Learn Speed Reading

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Learn Speed Reading

Whether you're a student hitting the books, an employee reading long winded emails, reading your morning newspaper or just enjoy reading books you can benefit from learning to speed read.

Companies all over the world offer books, computer programs and training sessions to teach individuals speed reading.

There are eleven steps to learn speed reading:

  1. The first step to learn speed reading is to time your current reading speed. Timing will keep you motivated and let you know where you stand.

  2. The second way to learn speed reading is to take an online reading test. There are many available online reading tests you can take. But that said, so long as you can use a simple timer (there's likely one on your cell phone) then it's easy enough to do for yourself.

  3. The third step is to get rid of all distractions. Some people believe they read well while listening to music. This may be true but while attempting to learn to speed read it is vital that all distractions be removed. Find a solitary place to start your speed reading practice.

  4. The fourth step is to adjust your reading speed based on the selected material. Before you begin to read decide how fast you want to go. Match your speed with your ability to comprehend.

  5. The fifth step to learn speed reading is to learn to identify important sentences from non-important or fillers. Fillers or unimportant sentences can be quickly skimmed over which increases your reading speed.

  6. The sixth step is to train yourself not to reread. Many people stop and look back at old sentences which slows reading time. Practicing not to reread sentences and keeping you place will help to learn speed reading.

  7. The seventh step is to stop reading to yourself. Do not subvocalize it only slows your reading time. Read silently.

  8. The eighth step to learn speed reading is to read with your hands. Let your fingers keep your eyes focused on the right places. This will help with speed reading and prevent mistakes.

  9. The ninth step is to practice reading blocks of words. Learn to read group of words at the same time instead of word or letter by letter.

  10. The tenth step to learn speed reading is to constantly practice and push yourself. Don't give up! Keep at it.

  11. The eleventh step is to time yourself regularly. Always time yourself and keep track of your improvement.


Check out this speed reading course for more details.

Speed Reading Tips 

Incorporating common speed reading tips will help with your learning.

Using books with large fonts is one of the most popular speed reading tips people try. A book with small letters make it easy to skip lines. If you use books with large letters you are more likely to stay focused while learning to speed read.

Another great tip for speed reading is to practice speed reading an article or book that you've already read. You can concentrate more on your speed if you are familiar with the material.

When practicing with your finger or hand to guide your eyes you should always start out slow. If you start out slow you can perfect your skill and increase as you go.

It is best to take frequent breaks when you are learning to speed read. Taking a break is a very helpful tip. Many people get caught up practicing and forget to take a break. This does more harm than good.

Always take a five minute break every hour. It will improve you comprehension and rejuvenate you enough to aid in improvement.

Another tip which might sound odd is to not read some things too quickly.

The purpose of speed reading is to read quickly while comprehending the information at the same time. It is important to read with understanding.

A great speed reading tip many people use is to get an index card or bookmark to guide your eyes. This can be faster and easier to increase your speed reading than using your traditional hand or finger as a guide.

Another excellent speed reading tip is to know what information you want from a document before you begin reading this. If you decide this first than you will look for specific information and be able to skim other unimportant parts.

Check out this excellent speed reading course here.

What's Your Biggest Aim From Learning Speed Reading? 

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Exercises for Speed Reading 

Practicing specific exercises for speed reading will help anyone seeking to improve their speed reading skills.

The most common exercises for speed reading is chunking and eliminating subvocalizing.

Chunking is an exercise for speed reading in which you practice to read groups of words or even groups of sentences at the same time to increase speed of reading. This is a very helpful exercise to aid in speed reading.

Many people move their lips while reading even silently. The subvocalizing exercise for speed reading involves a person practicing to read on more of a conscious level. This eliminates extra subvocalizing and increases your ability to speedread.

Other special exercises for speed reading are available in certain computer programs or special classes. There are also an array of computer programs and books that offer excellent exercises for speed reading.

Speed reading sessions or programs that are efficient usually include eleven things that aid in learning proper skills.

Effective training exercises such as eye-slaving, subvocalizing, and skip-back. Skip back is a paced reading technique or exercise in which an individual reads at a set pace to form a rhythm.

Speed tests are vital for any program promising exercises for speed reading. It is important to continuously record your speed reading.

Exercises for speed reading should be available at optimal levels. You should be able to start and increase as you go. There should also be a wide arrange of variety for you to select your reading material from. This a sign of a good program featuring exercises for speed reading.

Learn more about speed reading here.

PhotoReading Personal Learning Course 

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More About Speed Reading 

Speed reading is a collection of reading methods which attempt to increase rates of reading without greatly reducing comprehension or retention. Methods include chunking and eliminating subvocalization. It is important to understand that no absolute distinct "normal" and "speed-reading" types of reading exist in practice, since all readers use some of the techniques used in speed reading (such as identifying words without focusing on each letter, not sounding out all words, not sub-vocalizing some phrases, or spending less time on some phrases than others, and skimming small sections). Speed reading is characterized by an analysis of trade-offs between measures of speed and comprehension, recognizing that different types of reading call for different speed and comprehension rates, and that...

Share Your Speed Reading Tips 

memoryman wrote...

Very detailed advice. The chunking advice is the best tip I feel. If you try it, your reading speed will increase almost right away.

Ben

ReplyPosted April 22, 2009

MindGuru wrote...

Great advice! I'm not a big book reader (mostly computer), partially because it's so slow!

ReplyPosted December 29, 2008