What to Do When You Miss a Word or Line in Dictation: Don't Freeze!

The 'Skip and Leap' Mental Recovery Protocol The number one reason candidates fail at 100 WPM is that when they miss one word, they pause for 3 seconds trying to remember it. In those 3 seconds, the speaker speaks 5 more words, triggering panic. The 2-Second Rule If a word escapes you, leave a small horizontal gap or blank dash on your notepad and immediately leap to the current word being spoken. Missing 1 word costs 1 penalty mark. Panicking causes you to miss 15 words, which fails the test. During transcription, the surrounding sentence context will almost always reveal what the missing word was.

Question and answer

Should speed come first?

No. First make the movement, outline, spelling, or formatting decision reliable. Speed added too early usually makes the same error automatic.

How often should it be revised?

Review after one day, at the end of the week, and again in a fresh passage.

How do I know it is improving?

Look for fewer repeated errors across different material, not only a higher gross score.

Mini review

Finish by writing one sentence about what changed and what should be practised next.