Typing is one of those skills that you will need in almost any business. Poor typing skills will slow you down and probably make your work look untidy and unprofessional. It is an essential skill to learn.
Why you need to learn typing?
In business, we communicate in many ways. Even if you have a meeting where people talk, it is often a good idea to type of minutes of the meeting so that there is a written record of what was said.
Some of the other reasons you may need to type include:
- Business letters
- Business agreements
- Emails
- Advertising and marketing information
- Social media marketing
- Your website, blog posts, content
- Internal communication with staff
- Policies and procedures
- Tenders
- Legal documents
Typing skills are even handy when you use a mobile phone. This is a common way to communicate and understanding the basics of typing will help you here too.
How to learn how to type (for free)
Firstly, we are very lucky to be living in the modern age of computers and word processors. Even more importantly are features such as spell-check. There are even other applications that can enhance your grammar and spelling such as Grammarly. They have a free version that is a big help if you type a lot.
Typing on a computer is much easier than it was in the past. Typewriters were slow and it was difficult to fix mistakes. Now, even big mistakes can be quickly and easily corrected with a word processor such as Microsoft Word.
Modern keyboards are also a lot faster and easier to use than old manual typewriters. So, we are lucky. It is, however, still a good idea to learn to type correctly. This will make the task much faster and the results will look better.
What if you can already type?
Many people might think that they type well but if you look at a really good typist you will probably realise you have a lot to learn.
While many people learn how to type simply by practicing, you will probably pick up bad habits that will slow you down. When you type using the correct methods that have been tried and tested over the years, will be able to type faster.
The correct method of typing allows you to cover the whole keyboard and use all your fingers in the fastest way possible. You will develop what is call muscle memory and soon typing will be an automatic process that you can do without thinking, certainly without looking at the keyboard.
A good idea is to take a typing speed test. Here are a few you can try:
https://www.typing.com/student/tests
https://www.speedtypingonline.com/typing-test
This will give you an idea of where you are now and you can measure it over time to see how you are improving.
What is a good typing speed?
It really depends on what you want to do. You do not have to be super fast but you want to get the work done as quickly as possible so that you can get on to other important aspects in your business. A speed of 70 words per minute is generally considered to be fast. Speed of 120 minutes and above are super-fast.
If you can get to around 50 to 60 you should be able to get your thoughts or information typed out at a decent speed.
Is practice not enough?
As with most things in life, the more you do them, the harder you practice, the better you get. In the case of typing, regular practice should make you faster and more accurate.
The problem with practicing without know the correct basics of typing is that you will get bad habits. These will slow you down and be hard to fix later on. It is always important to understand and learn the basics and then, practice, practice, practice.
You will get faster.
Free resources and lessons
There are many options online that offer free instructions, resources, and lessons.
https://www.speedtypingonline.com/typing-lessons
https://www.typing.com/student/lessons
These are just a few examples. If you search Goggle you can find more.
YouTube is another great place to find typing lessons. These are great if you prefer to learn from a video and again, they are free.
Here are a few you might want to try:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYQRWW-1Yxg
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjomGPm1Uh8
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_3tOI8EW0s
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AWDlbgBAcU
A search on YouTube will show you many more.
Free online lessons
If you have access to the internet there are many free typing lessons that will be a great help. They will guide you through each step of the process and then allow you to practice what you learn.
This will teach you the correct habits so that when you do practice you can only improve.
A few options to look at include:
Most of them require that you register but this is free and fast. The more advanced lessons will cost money but these sites offer basic training for free.
Typing games
A great way to learn that makes it a bit more fun is typing games. It is still important to learn the basic skills and theory but games are an entertaining way to improve your speed and accuracy.
Two of the sites above have games:
and you can find a few more here:
Final thoughts
Typing might not be a lot of fun but it is an important skill to learn. If you make a bit of effort and get the basics right, you will soon start to improve. This will make the job of typing much faster and easier.
Take advantage of some of the free ways to learn the skill of typing, you will not regret it.