Dictation is when one person speaks and another writes down the words as they are spoken. The person talking is dictating and the person writing, often in shorthand, is taking dictation. There was a time the ability to take dictation was a major requirement for employment if one aspired to become a secretary or administrative assistant. While few secretaries still take dictation, the practice is still in use in some professions, such as courtroom reporters and medical transcriptionists. Courtroom reporters or stenographers are required to transcribe a high volume of testimony at a high rate with no errors. Doctors often dictate patient notes onto a digital recording device, which are then transcribed into patient’s files by a transcriptionist.

Buy a shorthand workbook at a bookstore or online seller such as Amazon.com. There are plenty of shorthand workbooks available from online book sellers such as Amazon.com or BarnesandNobles.com The top-selling shorthand workbook on Amazon.com currently is "EasyScript I: Learn to Take Fast Notes in a Matter of Hours," by Leonard Levin.

Go online to the many free dictation and shorthand course websites, and practice using common shorthand techniques. Among the more popular sites are www.teelineshorthand.org and www.shorthandclasses.com.

Take a college-level shorthand class. Local community colleges usually offer courses in beginning and continuing education shorthand and dictation. Because of the instruction level and the curriculum, taking a class is the best way to learn to take dictation in shorthand.