Message #39664

[elkiedee]

I would have thought that if you're manual typewriter trained your speed and accuracy should be pretty good to start with. Am I right in guessing you're trying to increase from 70 to 90? It seems a bit odd to me, I'd guess my own speed at 70 to 80 but that's slowed down by my inability to hit the right keys first time, and I probably would be 20 wpm faster if I didn't have to correct so much. I haven't tested since 1998.

The best thing is probably practice. Mavis Beacon is quite cheap, particularly if you can pick up an old release (I have something like v2, 8 and 15.

However, in most jobs I'm doubtful that it makes so much difference to your effficiency at work whether your speed is 60+ or 90+ wpm - I think over that point other things take up as much time as your typing, even in a high typing content role. What type of job are you going for?

I would also practise typing on a computer keyboard with as little effort as required to hit the keys, as those fractions of a second saved might add up. They do feel very different even from electronic typewriter keyboards.

If you're testing in an agency, make sure you ask for a few minutes playing with the keyboard to get a feel for it before the proper test. And if a keyboard seems really hard to use to you, it's probably the keyboard, not you.

Luci