steno

Your experience

How did it feel?

Thank you for trying the BREVITY Experience. Tell us a little about your writing and what you noticed.

Tell us in your own words below, if you like.

For example: finger reach, coordination, remembering outlines, transitions between words, or the practice pace. Tell us what you noticed.

Words per minute.

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Thank you for trying the BREVITY Experience.

As a thank-you, we’d like to offer you seven days of free Woodshedder access to keep practicing.

Access begins when signup is completed and ends seven calendar days later. One trial per person or email address. No automatic charge or renewal. The trial includes a selected 160-WPM drill; you can also load this page’s practice text into the Woodshedder.