The majority of businesses now use computers in some capacity, either in operations and/or maintenance. As a consequence, computer skills and software knowledge are becoming essential. One of these skills is touch typing, understated and often overlooked.
What is touch typing ?
This is a typing technique where keys are identified on the keyboard by the sense of touch, rather than sight and involves the use of all fingers and thumbs of both hands. The orthodox ‘hunt and peck’ typing method involves visually seeking the keys, and then using typically one or two fingers to type them.
Touch typing has numerous advantages over ‘hunt and peck’ typing and there are numerous softwares and websites teaching this skill.For business organizations,investing in a good touch typing software can be so beneficial for staff and more importantly your company:
Speed: Touch typists can reach typing speeds in excess of 70 words per minute, while hunt and peck typists will struggle to reach 30! This huge difference speaks for itself, in regard to the benefits of touch typing. From daily routines in business operations to those all important email communications with clients, everything gets done much faster, if you can type quickly. Writing information and taking notes are also easier, as the need to keep alternating between the screen and keyboard is eliminated.
Accuracy: No matter how fast you type, accuracy whilst typing is essential. Making mistakes whilst typing, not only takes up valuable time with correcting but if un-checked, renders documents error strewn and in some cases, un-readable. Accuracy is the second most important part of learning touch typing skills and what all good research based software will teach you. Finally, speed should always come last, as this develops with practice.
Fatigue: In business, touch typing can greatly reduce both mental and physical fatigue. Learning the skill negates the constant shift of focus and attention between keyboard and screen. As the skill is automated, there is no need to search for the keys, so focus can remain on the task at hand and on what you actually want to type. With correct posture, physical fatigue is also reduced, as the body is aligned correctly and not hunched or bent over the keyboard.
Health: Touch typing is also better for health. Sitting with correct posture whilst typing, as opposed to hunched over the keyboard, avoids straining the hands, wrists, neck, back and spine. Hunt and peck typists are at risk of developing Repetitive Strain Injury as opposed to trained touch typists.
Focus: Orthodox ‘hunt and peck’ typists’ attention is split into two parts: having to first think about the response and then searching for the correct keys to press. This is inefficient, time consuming and spells delays, inefficiency and reduced productivity for businesses, especially if dealing with time sensitive information. Touch typing develops muscle memory to the point where it is no longer necessary to think about where the keys are located, as fingers move automatically to the desired keys. This is termed, ’think-type’ and allows you to maintain complete focus on the minute details of your response.
Editing: Apart from teaching accuracy, touch typing allows you to edit mistakes as soon as they appear on the screen, as with automation, the cognitive mind knows immediately when a mistake has been made. ‘Hunt and peck’ typists usually only notice mistakes much later, as their concentration is on writing the word and searching for the correct key to press. The need to return to make corrections is both tedious and time consuming. Additionally, not just required when proofreading but typing grammatically correct sentences is essential when presenting proposals or writing emails to clients.
Even though individuals may have confidence in their ‘hunt and peck’ typing skills, learning how to touch type correctly, using an approved and effective touch typing software for your business is essential. The points above highlight the benefits, even to the skeptics who may feel the effort required may outweigh the benefits or just seem not worthwhile. However, as the above benefits clearly explain, touch typing is by far superior to hunt and peck typing. It may appear difficult to learn but with a bit of patience and practice it will help elevate your business to a much higher, more efficient, productive and profitable level.