Between running a court reporting firm, starting a new business, being a working court reporter, and keeping on task with my social media goals, my life sometimes feels a little out of control.  I believe one of the keys to success is being organized.  I have been reading some blogs and articles on organization and have found a common thread through all of them:  Getting organized and staying organized relieves stress and clears your mind for creative thoughts.

Most of what I have discovered in my readings is obvious and not earth-shattering, and yet it is good to be reminded of what we can do to get organized.

Here are the steps:

1.  Decide if you are more comfortable with a paper system or digital – don’t go back and forth.  Choose a method that is easy for you to work with. Don’t fight it.
2.  Create 3 lists:  one that is your “to do” list, tasks that you are to complete; a “waiting for” list for tasks you are waiting for others to do; and a “someday/maybe” list, a place to remember new ideas and dreams
3. Finish one task before you start a new one.  Distractions are the quickest way to inefficiency. 
4. Start each task with an action word, for example, Call…, Present…, Drive to…  It gets your brain to start thinking about taking action
5. Organize paperwork:  Buy bins and folders and label everything.  Organize your paperwork by date to be completed or organize everything by project.  Either way, have a place for everything on your desk and in your drawers.
6. Dedicate time every morning or end of your workday to read your lists.  It will keep the tasks top of mind and keep you focused.
7. In the morning when you get to work, pick 3 tasks you need to accomplish that day.  Check them off when they are completed.  Most days become chaotic, and you might not finish your list.  When you get the 3 tasks completed, you will feel a sense of accomplishment. 
8. Don’t let the lists run your life.  You decide what you are going to do and when.
9. Be sure to put exercising or enjoying life on your list.  I have a habit of going, going, going, and forget to stop and breathe and enjoy the sky or a meadow lark’s song. (I didn’t read this in an article or blog.  I am throwing this one in because I believe it is really important.)

 

rosalie@kramm.com

@rosaliekramm (Twitter)

My husband ordered a really great movie last week from NetFlix, “Defiance.”  I almost didn’t watch the movie because the beginning was very violent, but I couldn’t turn away from the story.  The movie touched me on many different levels.   The story of the human spirit and strength inspires me.

A key part of the movie was the importance of community, how people need each other and need to work together to get things accomplished and survive.   I believe court reporters need each other to get things accomplished and to survive.  In looking at the movie and court reporting as an analogy, I do not in any way wish to diminish how difficult the people’s lives were in the history of the world. 

The world is in an interesting state.  Doctors, lawyers, and even court reporters are becoming commodities in the eyes of many corporations.  Doctors are not able to spend the time they might need to spend with a patient or prescribe diagnostic tests they deem are necessary.  Lawyers are being told how much they are allowed to bill out for a case, their hours audited by insurance companies, and are told what vendors to use, and price, not service, is the only factor considered.

Many of the great professions are under attack.  I believe the only way to fight back is to join the associations that are battling to maintain the greatness of our professions. 

As a community we have power.  I am a proud member of NCRA, DRA and STAR.  I am also a Rotarian.  (The Rotary community is working to eradicate polio worldwide.)  Participating in continuing education is a way you can strengthen our profession.  I am sad and get angry when I hear so many reporters say they cannot afford to join any court reporting association.  Read the mission statement of the association in your state.  Their goal is to keep your job safe and give you the knowledge you need to be great. 

We need to pay attention and be strong.  The corporations are chipping away at us trying to define us as a commodity, “every court reporter is the same, whether a steno reporter or E.R. facilitator” 

I urge all court reporters to join a court reporting association whether it be state or national.  Keep up with continuing education, even if your state license doesn’t require it.  Watch the movie, “Defiance.”  There are many lessons to be learned from the film.  Together we will survive, move forward, and be great.

