What is Steno? Steno is a form of shorthand and is an abbreviated symbolic phonetic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek stenos and graphein. What is a Stenographer? A person whose job is to transcribe speech in shorthand. What is a court reporter? A court reporter, court stenographer, or shorthand reporter is a person whose occupati