Typing skills: position and keystroke

e [Laughter] Janet Wilner is a really good typist she can type from 80 to 100 words a minute easily she can keep it up all day if she has to Janet's company has asked us to take Motion Pictures of her typing part of a study to analyze position and keystroke of a good good typist our cameramen have photographed a lot of excellent typists for this study we've learned a great deal about what it takes to type accurately and fast apparently good his position at the typewriter and with the way she manages her keystroke her position is comfortable and relaxed she sits directly in front of the typewriter with her body in balance her elbows relaxed natural at the side of her body her feet both on the floor it gives her the stability to resist fatigue to some extent good typing depends on the office furniture and its adjustment the height of the chair the height of the desk proper adjustment of the furniture provides enough distance between chair and floor the back of the chair is adjusted for Comfort not so high that it interferes with movement nor so low that it leaves the upper body unsupported apparently this position helps typing speed at least I've noticed in this study the fastest typus naturally sit like this our cameras have recorded body position and hand position there may be individual variations but the hands of all good typist rest over the keyboard with wrist low and relaxed Palms don't touch the typewriter fingers are curved our study shows that's the most efficient way to operate any electric or manual typewriter and fingers are directly over the home row Keys except when other keys are [Applause] operated the investigation of keystroke movement is one of the most interesting parts of our study our camera is set for slow motion we concentrate on Janet's hands as she types later after the slow motion film has been processed we project it to analyze keystroke movement one question we've asked is what is the position of the hands and fingers during brief rest between keystrokes the answer the hands remain in alignment with the keyboard the fingers remain in typing position even when no key is being struck another question what part of the hand does the typing the answer the fingers do nearly all the work hands wrist and arms are quiet and relaxed another question what is the exact nature of the keystroke movement the answer keys are struck with the fingertips each stroke is a quick snap and the keys are quickly released we studied space bar action we wondered how a fast typus like jenet handles spacing the spacing action is done with the right thumb it moves down and in toward the palm as the spacing stroke is made the hand is not turned and the thumb remains on or near the space bar at all times our slow motion films revealed the elements of typing and they demonstrated again that Janet Wilner is good at her job between filming sessions I observed several other reasons for her Excellence Janet keeps her hands in condition for typing with finger gymnastics I watched her press the fingers and thumbs of one hand between the fingers of the other hand she did this with both hands several times then I watched her type some warm-up sentences her favorite warmup covered nearly all the letters of the alphabet it provided a good workout for both hands Janet is good and yet she's only one of hundreds of good typus we've worked with over a period of time they've shown us fine points about the art of typing position and stroke they depend on the typewriter itself today most office machines are electric inside many electric typewriters a power roll constantly turns when a key is struck the turning power roll pulls the type toward the paper then quickly releases it the action is easy to see in slow motion since power does most of the work in electric typing extra finger motion is wasted electric typing is a matter of moving the finger as little as possible beyond the actual typing motion it also is a matter of being aware of the rhythm of the machine the length of time it takes for the carriage return to respond to the touch a slight delay when the shift key is operated [Applause] occasionally Janet Wilner Types on a manual typewriter it is operated by pressure of the fingers acting along a system of levers when a key is struck the Striking force of the finger causes the typ bar to move toward the paper position and keystroke are the same as for the electric but because the manual machine is operated by muscle power good position and stroke can pay an added bonus in reducing fatigue no matter what kind of typewriter is used our study shows that the fastest and most accurate typists coordinate their eye and hand movements a good typus keeps her eyes on the copy she's not easily distracted a good type as thinks ahead she prepositions her fingers as she strikes keys without breaks or pauses keeping the carriage constantly moving but the basis for her speed and accuracy is good position and keystroke that's true for Janet and for all of the expert typist we photographed good typists agree that typing skills are learned through study and practice what kind of study and practice look at what some typist have done a typist who wants to improve her speed may go back to the basics she rereads her instruction book she takes a fresh look at what she's learned about position and keystroke a typus may ask a friend to check her position as she works she may practice one element of position or stroke at a time during one session she may concentrate on wrist position later on finger movement more important a typist who wants to improve her speed never stops doing typing drills drills designed to build [Applause] speed drills build [Applause] accuracy we learned in our time and motion study that good typists practice regularly and we film the results of their practice our study is a continuing one today Janet tomorrow borrow other expert typist perhaps you we feel our work is important because there are so many typists in the business World perhaps the result of our study will help them to improve their skill that special skill which starts with two important factors position and [Laughter] keystroke e