Rosalie@kramm.com

@rosaliekramm (Twitter)

In California court reporters have had a tough year.  The recession has hit our profession hard.  I have been reading and collecting www.law.com articles and blogs written by attorney groups for a seminar I am on a panel on for the Deposition Reporters Association convention tomorrow.  Attorneys have been hit hard by the recession.  I can cite you layoffs of staff, associate attorneys, and commercial buildings becoming empty of lawyers.  I personally know young people who just passed the bar and have nowhere to work.  Two of the new licensees I would hire in a half-second they are so smart, diligent and progressive in thinking.  They are becoming their own rainmakers out of necessity.  One of my business clients recently told me, “There is no capital to fund lawsuits, but tremendous opportunity is out there.”

In these tough times I believe many reporters are asking themselves, “What are my choices?”  Court reporters coming out of school need mentoring and monitoring.  Seasoned court reporters have a full calendar, and then the jobs cancel.  Attorneys are looking for ways to save their clients money, and if that means settling a case or going to trial with no discovery, and they think they can get away with it, they are canceling depositions.

I was reading an article in the Wall Street Journal this morning about what I will call the “science” of the recession by David Ranson, Director of Research at H.C. Wainwright & Co., Economics, Inc., “Why The Recovery Will Be Robust.”  He writes, “The fourth quarter GOP growth rate of 5.7% (annual) announced by the Commerce Department should be a ray of sunshine,” but then he goes on, “many panned it as either a statistical anomaly or an unsustainable blip…or the governmnet’s ‘stimulus’ package.”  But then, pay attention, court reporters, he writes, “History refutes all three interpretations.”  Ranson says, “We are witnessing the natural resilience of a free-market economy; a strong rebound is normal at this stage in the business cycle.”  Ranson goes on to state, “The great majority of U.S. recessions and recoveries are V-shaped , i.e., the more deep and precipitous the drop, the steeper and more vigorous the bounce.” 

Many of the experts are predicting an upswing of the economy starting in the spring of 2010.  Law firms are now starting to hire again.  Today I read an article that cites MoFo raising their first-year attorneys’ salaries back to 2008 dollars. 

This recession shall pass.  From my past experience, having owned a court reporting firm since 1985 and surviving two recessions, we will be incredibly busy once again.  There are going to be exhausted court reporters begging to be off calendar. 

The question is, what are court reporters doing now to get ready?  When times are slow we have a choice.  We can sit back and worry or sharpen the saw.  As we all know, the cleaner we write, the faster we scope.  The more sophisticated the dictionary, the faster we scope.  The more efficient we are in utilizing our CAT software, the faster we scope.  When reporting firms are calling you begging you to work, the faster you scope the more you can take more work without going crazy – and if you use a scopist, allow her/him to be more productive. 

Let’s all make a commitment to learn at least 2 new “macros” we can do from our steno machines in realtime by March 10.  Tweet to me what you decide your 2 new tricks are.  I will choose 2 and let you know what they are.  I need to sharpen my saw, too.

Students, I would like you to learn 5 new briefs for phrases by March 3.  Let me know what phrases you choose and the briefs.     

Let’s use this time to work as a profession to get ready for the onslaught of work that is coming.  I don’t want anyone turning away work because they are spending all of their time scoping or their scopists get overwhelmed.  Let’s be ready for the ROBUST RECOVERY!

Rosalie@kramm.com

@rosaliekramm (Twitter)

It was suggested by a firm owner I ran into at NCRA firm owners that I blog about a court reporter’s appearance when in the field.  This is a tricky subject.  I believe geographically there are differences in what is considered appropriate, common sense, and stylish.  There are dozens of web sites that offer suggestions about looking professional for men and women.  The mantra in all of them is “neat and clean and nice shoes” (no beat-up looking shoes). 

As blogger Dawn Rosenberg McKay writes, “Maybe it is unjust to judge a book by its cover, but we all do it.  It’s human nature.  While the person in jeans may be as competent and as intelligent as the one wearing the formal suit, or more so, we do assess these attributes based on appearance.” 

As working court reporters, we are judged the moment we walk into a deposition room, courtroom, or meeting room.  The attorneys may not say anything to us, but they are looking us over and making a quick judgment about our competency.  Like Ms. McKay writes, “It’s human nature.”

