Last month, I put my fraying shorthand to the test in the Olympics of speed-writing. Here’s my FT Magazine account of how I fared on.ft.com/4cCie2T

This is fascinating!

I can't read your shorthand at all! It's so personal

Really lovely piece; I wish I could manage legible regular handwriting let alone shorthand!

Loved this piece. Like you, I still use shorthand but can see how it is being overtaken by transcription software in a lot of areas. Though using it is always an icebreaker when doing interviews and a form of reassurance you look like you know what you are doing as a reporter.

Lovely piece! I can still just about do shorthand - Teeline - but I definitely wouldn't rely on it for anything.

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I really enjoyed reading this. You can totally see how this was once an essential skill, but now one less (perceived as) needed. Then again, sure one's phone can generate a perfect transcript of all that is said in a meeting, but that output sure is not short!

Loved that piece

I believe you might have mastered a new version of cuneiform. Talk about complex: Congratulations.

My 100 words a minute Pitman's New Era has been dead for decades, but when I was writing about markets (UK stocks and European bond markets) it was a real boon. Can't imagine how anyone would manage wihout it. Pitman's New Era isn't taught any more - too hard to learn.