"Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success."

-- Henry Ford

Certification skills exams strike fear into the hearts of most court reporters. Some feel their writing abilities aren't adequate, while others tremble at the thought of a test—any test. Successful test-taking is 90% preparation and 10% execution. When you arrive at the Certification Center, you want to be ready. You'll probably be nervous—most reporters are—so there's no sense making it worse by not taking the proper steps beforehand.

But how to get ready? The first thing to know about the NCRA skills exams is what it takes to pass each certification. This raises a series of critically important questions: What equipment should you bring? What are the test procedures? What is an error? How does NCRA grade the tests?

Marybeth is going to begin by covering the rules and testing procedures for the skills exams, covering them test-by-test since your preparation will vary accordingly. She'll also talk about how NCRA grades each skills exam and cover the categories of errors, both important things to know as you prepare and practice.

"If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six sharpening my axe."

-- Abraham Lincoln

But knowing what you'll confront in the Certification Test Center is only part of the solution. It is also crucial to know your CAT software and to take full advantage of its features. For example, those who struggle with numbers should explore the automatic number conversion features and make the appropriate settings or dictionary entries.

There are many features in modern CAT software that can assist reporters who struggle with conflicts, punctuation, and word building (prefixes and suffixes). Even more impressive, some of the newest CAT programs have a feature that suggests briefs automatically, briefs you can use on-the-fly. Finally, one CAT software has added a feature that can correctly translate words and phrases that are incorrectly written (but are in your dictionary) and can even correctly translate words that aren't in your dictionary, words you have never written before.

Taking full advantage of your CAT program's assistive functionality could make the difference between passing and failing an exam and Marybeth is going to review each of the most important areas and tell you how to get help with the CAT program you're using.

Once you know the rules, what to expect at the exam center, and have fine-tuned your CAT software, the next step is to commit to a practice strategy that's designed to help you pass the test(s) you plan to take. Marybeth is going to provide step-by-step instructions on how to pass each type of skills exam, what to practice and how to identify and remedy weaknesses in your writing. She'll review a number of tools that you can use during this process.

Finally, test-taking is, for most, a time of high anxiety. Lots of reporters are capable of passing these exams, but fail because their nerves betray them. This may seem insurmountable to many reporters, but it isn't. There are techniques that can help. Marybeth will share her own tips for overcoming Test Anxiety as well as strategies and suggestions from other experts.

If you'd like to take—and pass—any of the upcoming skills exams in November, you should join Marybeth for this webinar series. When you obtain any of the NCRA certifications, you acquire more than a piece of paper and some initials to hang behind your name. You raise your stature among your peers and you increase your earning potential substantially. Most of all, though, you'll gain a tremendous sense of personal satisfaction for having achieved credentials that proclaim you as among the most skilled practitioners of stenographic writing.