Neatness

After blogging about shorthand, I decided to read up on it.

What strikes me about all the systems I’ve seen, whether Pitman’s or Gregg’s, is the neatness required of the writer.

Just have a look at the four fairly different words written in Gregg’s shorthand on the right. Yes, they’re different, but the difference is very slight, and much less than would normally be found in my handwriting.

I wonder whether that’s because shorthand was designed for secretaries and the like, for whom neatness is imperative and comes natural.

I do wonder whether I would struggle to learn shorthand, simply because my writing isn’t neat enough, or whether I would simply learn to write as neatly as required.

I guess there’s only one way to find out!