Welcome
Welcome to StenoFest! Enjoy this little video while we get ready to roll. Make sure to be in the seminar room (Sessions Lobby, then Enter Now) no later than 7:55 to see the big opening!
Evolution of Machine Shorthand
Dom Tursi
This lecture begins with an explanation of early attempts to create a mechanized shorthand device, in the early 1800s in France, Germany, and Italy. It proceeds to describe some 50 shorthand machines around the world, concentrating on “The Important Three” in America, and underscores the two earlier practical machines – in England and Italy.
How to Pass a Test, In Spite of Your Nerves
Ed Varallo
Everyone is nervous on test day. You can’t banish nervousness. The trick is to write well despite being nervous — and you can do that! Let six-time National Speed Contest Champion Ed Varallo (no stranger to test day nerves!) describe for you the several simple, common-sense techniques he has discovered that allow you to be at your best on test day — no matter what!
Your Wide-Ranging Ripples - and Benefits Thereof
Melanie Sonntag
Whether you're a joiner or a lurker, a contributor or a leader, the professional colleagues you associate with develop your trajectory. Learn the benefits and pitfalls of joining users groups, state and national associations, and purely social gatherings, be they virtual or physical. What do you contribute to the overall collection and what do you take away? What are you missing that you could be gleaning? What skills are you acquiring to keep you at the top of your game? How do you find the right fit?
Trends in Court Reporting - Intro and Seminar
Nancy Varallo
Maybe Scarlett O’Hara had a point when she said, “Oh, I just can’t think about that today. I’ll just go crazy if I do. I’ll think about it tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day.” But don’t bet on it. There’s always change afoot in our marketplace and we need to keep pace today! Nancy will discuss with us the changes and trends impacting today’s court reporting professionals.
Trends in Court Reporting - Q&A
Nancy Varallo
Maybe Scarlett O’Hara had a point when she said, “Oh, I just can’t think about that today. I’ll just go crazy if I do. I’ll think about it tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day.” But don’t bet on it. There’s always change afoot in our marketplace and we need to keep pace today! Nancy will discuss with us the changes and trends impacting today’s court reporting professionals.
Steno in the Future
Mirabai Knight
This seminar will address the advances in technology coming in the next 5-20 years, with a focus on how it will affect stenographers. The underlying message will be that stenographers have to keep their personal skills at a high level. Mediocrity will cause other technologies to seep in. Excellence will secure our position for years to come.
The International Stage – Intersteno
Tori Pittman
This presentation will introduce Intersteno and their biennial Congresses, exploring all the different aspects of a congress as well as a discussion of the organization of Intersteno, its subgroup IPRS, and how reporters and captioners from the US fit into the grand scheme of Intersteno.
Being the Best Version of You
Kensie Benoit
Join Kensie Benoit for insight into her life encouraging, supporting and positively affecting court reporters nationwide. She will discuss topics that aren’t always talked about, but that everyone can relate to in terms of personal growth and tips for reaching your maximum potential in work and other areas of life, giving you the secret sauce to excellence. She will suggest approaches to gain a fresh perspective, leading to the success that you desire by taking things to the next level!
Being the Best Version of You - Q&A
Kensie Benoit
Join Kensie Benoit for insight into her life encouraging, supporting and positively affecting court reporters nationwide. She will discuss topics that aren’t always talked about, but that everyone can relate to in terms of personal growth and tips for reaching your maximum potential in work and other areas of life, giving you the secret sauce to excellence. She will suggest approaches to gain a fresh perspective, leading to the success that you desire by taking things to the next level!
eCourt Reporters
Karen Renee
Join eCourt Reporters in their booth in the Exhibition Hall to learn more about this exciting, award-winning company!
Dee-Mystifying the Path to Improving Your Realtime and Competing to Win
Dee Boenau
In this seminar, Dee will talk about her journey through the years of competing and how finding one’s inspiration to tackle the fear of competing, or testing, is important and fun. She will demystify some long-held beliefs regarding the way one must write steno in order to be an excellent captioner. Dee will share the history of how she changed her writing and how she uses conflict resolution intentionally. She will address the importance of practicing and how competing has added to the memories of a successful career.
