Taking Advantage of "An Opportunity To" Brief!

 

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.