I know I judge the attorneys when they walk into the room.  A person’s posture, suit, accessories, and shoes say a lot about that person.  I decide in my mind quickly if a person is successful or not.  Is that fair?  Probably not.  It is just the way it is.

If you think about it, when you look good, you know you look good, and you walk into a room, you feel better about yourself as a professional.  I would go so far as to throw out the comment you even write faster and are more accurate.  Court reporters work hard getting out expedites and huge transcripts.  It may be easy to stop caring enough about appearances after awhile when you are tired.  That’s when we need to really get our groove on.

I am using this blog as a reminder to myself to “pay attention” and always look sharp.  People are watching me and deciding what kind of a court reporter I am before I even start writing.

rosalie@kramm.com

@rosaliekramm (Twitter)

Last week a young reporter from Florida wrote me looking for some advice.  He wanted to know what to do when you are at a deposition and your software stops working.  He had a bad experience that turned from bad to worse.  I won’t go into the details.  As we all know, the more out of control the deposition gets or if something stops working, the more your fingers start shaking, you start sweating, and then things really start to go bad – unless you take control.

I had shaking fingers and was convinced my license was going to be taken away from me because of a deposition I was reporting about ten years ago.  My client spoke with an English accent, the witness was an Australian scientist, and they were talking about the sequencing of the human genome.  Both sides were hooked in.  At one point one of the attorneys asked for me to read back an answer that was all “science talk.”  I read it back with a semi-Australian accent because I was writing everything out phonetically.  I wasn’t trying to be funny or cute or pretend I had an Australian accent.  Everyone at the table started laughing at me.  I was able to keep up with the speed, but had no clue what I was writing.  I started feeling sorry for myself.

During the lunch break I called my husband all shook up.  His words to me were so perfect.  He said, “Stop it.  You are a professional.  You get right back in there and be the court reporter.  I don’t want to hear another word about losing your license or any of that other nonsense.  Call me when you’re done.”  First I got mad at him a little bit, but then I realized he was right.  I told myself to knock it off and just bear down and write.  There was no room for excuses or having a pity party.  It was a tough depo, period.

As a new reporter, never forget your responsibility is the record.  When your fingers are shaking, go off the record if you need to. Go to the restroom, slap cold water on your face, and tell yourself to knock it off.  Pull yourself together mentally.  Force yourself to focus.  If you are in over your head, stop the deposition.  Call the agency owner.  Tell the attorneys.  Be honest.

If you notice your machine or computer is malfunctioning, ask to stop the deposition.  Don’t be shy.  You can say, “I am having a technical difficulty.  May we go off the record?”  Be confident.

One thing I know from all of my years as a reporter, the attorneys know when a deposition is difficult because of speed, accents, or subject matter.  If they see you working hard, they will give you a chance and help you slow things down.  Some attorneys or witnesses don’t care and prefer the messed-up record.  Don’t let those people shake you up or ruin your reputation.  Take responsibility.  I promise you they will respect you in the long run and might even request you to be their reporter.

By the way, the attorney who I was working for the day that I did the double hook-in about sequencing of the human genome, thinking I would lose my license, started calling our firm asking me to be his reporter for not only his San Diego court reporting work, but all national court reporting work as well.

rosalie@kramm.com

@rosaliekramm (Twitter)

Yesterday I received a Tweet from a court reporting student, “As a student, what is more important?  Speed or accuracy?”

My friend @stenoknight believes in accuracy.  She wrote an excellent, detailed article about how she got out of school.  I highly recommend it to court reporting students and young court reporters who want to improve their writing.  http://bit.ly/7rOL8a

I have a different philosophy about getting out of school.  I lean on the side of speed.

Both Stenoknight and I got out of school in less than two years, and I don’t believe either one of us is right or wrong.  I would suggest court reporting students choose the method that makes sense to you.  Take a bit of both philosophies if you wish.

