If you’ve ever watched a court reporter at work in a deposition suite or a courtroom, you’ve probably watched in awe as their fingers fly and amazed that they can take down every word – correctly – as it’s spoken.

Any court reporter will admit that keeping up with fast talkers can be challenging. In conversational speech, people generally speak at a rate of 125 to 150 words per minute. When someone is reading from a report or other paperwork they usually speak at a slightly higher rate, and if they’re reciting a code or saying they have memorized they speak faster still. These higher rates can fluster even the best court reporters.

Some court reporters thrive on speed, though, and a number of them recently competed in “the Olympics of court reporting” at the National Court Reporters Association convention in Denver. Twenty-nine men and women, representing court reporters nationwide, competed at the National Speed Competition, where dictation speeds reached 280 words per minute.

According to the Denver Post, there was some serious preparation going on within the walls of the Colorado Convention Center.

“A man poured baby powder on his hands to soak up the nervous sweat, a computer fan blowing a slight breeze on his face. Across the aisle, in a silent hotel conference room, a contestant rubbed her face, breathing deeply.

Then, an explosion of movement — well, from the wrist down. A room full of the nation’s fastest court reporters flew into action, their fingers dancing rhythmically across an array of black keys as a machine-like voice read a story about the psychology of sociopathic cats. The goal: capturing each of the 220 words uttered every minute — without making mistakes.

Donna Urlaub flew in from Chicago to take a crack at the titles. It’s her 50th year of court reporting and 32nd year competing, so she knows the drill.

Urlaub prepared every night for the competition by watching and transcribing ABC’s “World News Tonight” program. She likes the “How It’s Made” show because it presents unusual words that keep her on her toes — er, fingers.

She can type “diaper” with just one key stroke — a product of doing lots of freelance medical testimony.

“But I don’t have a brief for ‘psychopath,’ ” she lamented.

The name of the court reporting game, Urlaub said, is practice. Constant practice.
In the speed contest Wednesday, contestants raced to complete three, five-minute sessions, escalating in speed and difficulty. Afterward, they’re allowed to clean up their transcriptions, and the person with the most accurate account takes home the gold.

And it’s all done in complete silence.

“There’s a real element of surprise,” Urlaub said, explaining how the phrase “people’s exhibit” tripped her up. “You never know what to prepare for.”

Court reporter Jeffrey Wiegel, RMR, CRR, CRC, won the competition. His overall accuracy rate on the 280-wpm dictation was 97.54 percent.