Types of speed reading

Who needs speed reading?
There is no point in reading fast if, in the end, you have no idea of what it is that you have read about.

It is possible to double or even triple your reading speed. But you might want to think about the benefits that you will gain from it.

Here are some situations wherein you can actually apply this skill, and the people who will benefit from the wonders of speed reading:

1. For students.
As a high school or college student, you would have tons of written material to go through as you increase your level of education.

Speed reading comes in handy when you equate it with 90% comprehension, as the knowledge gained will help you in the course of the field that you have chosen.

The principles of having a photographic memory and visual stimulation, which most speed reading courses require, may be used to your benefit.

2. In business.
As a clerk or an executive, you have tons of memos and material to go through everyday. Also, you have to read to keep up with the latest in the industry that you are involved in.

Speed reading will help you in this aspect, as it will allow you to remember and swiftly read over facts and documents which might be vital for your business.

3. People with reading disabilities.
About 10 to 15 percent of all children have a reading disability. This means that they read slower than what they are capable of mentally.

In these cases, the principles of speed reading may be applied to reduce or significantly improve their learning and comprehension.

4. People with attention-deficit disorder (ADD).
Speed reading actually forces one's mind to run through the page of a book with such speed that you would not have time to get bored. This is a great idea to apply for people with ADD, as their attention would not have time to wander.

In the end, speed reading is a skill to be applied only when necessary. Who would want to lounge on the beach and have to carry 10 books because you are just skimming through it? This would make you lose the pleasure that was meant to be derived form the author's written prose.

Just make sure that if you decide to pursue speed reading, you know the reason why you would want to apply this skill. Also, have a specific idea of what "reading" actually means to you.Is speed reading a genetic ability or a learned skill?

First Steps in Becoming a Speed Reader
Most of us learned to read through letter-by-letter recognition. As we grow older, we learn to read words as a group, then phrases. This is the same concept that is applied to speed reading.

Some people may think of speed reading as a genetic ability or a magic trick, but it is actually a skill which people can develop through practice. It is all a matter of acquiring a larger piece of information every time you make a sweep at the text and learning to process this chunk quickly in your brain. A normal reader will read around 200-250 words per minute, some speed readers claim that they read up 10,000 words per minute. That is equivalent to reading 80 pages of text per minute.

Reading faster, without compromising comprehension, will always give someone a competitive advantage in the field of education and perhaps in business as well.

Always in Context
Speed reading should always be put in the context of what you would want to look for in a certain text. Before you read something, ask yourself first, "what am I looking for?" Then, having this in mind, read through the article, dissecting the chunks of information and extracting the information that is pertinent to you.

An effective reader reads more words in one sweep of the eye and seldom skips a chunk of word. This allows fluidity in the reading process and a consistent outline is formed.
On the other hand, the poor reader spends much time in reading a fewer number of words in one chunk. They often skip words or chunks of words and this causes them to lose their reading flow.

The irregularity in their eye movement will also make reading a tiring activity. They would see reading as a chore and would dislike it.

Eye Movement
Speed reading involves refocusing the movement of the eye to be able to extract more information at one glance. Sentences are dissected into multiple blocks of information and these are swept by the eyes. The larger the number of words in each chunk, the faster the reading becomes.

Word Chunks
Speed reading involves increasing the number of words read in each word chunk. An effective reader would divide a text into chunks of words and read the chunks one after another and does not read the text word-per-word. The more words you can put in one chunk, the better and faster reader you will be.

The amount of time being used in reading a chunk of words is also crucial in speed reading. It basically aims at reducing the time spent in reading each chunk. Again, this all boils down to practice and devotion.

Re-reading
Re-reading phrases or words is a big factor which slows your reading pace. Reading is all about comprehension, and sometimes, people reread words which are unnecessary. The more often you go back, the slower your reading becomes.

Speed Reading Practice Technique
Improving your reading speed requires practice and lots of it. One way of developing your skill as a reader is to try new ways of helping your reading process.One of which is to employ a guide while you read. You can try placing your hand or a ruler on the page you are reading and by keeping a steady motion as you read.

Keep your hand-eye coordination and try to make a single sweep at the pages. As you become more accustomed to this kind of technique, you can try to move your hand and eyes faster. Make your hand set the pace to try to improve your reading speed.

You should try to gradually increase the number of words that you can read in a single sweep and reduce the amount of time that you use in reading each chunk. You should also avoid rereading words or going back to certain phrases.

Speed reading is a skill which is developed through devoted practice. No one becomes a speed reader over night. We may not be able to read 80 pages of text per minute but striving to improve our reading speed will be very beneficial to us. We may not be speed readers, but we can be effective readers with speed.

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