I have been teaching Gregg English Shorthand right here in Shanghai China during the last 2 years. Most of the time it is just a small group or one-to-one situations. A lot of people still are saying something like, "Oh that is useless, nobody is using that any more."
I introduced it to the audience of my four workshops on 'Be a Professional Secretary" organized by Shanghai American Chamber of Commerce to a packed and awed professional secretaries.
"What kind of computer are you using now?" "Why are you not using a 586 or P1 or P2 instead of the P4?" They mentioned speed and features as the reply. Then I asked, "What values a secretary for a boss or a company?" The reply was almost unimously "Efficiency and multi-functional capabilities."
If you can help the boss give his work instruction faster with uninterrupted smooth flow of thought. If you can take telephone messages or make meeting notes at a high speed wit shorthand, would your rather not learn it?
It is nice that 99.99% of secretaries in China do not know English shorthand. So, you can invest 6 months to a year mastering this skill that will make your stand out among the crowd.
They were excited.
I will be busy teaching.