| Knowledge Assumed | There were two different sets of skills required, here. First, the person dictating had to know how to start and stop the recording, as well as how to rewind and delete where necessary. The secretary typing up the dictation had to know how to operate the start, stop and rewind buttons with her foot or knee (depending on the model). She also had to have extremely good listening skills and to be able to stop and answer the phone or deal with visitors at any given moment. She also had to know how to finish a document "yesterday" without any errors. |
