Scanning Instead of Reading

Speed readers learn to read faster by moving their eyes up and down the page to find the important words rather than reading left to right in the traditional fashion.  In order to avoid reading every word they practice increasing the rate their eyes move across the page. Effective readers will adjust their reading speed to skim certain phrases or paragraphs depending upon whether or not they see an important word, phrase or concept.  Then, they will read carefully.

Practice Pushing To Read Faster

The single most important of the speed reading techniques available to the person that wants to learn to read faster is to be aware as they read.  They focus at a point above the words and sweep their eyes up and down, left and right until it becomes a habit to scan the page looking for important words, concepts and phrases.  With practice, they learn to focus above the sentences and sweep their eyes in various patterns throughout the page.

Ignore Unknown Words Unless They Are Important

When reading, speed readers often find words that they do not understand.  However, unlike traditional readers, they do not stop and look up the word.  Instead, they try to first learn whether or not the word is important to revealing the main idea of the passage.  If it is, they next try to determine the meaning from the context in which the word is used.

Phrase Reading:  Learn To Read In Phrases

As they read faster, speed readers begin to omit words that are unimportant.  This lessens the number of times that their eyes have to fixate on the page.  Instead, they concentrate on finding important phrases by reading quickly across a page.  With practice, their comprehension rate improves even as they read less and less of the printed words.  They learn to read by recognizing concepts and relationships between words.

Speed reading is a skill; and, like any other skill it takes practice.  Learn to scan top to bottom and elsewhere about the page while hunting for important words, phrases and concepts.  Learn to read faster by reading phrases and ignoring words that are unimportant or that are not understood.  By constantly pushing to read faster than the normal rate, anyone can speed read while retaining or increasing reading comprehension.

Related posts:

1. Speed Reading: Reading Strategies To Improve Memory and Read Faster
2. Read Faster: Learn To Speed Read For Maximum Retention
3. The Best Daily Habit

Pay Attention To What You Read

Pay attention and read as if it really matters. Reading is not a passive activity (like watching television).  You must put forth the effort and pay attention to what you are reading.

Different authors call it different things, but many speed reading instructors teach that you will improve your comprehension of the written material if you preview the passage before you try to read every word.

To Read Faster:  Preview The Material

In order to conduct a preview of the material, you follow this procedure that should only take about a minute to complete:

1. Look over the title of the chapter.
2. Look at all the headings, subheadings and marked, italic or dark print.
3. Look at any pictures or illustrations, charts or graphs.
4. Quickly skim over the passage, reading the first and last paragraph and glancing at the first sentence of every other paragraph.

Get The Main Idea Of The Passage

Now that you have previewed the material, look up and ask yourself these questions:

What was the main idea of the passage?

• What kind of writing was it? (Fiction?, Technical?, How-To?, Instructions?)
• What was the author’s message in writing the passage?

If you do the preview correctly, you should have some very good general ideas as to what the passage was about.  Once you have a general idea of the main idea of the passage, then you will be able to remember the passage better.

Read As If You Are Answering A Question

Now, go back and read the passage but do so as if you were searching for something. To make this easier, take the title of a chapter (or the heading as the case may be) and turn it into a question.

Now you have a goal.

When you are pursing a goal, you are more likely to do that which is necessary to reach the goal.

Stop Talking To Yourself When You Read

Most people have a bad habit.  They talk to themselves when they read.  This really inhibits your fast reading ability in two distinct ways.

Quit Moving Your Lips

First, you actually move your lips when you read.  This slows down the ability to speed read because you will only read as fast as you can speak.

Quit Talking To Yourself

The second way is to vocalize the words to your self.  While this is not as big of a problem as actually moving your lips, you still will only be able to read as fast as you can internally vocalize each word.

After all, speech is a relatively slow activity (about 250 words per minute).

Speed Reading Involves Thinking, Not Vocalization

Reading involves only the eyes and the brain while vocalization is only needed when actually speaking. Treat reading as if you were looking at a large painting.  It is a canvas of ideas instead of a motley assortment of individual colors.

Speed Read In Thought Groups

When we read, our eyes make small stops along the line.

Slow readers make many more of these stops (called fixations) than those that read faster. The effect of this is to slow you down and reduce reading comprehension.  It is easier to understand words when they are part of a group, than when they are alone.

Read in phrases of three or four words at a time.  Read in complete clauses and prepositional phrases. Your mind will internalize them as if the whole phrase was one word.

Do Not Re-Read The Same Phrases

Slow readers read and re-read the same phrase over and over again.

This is called “making regressions.”  The effect of it is to double or triple reading time without increasing comprehension.  Even though a single attentive reading might not be sufficient for full comprehension, it is often better than constant regressions.

Work on paying attention the first time.  If you conduct a preview first, you will remember better without the rereading.

Vary Your Reading Rate

Slow readers always read at the same slow rate. Efficient readers speed up for easier material and slow down for more difficult material.

Obtuse and technical material are not intended to be read quickly.

• Legal material and very difficult text should be read slowly; while magazines and newspapers can be read more rapidly.
• Poetry and plays are meant to be spoken out loud orally, which is in conflict with good speed reading method.  Therefore, it should be read more slowly.
• Religious writings and scripture intended to be recited and heard by the audience.  As such, they are meant to be read more slowly.

Need To Read Faster?  Learn To Speed Read

Speed reading is a skill that can be developed just like any other skill.  To learn how to read faster, try implementing the series of techniques that were discussed above.

• Decide to actively pay attention to what you read.  Speed reading is not a passive activity.
• Preview the material for a minute or so before reading.
• Get the main idea by turning titles and headings into questions
• Stop talking to yourself
• Read in thought groups or phrases
• Do not reread the same phrases
• Vary your reading rate with the difficulty of the material

If you implement these tips, tricks and techniques, you will learn to speed read.  In a short period of time, you will be able to read faster, comprehend more and retain more of what you read for a longer period of time.

Related posts:

1. How To Read Faster
2. Speed Reading: Reading Strategies To Improve Memory and Read Faster
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