Typing 200 WPM or More: How To?

Here’s how to type 200 WPM or more:

Most likely, you won’t ever learn to type 200 WPM, much less faster.

The current world record typing speed is 212 WPM, and it was not sustained for very long.

It is possible to learn to type much faster than 100 WPM, but 200 WPM is a very ambitious goal unless you take the route of stenography.

So if you want to learn all about increasing your typing speed to 200 WPM or more, then this article is for you.

Let’s jump right into it!

Typing 200 WPM or More: How To?

How Do You Type 200 WPM or Faster?

Woman's hands typing on a laptop

The average person can type between 38 and 40 words per minute (WPM).

If you want to type at 200 WPM, then you’re aiming above average by a factor of 5.

You want to be five times faster than average.

Actually, 200 WPM is much faster than you think it is.

While it is possible for a person to type at such speeds, it’s uncommon enough that there is no established school, method, or training program that will enable you to consistently type at such a speed.

Even world record holders can’t consistently type faster than 200 WPM.

It’s a major milestone.

If you’re really determined to learn to type so fast, then I have a lot to tell you.

First, I’ll try to put this number into perspective so you can really see what you’re after.

I’ll discuss typing world records and what speed really means in terms of typing.

Then, I’ll get into reliable ways to improve your typing speed.

They might not get you to 200 WPM, but they’re proven enough that they can dramatically improve typing speeds for most people.

How Fast Is 200 WPM When Typing?

Young woman working on laptop in the office

This might feel better if we take a minute to put it in perspective.

As far as typing speeds go, 200 WPM is a lot faster than you probably imagine.

The majority of people who type professionally don’t break 200 WPM.

Some people do exceed this speed, but usually not for very long.

And, the list of people who ever reach this speed is shorter than you might think.

We’ll get into that more when I take you through typing speed world records.

I think 200 WPM will make more sense to you with a little bit of extra perspective and context, so here’s another way to look at it.

The average U.S. English speaker converses at about 150 WPM.

So, 200 WPM would mean typing faster than most people talk.

Text-to-speech tools will typically be slower.

At the fast ends of conversational English, people might get up to around 200 WPM.

To put this in even more context, auctioneers usually talk between 200 and 400 WPM.

So, speech can exceed 200 WPM, but most people don’t talk that fast, even when they’re excited.

To type faster than people talk is not a small accomplishment.

What’s the Fastest Typing Speed of All Time?

Search, typing and laptop with hands of man and working on communication, networking or internet research. Contact, email and 5g technology with employee at desk for social media, digital and website

Ok. A moment ago I told you that some people can type faster than 200 WPM, but it’s not common.

A little backstory on typing world records will put that into perspective.

The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes Barbara Blackburn as the fastest typist of all time.

She set her first world record in 1985.

She hit a peak typing speed of 170 WPM.

That’s right.

A little over 20 years ago, the fastest typing speed on record was well below 200 WPM.

She ended up breaking that record several times, and in 2005, she set her ultimate lifetime record.

That is when she hit a peak speed of 212 WPM.

That record stands today.

In the same era, she set a sustained typing speed record as well.

She was able to average a speed of 150 WPM over a 50-minute period.

Hopefully, that adds some perspective.

But since we’re talking about records, there are a few more facts to throw your way.

There have been claims of records that exceed Blackburn’s formal record.

Those unconfirmed records get up to 241 and even 256 WPM, but since those records were not properly vetted, they are not formally recognized.

All of this is to say that it’s possible to type faster than 200 WPM, but very few people hit such a number, and even then, it’s not a sustained speed.

How Do You Type Faster? (5 Ways)

Portrait of a young woman looking at laptop

Still, if you really want to type at 200 WPM, then you’ll need to get faster.

Fortunately, there are established, tried and true methods to improve your typing speed.

Unfortunately, none of them will come close to guaranteeing that you can exceed 200 WPM.

That’s an ambitious goal.

Regardless, I’ll take you through a few common ways to type faster, and I even have a trick that enables people to consistently get above 200 WPM (although you might think it’s a bit of a cheat).

Let’s get into it.

#1 Learn the Fundamentals

Closeup image of a woman working and typing on laptop computer o

Fundamentals go a long way.

The difference between someone who looks at the keyboard to find each key before pressing it and someone who uses fundamental typing skills is night and day.

The average person types at around 40 WPM because they have learned the fundamentals.

They haven’t really pushed far beyond that, but fundamental typing skills are the place to start.

Here’s a quick breakdown of those fundamentals for anyone who doesn’t know.

For starters, you want to learn your hand positions.

When you know where to put your fingers on a keyboard, you can type without looking at your hands, which is essential for speed.

You want your fingers to know where to go on their own so that you aren’t thinking about them at all when you type.