For the Record - Court Reporting Documentary
Marc Greenberg
The better they are at their job, the more invisible they become. For the Record takes us into the world of the usually unnoticed court reporters, live captioners and CART providers. From a group of dedicated captioners who worked around the clock on 9/11 to ensure those with hearing impairments were kept informed, to Stan Sakai, a young CART provider redefining the craft for the next generation, For the Record takes us beyond the traditional idea of a court reporter and into the lives of the "keepers of the record."
Write Short - Write Fast!
Mark Kislingbury
Mark Kislingbury will share his main "secret" that contributed to his phenomenal success in court reporting contests and his Guinness World Record of 360 wpm - writing short! He will explain why writing short is so crucial and then show effective and innovative ways to do so. He believes that you, too, can apply his methods and achieve spectacular results in your reporting skills. He will show you how you can quickly become faster, more accurate, while at the same time less stressed and an altogether happier court reporter, with renewed love for your job.
Vicarious Trauma
Heidi Thomas
Whether you’re a Judicial Reporter or Realtime Captioner, you are constantly being bombarded by negative and/or disturbing information. Are you simply an impartial, unemotional conduit for the information? Or do you experience more of a person’s emotional pain than you consciously realize? As empathic people in a helping profession, Vicarious Trauma is something that affects each of us. Let's learn a bit about what that looks like, how we can recognize it, and how being aware of self-care strategies can help us manage it.
Learn About Project Steno
Glyn Poage
Project Steno is laser-focused on one goal: Get students into court reporting school and graduate them in a timely manner into the field. Learn about the project and how you can get involved!
Giving up the Computer Keyboard for Steno
Ted Morin
From prose to emails to code, there's so much more we can do with our steno machines. I stopped using a keyboard as much as I could years ago, replacing it full-time with my steno machine. I share the wonders I discovered and the challenges I faced while going "cold-turkey." I'll share some necessary briefs to help get around your computer and navigate documents, solutions to common problems, the joy of being unchained from one-hundred-odd keys, and some future-facing ideas that could help power a new type of computer user.
No More Transcripts – Say YES to CART and Captioning
Anissa Nierenberger
Transcripts... you despise them, and they’re the burnout factor of your passion. The growth for CART captioners and broadcast captioners will outpace court reporters beyond 2018! Don’t be left behind! We’ll start with 5 Things to Improve your Realtime. Transitioning into a new, exciting career is a matter of taking things one step at a time. Reinvigorate your passion today!
Speak Up NOW: The Art of Interruption
Ana Fatima Costa
One of the most significant challenges reporters face is interrupting speakers to ensure the integrity of the record. Some attorneys have unspoken expectations: reporters must write perfectly at all times, and they are to be seen and not heard. In difficult depositions, if a reporter interrupts frequently, attorneys may tell their secretaries to advise the reporting firm not to send that reporter back. Since it is your duty to produce verbatim transcripts, your need for accuracy juxtaposed with the fear of incurring attorneys’ wrath by interrupting creates a dilemma: speak up or drop? This inner conflict results in increased stress, doubt about your writing ability, drops, and/or reliance on audio backup - with devastating consequences if the file is corrupted. In this presentation, we will discuss the “art” of interruption; how to overcome insecurity and defensiveness; quiet the negative voices in your head; and speak up for what you need while managing your emotions -- and the room -- instead of their controlling YOU.
The Mirror Method
Ron Cook
Ron will present a steno-writing concept he created called “The Mirror Method,” which will open the doors to writing hundreds of new briefs…without having to memorize any! The ultimate goal of this seminar is to write shorter, write faster, and become the best writer that you can be.
Stories from Washington, D.C.
Joe Strickland
Marc Greenberg
Joe will share his favorite stories from his time as Chief Reporter of the House - experiences in the U.S. Capitol, recording history as it’s made. This will be a Q&A with Marc Greenberg, with additional questions asked by StenoFest attendees.
Steno in a Strange Land
Jade King
NEW - 80 Minutes! Jade comes across more accents every day than most reporters come across in a year. She can hear the subtle differences between Cheung, Chung, Cheng, Chen, Tseung, and Tsung; Lei, Lee, Le, Lai, and Li; Chaudhary and Choudhury. She can use all chopsticks with near aplomb, except those weird square Korean ones. She will share a buffet of highlights, tips and tricks for working internationally, particularly in Asia. She will show demonstrations of remarkably skilled Chinese and Korean stenographers at work, and explain what it’s like working under high pressure alongside a colleague you don’t share a common language with. If nothing else, she can share the wifi passport for just about every international airport on earth.