Getting good at shorthand involves practising. A lot. But sometimes people mix up practising with just taking mock exams, so let's talk about the difference between the two, and how each can help you get better.

First, practicing and taking an exam have different goals.

When you practise shorthand, your goal should be to learn, experiment and hone your skills. It's the time to identify and tackle difficult words, groupings and revise the theory you either haven't fully learned or perhaps need additional revision on. In short, it's about pushing past your current comfort zone.

On the other hand, when you take a test, the goal moves from learning to proving your skill. All that you have worked on is now brought to bear in the few precious minutes when the clock starts and you must begin taking notes. While practice helps you find and fix your weak points, exams ideally represent the consolidation of all that work where you show off your strengths and pass the test.

So practising and taking an exam require different approaches.

While practising, never shy away from the tough parts, even if (especially if) they slow you down. In fact, if you find something that slows you down, you can be assured you have hit upon something that requires your immediate attention. Practice should feel "hard." If your brain gets tired, you're on the right track.

As we have noted many times, skill improvement isn't always steady. Sometimes you hit a plateau, where it seems like you're not getting better. It's important to know that this is absolutely normal. Keep practising even if you don't see immediate progress. Practising is not necessarily about breakthroughs. It is where you build skills and work on your challenges.

Tests are where you show your growth. If you're not where you want to be, it might simply mean you haven't prepared enough.

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