Ideally, you think about words and your fingers automatically do what needs to be done.

The correct position on a standard QWERTY keyboard is to put your index fingers on the “f” and “j” keys.

Place the rest of your fingers on the adjacent keys in that row, and rest your thumbs on the space bar.

From that position, your fingers can reach every key on the keyboard reliably and consistently.

That brings us to the next fundamental.

Your fingers should know where every key is on the keyboard.

This means memorizing the keyboard and practicing enough that you don’t have to think about where any letter, number, or punctuation mark is.

It’s automatic.

If you get that far, you’ll type faster than the average person, but you won’t get to 200 WPM with just this much.

You’ll want to consider the tips below for that.

#2 Practice

Image of cheerful african american woman in eyeglasses using lap

Practice is everything.

Simply by practicing your typing, you can improve your speed.

Most people who don’t have hand or finger problems can consistently type at around 80 WPM.

That’s a sustainable speed, and at 80 WPM, your typing speed won’t really feel like it slows your ability to do things on a computer.

This isn’t the ultimate typing speed, but it’s a solid benchmark that separates amateurs from those entering the realm of professional typing.

This isn’t a hard rule or anything.

It’s just a benchmark that you can think about.

If you want your practice to be more efficient, there are countless training apps, programs, and classes that can help you improve your typing.

They can find specific areas that you might want to work on, and they can help you improve a lot faster than you might by simply typing things at random.

As you practice, there are a few mental goals that will go a long time.

One of your first goals is to reach a point where you can tell your fingers to type whole words instead of thinking about things one letter at a time.

That’s a big moment, and it will dramatically improve your typing speed.

After that, you want to progress so that you can think about entire phrases at a time.

As you do this, you reduce the number of individual thoughts and instructions between your brain and your fingers.

This gets rid of small hesitations that show up when you have to think about each letter.

As those hesitations go away, your efficiency and overall speed go up.

#3 Try These Tips

Young attractive woman at the desk with books on her head while

In addition to practice, following a few key tips can go a long way toward helping your typing speed.

First, focus on your posture.

Good typing happens when you sit up straight.

Your eyes should be looking roughly level to see the monitor (and should never be looking at your hands).

Your wrists should be as straight as possible and not resting on anything.

Meanwhile, your elbows will be bent at a comfortable angle.

With a good typing posture, you can type faster, and you can reduce stress in your body which will minimize any chance that typing causes pain or chronic injuries.

Another tip is to minimize finger movement.

Keep your fingers on the home row (with index fingers on f and j), and only move them away from the home row when necessary.

By reducing excess movement, you can improve your typing speed.

As you train, it helps to focus on weak points in your typing.

For most people, the ring and pinky fingers are much slower and less accurate than the other fingers.

You can use training programs to try to work on them specifically and resolve any issues.

Lastly, don’t try to go fast.

Speed will come naturally with comfort.

Instead, try to be consistent, and as you do, your fingers will naturally get faster.

If you measure your speed and then set patient, incremental goals, you’ll get faster over time.

You might even be able to eventually reach 200 WPM.

#4 Try Another Keyboard

Woman typing on keyboard

Then again, 200 WPM really is a tough goal.

On top of that, the QWERTY keyboard (which is standard with most computers) is not known as the fastest keyboard around.

Rumor has it that this keyboard was designed to slow typists down so that they wouldn’t jam their typewriters.

That’s probably not true, but an analysis of letters and comparisons between QWERTY keyboards and other keyboards show that it’s not the ideal design for fast typing.

It’s workable, but it’s not the best.

The best design for typing speed probably belongs to the Dvorak keyboard (although this is arguable).

This is the type of keyboard that Blackburn used to set her still-standing world records.

Basically, the Dvorak keyboard has a layout that makes the most-used letters a little faster to reach as compared to the QWERTY keyboard.

As a result, people seem to hit higher average typing speeds on this layout. 

Ultimately, you can learn to type very fast on any layout, but the small efficiency gains in the Dvorak configuration might be enough to help you hit that 200 WPM milestone.

#5 Stenography

The stenographer took shorthand

All of the tips above could potentially work, but there is actually a typing method that gets people to consistently hit 200 WPM.

That method is stenography.

Now, this is a bit of a cheat. 

A stenography keyboard is completely different from any other because it uses shorthand instead of real words.

That shorthand is well-developed, and stenography has been around for a long time.

If you learn to use the shorthand, stenographers often type at or above 200 WPM.

In fact, 200 WPM is a minimum requirement to apply for some stenography jobs.

On the fast end, these typists can get above 300 WPM.

Author

  • Theresa McDonough

    Tech entrepreneur and founder of Tech Medic, who has become a prominent advocate for the Right to Repair movement. She has testified before the US Federal Trade Commission and been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, helping influence change within the tech industry.