Learning To Speed Read
If you're like most people, you wish you could read faster. There have certainly been times when you've found yourself wishing a book could end sooner so you could move on to another one. Or perhaps you don't read as much as you would like because of the time it can take to finish a book. However, if you begin to pick up the skill of speed reading, you can stop worrying about these problems and start reading. Learning to speed read involves picking up a set of techniques that let you read quickly while still understanding the text in front of you. Once you learn these techniques, you'll be flying through books like you never thought possible.
When you start out learning to speed read, make sure that you have a quiet place to work. You'll find that with a little bit of practice, it won't matter how much noise there is. Interestingly enough, you also might find that your reading speed goes up quite steadily when you realize that there are no distractions to come between you and the words. Turn off the TV or the iPod and see if your reading goes a great deal faster.
Every kind of text is slightly different. Some lend themselves more easily to speed reading than others. Before you dive in, think about the purpose of the text and the message it is trying to get across. Technical writing (manuals and the like, for instance) contain less that can be ignored without losing grasp of the text than fiction writing. Keeping this in mind will help you evaluate how quickly to read any given work.
Another important tip - don't move your lips when you read. Your speed is held to your rate of speech if you do this. Your eyes can move much faster than your lips, so don't limit yourself. You may have learned to read this way, but there's no need for it any more. This simple step can lead to a dramatic increase in your speed.
Lastly, don't strain yourself. Remember to take a short break periodically, your brain wasn't designed to work at 100% for long periods without any rest. Taking five here and there will refresh you and make you better able to tackle those texts efficiently. In fact, breaking up a large reading into pieces with breaks in between can be significantly faster than reading straight through.
Speed reading is an incredibly useful thing, and well worth learning. The time you take to practice will be returned to you many times over, so be sure to stick with it, your speed will continue to improve.
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Published March 24th, 2008
Filed in Recreation