I was intense in court reporting school.  I would go to class every day, never missed school.  During breaks or lunchtime, I would sit in the classroom with my machine and be constantly writing.  At night I would write the news, which was way too fast for me, or Frank Sinatra songs.  (I love singing along with Frank, and I could with all of the words in front of me on my paper notes.)  That may sound silly, but I believe all of the writing, writing, writing kept me focused. 

Learn briefs.  They will save you so many strokes and make your writing more accurate. 

I still push for speed.  I want to write super fast.  I have clients who talk up to 350 words per minute.  I love the crazy spurts, because it gives me a chance to clear my mind and really write and to be in the proverbial “zone.” 

I believe practicing with speeds that are too fast teaches you not to think.  You are forced to clear your mind, let go, and just write. 

In focusing on accuracy, you are constantly thinking.  Of course, accuracy is the name of the game in the long run. 

My advice:  Learn briefs, practice all of the time, and constantly push yourself with speeds faster than you can write.  If you are in a 90-120 class, write at 130-140, 150 speeds, and then slow down again to 90-120.  Your brain is going to get tired.  At some point, your brain is going to stop thinking, and that is when you will be in the zone and writing effortlessly. 

In answering the question, speed or accuracy in school, I vote for speed.  I love to write fast!  It is exciting to me.  Learn your briefs and then GO FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

rosalie@kramm.com

@rosaliekramm (Twitter)

(By guest blogger Linda Pool, CSR, CCRR – @lindakpool (Twitter)

          This morning I accompanied my parents to the hospital where my father had a fairly routine surgical

procedure.  He was checked in, through pre-op, out of surgery, out of recovery, and into his own room by

 10:00 a.m.

          Shortly after arriving in his private room — complete with a breathtaking view of Torrey Pines Golf

Course and the beautiful, glistening Pacific Ocean — his nurse arrived and began charting.

                 “How old are you, Norman?”

                 “81.”    

                 “Can you walk on your own?”

          I snickered out loud, eliciting a look from the nurse.

                 “Yes, I can.”

                 “Can you feed yourself?”

                 Now I laughed out loud. 

                “Yes, I can feed myself.”

                “Are you incontinent?”

 I groaned.

                 “No, I am not.”

            It occurred to me these are routine questions asked every patient of a certain age.  While my father’s

physical age is easily 20 years younger than his biological age, the nurse could not make any assumptions and had

 to ask every question on her list.

           I began to think of my dad and his fitness.  He goes to yoga twice a week, works out at the gym three

mornings a week, and never misses an opportunity to go for a walk or quick bike ride through his neighborhood in

the afternoons. 

             The light bulb went on, and I made the connection between our physical fitness and our professional

fitness.  You may work on your physical fitness regularly to keep in shape, but how often do you work on your

professional fitness? 

            If you had to answer a list of questions regarding your professional fitness, how would you score? 

Would you be able to answer “yes” to the following questions?

           Do you attend seminars regularly?  Do you surround yourself with smart, forward-thinking colleagues

who support you and keep pushing the envelope towards greatness?  Do you understand how your office works and

 the job of each person on staff?  Do you keep apprised technology and what is new and exciting?  Have you mastered

your CAT software?  If there is something you don’t know, do you know the resource to give you an answer or point

you in the right direction?

                               Clearly, my dad would win a presidential level fitness award, deservedly so.  At the age of 81, he

understands physical fitness is something to be maintained, and he doesn’t take his excellent health for granted.  He

has worked hard to get where he is today.

           What would your PROFESSIONAL fitness level be?   Would you score in the presidential level, or would you fall

 short? 

            I hope you aspire to hold a presidential level of professional fitness, feeling the hunger to be a

 better court reporter, never satisfied, always looking for areas of improvement.

            Let’s make 2010 the year we improve our professional fitness.  What will your professional workouts

 consist of to get you to the next level?  Is this the year you will write realtime?  Master medical malpractice? 

