How to Improve Your Typing Speed

Typing is a skill that I never took the time to learn in high school. I never thought I'd need it. As an adult, I have found that typing is a necessity. For an at-home business like medical transcription, typing well and accurately could mean the difference between an average business and ever-increasing profits. This article gives suggestions for those who have lived with the "hunt and peck" method most of their lives and people who have been taught how to type but want to increase their speed and accuracy.

For those of you, like myself, who have grown frustrated with how long it takes you to type a document, now is the time to learn the proper technique. I must warn you: it will be a challenge. Your brain and your hands have grown accustomed to typing the wrong way. The one problem with learning a bad habit is that you have to unlearn it.

To improve your typing speed, invest in typing tutor software. These programs teach keyboard and number pad memorization. Learning proper finger placement on the "home row" is essential to typing success. With the proper foundation your typing speed will increase.

Two programs on the market today are MacMillan Typing Tutor 9 for the PC and Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 17 for PC and MAC. I learned how to type properly using Mavis Beacon software. The program takes you through the basic principles of typing, using fun games and timed tests at every level to increase speed and accuracy. Once a particular level is mastered the program allows you to move on to the next.

For those who need a refresher course to increase typing speed, online services are available to assist you. The key to your success is practice, practice, and more practice. Typing speed tests to increase your speed are available free on the Web. You are given a sample paragraph to type. Once you are done and hit "submit", the speed and accuracy of your work are translated into WPM (words per minute). You can practice with as many paragraph samples as you want.

A key to success in a typing dependent business it to increase your speed. No matter which category you fall into, consistent practice will determine how much your typing speed will increase. Once success is achieved, a monthly practice session or two wouldn't hurt to keep up your skills.