Choosing a steno theory

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When deciding which steno theory to learn, there are many factors to consider. Some possible factors could include:

• Strength or weakness with phonetics
• Aptitude in memorization
• Being a concrete or abstract thinker
• Educational materials available

It is rare that stenography learners feel they have made an "incorrect" theory choice. Rather, it is best to approach picking a theory as picking a system that appeals to your strengths.

All theories are capable of high speeds (including free ones) and all theories tend to share many similar basic principles, such as the basic alphabet (letters A through W are consistent across nearly all theories).

This page discusses theory for the standard Stenotype layout and American English. For alternative layouts and other languages, read about steno in other languages.

History

Before 2021, Plover theory was ostensibly the only free theory available and was the most dominantly used in the Plover community. Of course, community members developed new theories and ideas, but were mostly for personal use and did not have educational materials or a dictionary intended for widespread use by others. This changed with Platinum theory becoming available for free, and Lapwing theory being developed and shared for free by Aerick in 2022.

In formal stenography schools decades ago, students typically attended in-person schools and learned the theory that their program taught (each school typically only teaches one theory). As virtual, remote stenography schools became more common, especially after COVID-19, students now have options for schools, and thus, ability to choose what theory they learn by which school they go to.

Thus, being able to choose a theory is a fairly modern stenography concept, for both hobbyists and students with the intent to become professional.

Choosing a free theory

The Plover community generally recommends that beginners start with one of the following three free theories:

	Description	Learning resources
Plover	The default theory that comes with the Plover app. Used by Mirabai Knight, the founder of the Open Steno Project and a professional stenocaptioner.	Two online textbooks
Lapwing	A derivative of Plover theory made for hobbyists and designed to be easier to learn.	Online textbook, Steno Jig, Typey Type
Platinum	Similar to Plover theory in basics, but primarily used by court reporters.	Video series available on YouTube, PDF lessons

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All of these theories are based on a General North American English accent. If you speak English with a different accent, read about English steno with a non-American accent.

All three of these theories are derived from StenEd theory, so they are very similar and contain only minor differences from each other. Therefore, considerations such as phonetics and memorization cannot meaningfully help you make a choice between free theories.

The most significant difference between these choices is the educational materials available.

• Plover has two online textbooks, but each can be considered incomplete in different ways.
• Lapwing has an online textbook that is generally considered complete.
• Platinum theory has YouTube videos, which may be helpful for those who learn better from videos.

Both Plover and Platinum originated with the purpose of usage for court reporting or professional captioning. Lapwing was not designed with court reporting or captioning as a priority, and was aimed specifically at general computer use and hobbyist beginners. (However, all three are fit for use in court reporting, captioning, general computer use, and by hobbyist beginners.)

While in all cases you will have to customize your dictionary, the base dictionary provided to beginners is in a different state for each theory.

• Plover learners who rely on checking the dictionary to confirm what theory they are learning may be confused by the multitude of entries for each word. Many are misstrokes and strokes that do not follow the theory. This can be difficult for beginners but is a great advantage to advanced stenographers to produce more accurate writing.
• Lapwing learners may find the dictionary to be a reliable tool to aid in learning theory. However, it is likely they will have to spend more time creating misstroke entries and entries that do not follow theory rules in the pursuit of higher speeds. The Lapwing dictionary also does not contain as many medical terms or jargon as Plover.
• Platinum learners have said the dictionary contains errors and entries that do not follow the theory rules, which may take time to clean up and correct. You may be able to glean help from those who have already done this work.

Theory as taught in steno schools

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This section is incomplete. If you know about this subject, please contribute to the wiki by adding more information.

Switching theories

The option to switch theory is always available. You can also combine a different theory into your old theory, learn user theories as modules in addition to your base theory, or make up your own theory.

As a beginner, if you have not completed learning a theory yet, switching is especially easy as most theories share the same basic principles.

If you have completed a theory and find that your theory is working against you in your pursuit of higher speeds, consider first whether a large dedicated practice could solve your issues. If not, you probably have the knowledge you need to pick a different theory, and pick it up more quickly than the first time you learned.