The Stenograph machine: Traditionally, Court reporters use stenograph machines that enable them to type at speeds of up to 225 words a minute. The average person usually speaks 160 to 180 words a minute. The stenograph machines have a syllable-based system of 24 keys that spells words phonetically, the way they sound, rather than how they are actually spelled. Stenographers, commonly known as court reporters, use a keyboard with only 25 keys (there are about 100 on a standard computer keyboard) that account for just 13 consonants and 4 vowels. It was very difficult to find an answer for your question. That was the only one i could find, i like to answer peoples questions, in other words im an "answerbag freak". So feel free to e-mail me if you have any other questions at turismo568@gmail.com

Unknown answered it right good and I am just gonna add some unnecessary info. Average speaking speeds in formal situations, ie., giving testimony are 150 wpm or less. Average regular typing speeds are 40 to 60. Real pros reach 80 or even over 100. Still slower than people talk. Since the machine is phonetically or sound based, the only person who can make a definite transcript of them is the original stenographer. Different people hear and type sounds differently. It's similar to the only the person who wrote down shorthand by hand can really read the shorthand.( Awkward sentence, that, maybe I should have made it shorter) The "court reporting" schools you might see advertised are supposed to teach some standard sounds or phonemes. Before you pay money to some business to learn to be a "court reporter" you should know that more and more actual audio recordings or "tapes" are being used and accepted as official transcripts. Even the Supreme Court of the United States allows its stenographers to listen to the tapes and amend (with notices that such was done and where) their hand and machine typed records. Maybe you have seen matchbook ads for "speed writing"( shoot , maybe you remember matchbooks) that said " F U cn rd ths, U cn lrn spd rtng n gt gd jb n rn bg $. " That's sorta like what a stenographers machine does, there are specific symbols for certain sounds. And sorta like the Hebrew which leaves out the vowels. And sry 2 tl U , vn F U lrn spd rtng, N cn rd ths, U prbly wnt gt gd jb N rn bg$ Wld U hr smn tps lk ths?

I used to be a court reporter and I used a steno machine. Each letter on the machine represents a word or phrase and each combination of letters represents a word or a phrase. There are literally hundreds of phrases or briefs that most court reporters use in order to keep up with the testimony. It is a very challenging profession.

I am a court reporter. The first answer was the best. The second answer, stating that the average speed of testimony is 150 or less, is really wrong. Testimony can reach speeds over 225 words a minute at times. To pass the national test you need to write at a sustained speed of 225 words a minute for five minutes. Now, in regular testimony, although the speed may reach that or be higher, it is generally not for more than a few minutes. You can hook a new steno machine up to a computer and with the proper software, write straight to a file on the computer. Some of the new machines cost over $4,500. The dictionary you create will translate it instantly. The closed captioning you see on live TV is done by a court reporter, live. Court reporters are also availabe at colleges to help deaf students follow along in class. They write to a laptop, and the student is able to follow along with the class dialogue. There are very few Courts that allow taping of the proceedings, very few.

Anoymous was thorough and correct. I just want to add that when I was in court reporting training in 1970 the "buzz" was that tape recording would replace this profession. It hasn't happened. The reporter's main function is to provide written transcripts for the appellate courts, attorneys and various other people. Getting transcripts from people without proper training has proven to be much more labor-intensive as well as not as accurate as a professional reporter would make. It's filled with more problems than an average person would imagine. Failure rates in reporting training is around 80 percent. The job is interesting, challenging and reasonably lucrative. But don't underestimate the difficulty. It encompasses more than most people think. I was a reporter for over 30 years.