Steno Wizardry: Taking Advantage of “An Opportunity To” Brief
By harnessing the power of briefs, court reporters transform complex phrases into lightning-fast outlines. One of the most satisfying skills in your stenographic arsenal? Creating elegant, efficient briefs — especially for repeat-heavy legal phrasing such as “an opportunity to.”
Let’s break down how to create and expand on the brief AO* for “an opportunity to,” and then take it further with magical extensions worthy of any reporting wizard.
Why AO*? It captures the vowel-heavy “an opp–” sound right at the start. It’s smooth, steno-logical, and just one stroke. This brief can save you hundreds of strokes.
The core brief AO* for “an
opportunity to.”
Once you've mastered the core brief, you can create powerful extensions
using final letters or phonemes of common verbs.
Here’s a small sample you may want to add to your repertoire:
|
Phrase |
Brief |
Explanation |
|
an opportunity to be |
AO*B |
Add "B" for "be" |
|
an opportunity to do |
AO*D |
Add "D" for "do" |
|
an opportunity to go |
AO*G |
Add "G" for "go" |
|
an opportunity to have |
AO*F |
Add “F” for "have" |
|
an opportunity to know |
AO*N |
" Add “N" for "know" |
|
an opportunity to explain |
AO*FPL |
Add “X" for "explain" |
|
an opportunity to tell us |
AO*TS |
Add "TS" for "tell us" |
|
an opportunity to figure out |
AO*FGT |
Add “FGT" for “figure out” |
There’s many
more…
Pro Tip: Keep your briefs intuitive. If you have to stop and
think too hard, the magic fizzles. Aim for one-stroke, muscle-memory-ready
outlines.
