Speed Reading

[NavajoEverclear]

I read quite slow on average. I haven't figured out my wpm, but i know that if i look at a clock i am always surprised at how little progress i've made over so much time. So i was assuming someone at these forums knows how to speed read, and hoping they will tell me how. I searched for other threads on the subject and found one that was a novel on how photo-reading cant work, which I'm not sure if is entirely true.

What are methods i can use to improve my reading speed, or even the way i read---- i know you can read in bigger blocks than taking it word by word. If i had the time maybe i'd sit down for a few hours and days until i figured it out. But it would be much more efficient if somebody who has already aquired this knowledge shares it with me.

[ed84c]

try not to think about the words to much and also talk it through you head quickly. Speed reading however can be quite tiring, so do mean you want to read at a normal pace?

[Nisou]

for me, when i read fast, nothing stays in my head.. read slow, everything does and i actually remember how the page looks like for some reason.. anyways, what i do when i REALLY have to get the reading done, is read in blocks, and put the words together in the back of my head while my eyes go forward to the next block of words, i normally do 6-7 words at a time

[ed84c]

i dont find speed reading as enjoyable either, im quite a thoughtful person. Try to set yourself tragets, though, this chapter before i go to bed etc etc.

[Dave]

I find that with some books, it's pretty easy to skim read in a few hours. With others, it's definately not so easy. When I do speed read, not a lot tends to stick in my head apart from the major plot, but that's all I really want to know. However I always read the book again at least twice so it does get a good reading

[ed84c]

mabye your not a visual learner Nisou, im not

[bloodhound]

yeah. i speed read most of time. like dave said. I just skim the page for key words. the characters name. what is he doing rite now. emotions and metaphors and all those stuff dont interest me. that way. i can read a standard page in about 10 sec.

[NavajoEverclear]

Hmmm i was hoping there was miraculous way you could read like lightening and absorb it as well, guess the brain doesn't really work like that, unless your a genius. Thanks for your input tho, it helps. Guess all you can do is practice reading in blocks like Nisou say, until it works pretty well, and then dont do it that way if ya dont have to. Also--- maybe your right about reading slow, i do remember things a lot better, and like you said i can usually remember what the page of the text looked like--- makes going back to look for a certain part easier if you know the exact area to look in, instead of having to skim it all. If you think about its more efficient to read that way at least once, so relocation for refreshing the memory is easier to do. Might take longer, but it stays.

Still gonna practice figuring a way to read faster, but at least i realize there is a benefit to doing things the longer way.

Again thanks for the info, now i can stop wasting time trying to find some holy grail breakthrough. If find one by chance I'll tell ya! Many breakthroughs come through from a simple alteration to the existing system discovered by a revolutionary thinker---- which will be me

[LucidDreamer]

The trick is that your mind can pick up the meaning of the words faster than you can sound them out. Allot of people simply read as fast as they can talk, just taking in one word at a time. But given a little practice you can learn to read much faster than that by training your mind to look for key words and ignore all the filler.

 

My method involves moving my middle 3 fingers across the book underneath the sentence im reading. I usually move it twice for each line and then go on to the line underneath it. One of the key principles here is to keep your fingers moving at a steady pace and force your mind to keep up. Since your taking in the lines in just two glances you will have to learn to relax your eyes a little and focus on a cluster of like 6 words instead of just one.

 

This method should allow you to read about 2-3 times faster with the same level of comprehension. The reason for this is that your mind is totally consumed with its task and will not wander off. However, If you go any faster you will probably sacrifice comprehension for speed. If you are moving faster than like 5 times the rate at which you can speak it becomes skimming or photoreading which has its uses as well.

 

Speed-Reading is only useful in certain situations. If you are reading a paperback book with easy to medium level difficulty it can be quite useful. It's not really possible to speed read a difficult subject like biochemistry and learn anything. Also, while your speed reading you don't really have time to think about the material, its simply an exercise in fact finding. With a little practice you will find yourself reading much faster with good comprehension and you will also learn when it’s useful to use it.