Last week I sat on a panel at the 2012 NCRA Firm Owners Executive Conference, “Changes in the Legal Industry – What You Need to Know,” and a question was asked, “How do you get someone who has passed the CRR to hook in when they refuse out of fear?”  My quick answer was, “Tell the reporter to knock it off.”

Seriously, I feel very sorry for those talented writers.  I understand the fear. I have felt it. I still feel it on days where the deposition is close to being out of control, attorneys are fighting or I am just not on my best game.  Those days I play a mental game with myself, saying, “Knock it off, Rosalie.  Perform.”  I physically shake my hands, my head, and my shoulders.  I power through it.

As Dale Carnegie said, “Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it… That is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear.”

Dale is talking about the fear of realtime court reporting.  If you are a clean writer with a great tran rate, and especially if you are realtime certified, some might argue you have a moral responsibility to your profession to hook in.  You need to be an evangelist for the unique talent only stenographic court reporters can offer.  Siri can’t do what we do; no machine and no one can.

I promise you the first time you hook in, you will not become fatally ill or fall off a cliff or have to speak in public. Your fear is in your mind and the attorneys are not paying that much attention to every word and every comma.  It is true, you have to be a solid writer.   I suggest you start with an easy deposition. Get one under your belt.

Once you face the fear of being a realtime court reporter and then walk (write) through it, you are going to feel a surge of joy.

@rosaliekramm Twitter