 Patent law?  Technology cases?  Is this the year you learn the Windows device manager settings so YOU are in

control of a successful realtime connection rather than crossing your fingers and holding your breath, praying that it

works?  Is this the year you replace those old realtime cables for a StenoCast wireless system?  Is this the year you

finally resolve those same conflicts you edit through in each and every job?  Is this the year you test for a particular

certification you wish you had?  RPR?  CRR?  CCRR?  RMR? 

                              I could go on forever, but I think I’ve made my point.  Let’s reinvent ourselves in 2010.  Let’s begin

our workouts to take our professional fitness to the PRESIDENTIAL level.  There will be challenges.  It will be

hard.  But as Tom Hanks’ character, Jimmy Dugan, says in one of my all-time favorite movies, A League Of Their Own,

“It’s supposed to be hard.  If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it.  The hard is what makes it great.”

Everyone would agree that court reporters are fascinating people.  Ask anyone on the street.  If you tell a person that you are a court reporter, right away their eyebrows go up, their eyes get big, and the inevitable question comes out, “How do you do it?”  People want to hear our stories and try to figure out how we can write so fast.

The question becomes, how can we be even more interesting than we already are?  I believe stepping outside of one’s comfort zone and shifting is the key.  I wrote a blog last year about change.  “Do people want an interesting, exciting life?”  I know I do.  Here are the steps I plan to take to have the most interesting life ever.

Step #1:  Meet more people.  People give energy.  I can’t wait to see who I get to meet in 2010 and look forward to meeting people who have nothing to do with court reporting.   One of the best parts of our jobs is hearing stories from all walks of life and meeting people from all professions.   I love meeting Rotarians, athletes, business people, and “who knows”?  Sit at a new table the next time you go to a meeting, not with the same people.  (Caution:  Stay away from energy sucks.)

Step #2:  Be spontaneous.  This is one of my favorite steps.  If someone calls and asks you to do something “right now” that sounds fun, go for it. 

Step #3:  Get out of your safety zone.  Try things that you might be a little shy to do.  Take baby steps and keep moving forward.  Don’t beat yourself up if things don’t go as well as you thought they might.  You never know where you might end up – it could be something spectacular.

Step #4:  Help other people.  Doing charity work, talking to a lonely person, or playing with a child shifts my energy.  I tend to be a worrywart.  One of the reasons I chose joy to be my goal in 2010, giving joy to others, is because if I concentrate on helping someone else, I forget about my worries and fears, and things seem to be much better than I ever realized.

Step #5:  Try something new.  I like to play “change your fate.”  If I go to a Chinese restaurant and am presented with fortune cookies along with the people I am dining with, I will grab a cookie that is in front of someone else and “change my fate” getting someone else’s fortune.  I know that is a silly example, but I use this mindset for all kinds of choices.  Instead of doing the same thing over and over because it is safe and familiar, do something different.  Make an unusual choice.

Step #6:  Have fun and don’t take yourself too seriously.  Linda Pool, a reporter in my office, decided to start skipping while she walks her dog in the park.  She is a grown woman skipping around.  Her dog, Walter, was a little confused at first, but decided to go with it.  Linda is one of the most interesting people I have ever met.

As court reporters, sometimes we work, work, work or practice, practice, practice, and forget to look up.  Treat yourself to some fun.  It will make you a better court reporter and ensure a more interesting, exciting life.

rosalie@kramm.com

twitter:  @rosaliekramm

I have been asked by a couple of my Twitter friends to opine on the future of court reporting, particularly as it relates to technology and voice recognition, tape recorders, electronic recording, et cetera.

In my opinion, stenographic reporters have an amazing future, BUT only if the reporters are willing to step up to the plate ready to hit home runs.    

In ’79, ’80 many people were worried about tape recorders taking over our industry.  When I decided to drop out of SDSU after my second semester to go to court reporting school, quite a few relatives and friends were worried for me.  They had heard that tape recorders were becoming very sophisticated and would be replacing court reporters in court.  They heard about this new science of voice recognition that IBM was going to push.    I was a little worried, but decided to gamble anyway because I was so attracted to the field of court reporting.  My single goal at that time was mastering the stenograph machine and passing the California CSR examination.

