Make your own abbreviations
One way to abbreviate a word is to use just the first syllable. This is particularly useful for words that are used regularly.
mar marketing
cus customer
cli client
ind individual
If the meaning of the word is not clear just by using the first syllable, add the first consonant of the second syllable.
achv achievement
subj subject
budg budget
indv individual
inf inform
Form the plural by adding –s to the abbreviation.
achs, subjs, budgs, indvs
Another ideas is to leave out all vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and leave enough consonants to make the word recognisable.
bckgd background
mvmt movement
prblm problem
you can use –g on its own to represent ‘-ing’
incrg increasing
ckg checking
estblg establishing
If a term, phrase or name is used a few times, substitute initials when the term is used again.
For example
New marketing campaign NMC
Very special offer VSO
Some useful symbols
Use as many symbols as possible to make your note-taking even faster.
Here are some suggestions.
+ plus
// parallel
eg example
w with
w/o without
@ at
vs against
2 to
4 for
ff following
# number
i increase
m decreasing
à go to
< smaller than
> bigger than
Learn to read abbreviated messages
See if you can decipher what this message means:
w hv bn cntctd by Möller AG, a Grmn manfctr of hi qlty off equip + askd abt th poss. of a coop. agrmnt.
We cld adpt our SW 2 thr prods + dvlp nw prjcts w thm. Rsrch shws tht thr prods r v sccsfl in th mkt. Möl. hs bn dvlpng smll-scle elec-tron. dvces f 25 yrs.
Diese Nachricht benutzt Abkürzungen und Symbolen. Können Sie sie entziffern?
Solution
We have been contacted by Möller AG, a German manufacturer of high-quality office equipment, and asked about the possibility of a coo- peration agreement.
We could adapt our software to their products and develop new projects with them. Research shows that their products are very successful in the market. Möller has been developing small-scale electronic devices for 25 years.