NEW ORLEANS — The National Court Reporters Association, better known as NCRA, held a convention in New Orleans recently.
That’s where News with a Twist Reporter Kenny Lopez met the man with very fast fingers. He’s the fastest typing court reporter of them all!
Mark Kislingbury is the fastest court reporter. In 2004, he secured the honor in the Guinness World Record by typing on his stenomachine 360 words per minute.
“I’m going to keep practicing in hopes of breaking my own record. Hopefully in the next few years I can break it by typing 370 or 380 words per minute,” Kislingbury said.
Being a Guinness Book of World Records record holder is quite an honor for Mark, who’s from Houston and has been doing it for 35 years.
“It is wonderful to hold the record because only a small amount of people have a World Record, and I have one,” he said.
Mark uses a stenomachine, or stenograph machine, which allows for speedy shortcuts, but accuracy is also very important.
“Using this machine is using shorthand. I make so many shortcuts, it allows me to go faster than most people,” Kislingbury said.
So how did Mark become interested in making this his life passion?
“I was in high school, and a recruiter from one of the schools came and put one of these machines in front of me, and I fell in love with the machine. I found out it was a two-year course, and I was sold from there.”
Mark says right now there is a need for more people to learn.
“There’s a big demand. There are jobs everywhere. Very highly paid too. You can make between $60,000 and $70,000 in your first year. The money is good. The job satisfaction is good. The job is challenging, so not everyone can do it, but that’s why we get paid so well,” he said.
While in New Orleans, Mark competed in a “real-time” competition in which he had 99 percent accuracy — which is pretty incredible for as fast as he types!
For more information about the National Court Reporters Association, click HERE.
For more information about Guinness World Records, click HERE.