Now it is 2010, 30 years later.  I still hear the same rumblings from people.  It has been proven over and over again that having a live court reporter taking down any proceeding will win out over a machine when it comes to accuracy, efficiency, and dependability.  So why has ER (electronic recording) taken over in different states around the country?  I believe it is part of the “commoditization” of our industry and the “it’s good enough” attitude that is prevalent in our society. 

Standards have been set lower by administrators and legislators. 

To survive as an industry, I believe that court reporters unequivocally must not let their standards go down and must continue to strive to be better, faster, and cleaner writers. 

As an agency owner, I have seen some of the mediocrity that is out there in our field.  I have written in past blogs about broken-down steno machines, reporters who refuse to join state associations, national, who never take even one continuing education class after they get their license.  These reporters, in my opinion, don’t care about their future or court reporting.

I have also worked with court reporters that I am in awe of, so proud of, who blow me away with their greatness.  These reporters have solid writers, the latest version of their CAT systems, are able to get out a “clean” rough draft hours after a deposition, hearing, or arbitration.  The most talented CART providers, captioners, and realtime reporters will never lose their jobs.    

If someone is worried about the future and court reporting, I would suggest that person meet a talented realtime reporter, CART provider and/or captioner.  I know of no technology on earth that can compete with us and create a written record of any proceedings at 225 – 350 words per minute, a record with punctuation and speaker identification, a record of people who speak in all kinds of accents, and this record is created SIMULTANEOUS TO WHEN THE WORDS ARE SPOKEN.   

If you are a talented writer, scared of realtime, you are going to need to get over yourself.  For those who are in court reporting school, never settle for being “good enough to get out.”  Be great.  Support your court reporting associations.  They are on your team and will help you obtain goals with continuing education and testing.    You are our future.

Court reporters that are ready and able to hit a home run will always be in demand.  Bench warmers are going to be going home.

rosalie@kramm.com

Twitter:  @rosaliekramm

I have decided that my focus in 2010 is going to be joy.  I want to live joy and give joy.  For every decision I make personally and professionally, I am going to consider joy as a factor.  I believe I have the greatest job on earth being a court reporter.  My clients are wonderful.  I have so much respect for the court reporters who work my calendar and my staff. 

 

The associations and clubs I belong to, Deposition Reporters Association of California (www.caldra.org), the National Court Reporters Association (www.ncraonline.org), Society for the Technological Advancement of Reporting (www.staronline.org), San Diego Downtown Breakfast Rotary Club (www.sdrotary.org), San Diego Legal Secretaries Association (www.sdlsa.org), Lawyers Club of San Diego (www.lawyersclubsandiego.com), and San Diego Paralegals Association (www.sdparalegals.org) all give me energy and joy.  It is where I can find like-minded people to share experiences and information.

 

I am blessed with many national and international friends and advisors I have met via Twitter and social media, businesspersons, reporters, CART providers, and captioners that are “best in class” in their respective fields.  I use the word “met” in the sense of only knowing these individuals online.  If you told me in 2008 I would have “web friends” and “web advisors,” I would tell you that you are crazy.  “I am not that kind of a person.”  Thank goodness I believe in new ideas and change, or I wouldn’t have these friends.

 

Because of this blog, I have received emails from “strangers” all over the country.  I have heard from wonderful court reporting students, people trying to decide if they should go to court reporting school and change their career paths.  Schools, state associations, and other court reporting firms have contacted me asking if they can post different blog posts in their newsletters or on web sites.  I consider all of the “strangers” who contact me because of this blog my friends.  I take all queries and questions seriously and am happy to answer anyone.

 

I look forward to 2010, a new year and the beginning of a new decade.  All of the people in my life, the people I described in the last four paragraphs, give me joy.  My plan is to give joy right back.  

 

Let’s make up our minds to really go for it in 2010 and be the best we can be.  I can hardly wait!

 

rosalie@kramm.com

 

Twitter:  @rosaliekramm

 

www.kramm.com