It is important to know ways to speed read and to even avoid
the bad habits of reading to excel in the field of reading. Reading every word
is a bad habit and can eventually reduce the speed of reading. Overcoming the
habit of word by word reading enhances the reading ability of a person. The
issue with word by word reading is the fact that the reader fails to retain the
concept in the content and comprehend it as he or she will be busy focusing on
individual words.
Reading early in day also helps to improve the reading speed, concentration
and comprehension. Reading during the mental prime time i.e. early in day is
beneficial for majority of people. Speed reading does no good in case the
content is not comprehended and retained. This is one thing that all
instructional methods and software have in general. So there should be at least
50 percent rate of comprehension of the material read. Anything less than this
is taken to be a failure. The objective is to read fast and understand the
material presented. Even the slow readers face such a problem. Various learning
disorders involve reading without comprehension of content.
Avoiding multi-tasking with reading is also important as it will help to
improve the speed of reading. Thus it is wise to avoid all distractions and
disturbances from the area where you sit to read.
The card technique may look familiar but rather than using a card or paper
below the content, you can place it above the lines so that you cannot see the
lines or words that you have already read. Then move the page down in slow
motion while reading the sentences before covering them. This will thus help to
break the bad habit of rereading the text various times as you will be covering
the content with the paper or card.
Even reading for huge number of hours together can affect the efficiency of
your reading and might even slow down the retention process. Take certain time
breaks and refresh your mind to avoid straining of eyes. Also, take some time to
preview the content before you start to read it. You will get the sense of what
is there in the content and what all is relevant. More crucial, you will have
the sense of overall structure of the content and this will result in enhanced
reading speed.
Speed readers may not read each word in the content and may skip the sections
that are of little use or help. Most people can also read the collection faster
if they read the text silently. Reading the words aloud takes a lot of time for
details to make circuit in the brain before they are pronounced. Some
researchers even believe that as long as first and ending letter is in due
place, arrangement of other letters in a word can be understood by brain as it
puts every piece into its place in a logical manner.
Belle Jose is the author of this article on How To Speed Read. Find more
information on Learn How To Speed
Read here.