How can I improve my typing skills? | Audio typing

How can I improve my typing skills?

So you would like to know how to improve your typing skills but are not sure where to start. Well, you will be pleased to learn that typing is a skill that can be improved upon the more you do it.  

It can be used in occupations such as secretarial roles, data entry clerks, medical transcriptionist, virtual assistant, and technical writer to name but a few. 

Let’s look at some tips which could help you improve your typing skills.

Top tips to help improve your typing skills

  • Sign up to take a typing course.  Whether you are a novice, or an experienced typist, completing a typing course is one way to learn new skills or freshen up on your typing technique.
  • Don’t type with two fingers.  Learn to position all your fingers correctly on the QWERTY keyboard. 
  • Learn where those ‘home keys’ are and you will no longer need to look down at the keyboard.
  • Slow down, before you speed up.
  • In the early days remember being accurate is more important than speed.
  • Practice, practice, practice. 

If taking a typing course is not for you then why not look at undertaking on-line speed typing tests. There are many different ones to choose from and they will let you know both your speed and your accuracy.

What speed should I type at?

The average typing speed is 40 wpm (words per minute). Faster typists can achieve speeds of 65 to 70 wpm, allowing them to be more productive.

Fun fact

In 1946 the highest typing speed recorded was a staggering 216 words per minute. This fantastic achievement was set by Stella Pajunas using an IBM electric typewriter.

Copy typing

Copy typing is the creation of a document or report from handwritten notes.  Some authors still like to handwrite manuscripts but these then need to be prepared in typed form for printing. Copy typing could also include work such as data entry – think of customers completing a survey in-store and then they are manually added onto a spreadsheet.  

Copy typing does not require any editing, rather the typist produces an accurate copy of the material provided to them.

Audio typing

Audio typing is more involved as it involves listening to audio files and transcribing what you hear.  This is a skilled service as the typist is required to punctuate and format the document that they produce.  

There are other factors to consider when thinking about audio typing such as number of people talking, style of transcription required, and types of audio to be transcribed such as audio only, or video formats.

Equipment to complete audio typing work is also required such as software, headsets and foot pedals.

Conclusion

In today’s digital world more of us are using keyboards on a daily basis, whether on laptops or mobile phones.  By attending a typing course, or finding online tests, you can improve your typing skills and become faster at producing those documents.