Red sails at Felixstowe
10 Ways to Increase Your Reading Speed
Alexia Bullard
Do you have a lot of paperwork to get through with a deadline that
continues to stalk you
around every corner? Do you have a lot of reading to do before
class tomorrow?
Do you simply just want to
read at a faster rate, whether it be for your own personal reasons,
or for work? Here are ten proven ways to help increase your
reading speed.
1. Stop the Inner Monologue
One’s inner monologue, also known as subvocalization, is an
extremely common trait
among readers. It is the process of speaking the words in your
head as you read,
and it is the biggest obstacle that gets in the way of you being
able to increase your reading speed.
If you’re hearing voices in your head when you’re reading, don’t
fret. As long as it is your own voice, reading along with you, you’re fine. In
fact, this is how teachers teach kids to read – say the words silently in your
head as you read. Do you recall the instructions, “Read in your head,
as I read the passage aloud”, that were said fairly often in the
classrooms? That is one of the ways
in which this habit of having an inner monologue was ingrained
into you as a young reader.
When you were initially taught to read, you were taught to sound
out everything and read aloud. Once you were proficient enough at that, your
teacher had you start saying the words in your head. This is how the habit
originated, and most people continue reading this way. It does not adversely
affect them in any way, until they start wanting to read at a faster pace. If
you are seeking
to increase your reading speed, this is the first thing you must
learn to overcome.
Why does this slow you down? The average reading speed is pretty
much the same as the average talking speed. According to Forbes, the average
adult reading speed is 300 words per minute.
The average talking speed is the same. Since most people are in
the habit of saying the words aloud in their head as they read, they tend to
read around the same pace as they talk. This means,
your reading speed will only increase so much if you continue to
keep up that inner monologue.
If you want to continue to increase your reading speed, you need
to eliminate it.
To do this, you need to understand one thing: It’s unnecessary.
You do not need to say every word
in your head in order to understand the material you are reading.
It was when you are younger,
but now you are able to input the meaning from just seeing the
words. Your brain still processes
the information. For
example, when you see a “YIELD” sign, do you actually stop to speak the word in
your head? Of course not. You just look at it and process it automatically.
This is what you need to be doing when you read your print material,
such as books or paperwork.
If you have a hard time attempting this, try reading with
instrumental music playing in headphones or chew on some gum. A distraction
will keep your brain less focused on subvocalization,
though you will still look at the words and process them.
2. Word–Chunking
Word-chunking closely parallels with the idea of eliminating the
inner monologue.
This is the act of reading multiple words at once, and is the key
to reading faster.
All of these reading tips tie together, yet word-chunking is
probably the most active tool to use when you work to increase your reading
speed.
A person can take in several words at a time, even though we are
trained –
as mentioned with the inner monologue – to read each word at a
time and not miss a single article.
Using your peripheral vision is one way to make this step easier,
but we will get to that
in the next section. For now, focus on trying to read three words
with one glance.
Continue on down the page like that, taking note of how much
faster you complete the entire page of text. You are still able to process and
comprehend what you read, but spend far less time doing it.
Now, take that concept one step further. Take a pencil and lightly
draw two vertical, parallel lines down your page, separating the text into
three sections. Start at the top left of the page as usual, and cover up
everything below that line with your hand or a piece of paper.
Focus on reading the text in each section as one thing. Chunk the
words together, and read them at a glance as you would a road sign. Keep doing
this down the page, moving the paper accordingly. You will notice that your
speed was faster than before.
Continue with this method until you feel comfortable enough to
challenge yourself a bit more.
3. Do Not Reread the Words on the Page
Before we move on to the peripheral vision part – that’s the real
kicker – you’re going to want
to make sure you break the habit of rereading the words on the
page. If you watch the average person’s eyes as they read, you will notice they
jump and flit about. They do not just flow evenly back and forth, as they
should. This is because the average person – you do this, too –
tends to backtrack over words they have already read.
This is one thing that prevents you from being able to increase
your reading speed.
You most likely do this without even realizing that you are doing
it, which makes it a bit of a tricky habit to break out of. The easiest way,
even though you may feel a bit childish, is to use your finger or bookmark to
guide you along. Keep your finger running back and forth across the page,
without stopping or going back. Keep tracking the words as your
finger continues to make its way down the text. When you get to the end, think
about what you read.
You did not go back over a single word (I hope!), and yet you
still recall what you have read.
4. Use Peripheral Vision
Congratulations! You’ve made it to the key step that really ties
everything together.
While this may not be the final step, it’s certainly a critical
one. Use the techniques
from everything above to view and comprehend several words at one
time.
Instead of chunking in smaller groups of words, try reading one
line at a time.
This involves looking at the center of the line, and using your
peripheral vision to read the rest of it. Scan the page in this manner and,
when you reach the bottom,
you will find that you still understood what you read, but you did
it in record time.
5. Use a Timer
Speaking of ‘record time’, now is your chance to test yourself and
work on how to increase
your reading speed each time you read. Set a timer for one minute,
reading normally
as the time dwindles down. When the timer goes off, note how many
pages you have read.
The website, WordstoPages,
will help you to figure out how many words you have read.
Now, combine everything you have learned and repeat the test. Jot
down that number, too.
Keep doing this, continuing to beat your previous count each time.
Set a daily or weekly goal,
and treat yourself when you reach it.
Continue with this little game, and you’ll be able to increase
your reading speed in no time!
6. Set a Goal
Holding yourself accountable will better ensure you stick with
your reading and your timer tests. Give yourself a goal of a certain number of
pages to read each day/week/etc., and stick to it.
When you reach it, treat yourself. Incentive never hurt anyone!
7. Read MORE
The old adage, “Practice makes perfect,” is actually pretty darn
accurate. Any professional, artist, musician, etc. practices their work
regularly. A reader should be doing the same thing.
The more you read, the more you will be better at it. The better
you are at reading,
the more you will increase
your reading speed. Theodore Roosevelt read one book
before breakfast, and then three or four more in the evening. He
also read papers and other such pamphlet-style reading material. I’m not sure
how long these books were,
but I am going to assume they were of average length. Use his
obsession as fuel for your own goal.
8. Use a Marker
Do you find your vision slipping and sliding through the page as
you read? Not a problem.
Simply place an index card below each line, and slip it down as
you read. This will ensure you stay
at reading one line at a time, rather than flitting your eyes
about and taking nothing in.
9. Work on Improving Your Vocabulary
Think about it: You’re reading along, and then you run into a word
you don’t know.
Do you skip it? Do you try to figure it out by context? Do you
stop to look it up?
Whichever course of action you take, you are slowing your time
significantly,
if not stopping it all together to go and look up the retarding
word. If you work on improving
your vocabulary, you will know more words. The more words you add
to your repertoire, the faster you read. The faster you read, the more you can
read. It may be self-evident, but it’s important.
10. Skim the Main Points FIRST
Finally, when you’re in a real time-crunch and need to get
something read by yesterday,
take a deep breath and calm down. Open the book, and take some
time reading over
all the main points. Read the table of contents. Read the
subtitles.
Read the captions under the diagrams. Get an overall feel for the
chapter/section/etc..
Next, read the first paragraph of each main section. Read the
last. Read the middle.
Think this over in your head, and piece it together. Then, start
reading everything else
while employing the techniques we have just discussed.
You’ll retain your information better, as well as your get your
reading done faster.
In summation, the next time you need to read something quickly,
simply tell yourself to “Shut up and look at the page!”
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/10-ways-increase-your-reading-speed.html
Turbo Charged Reading: Readmore>>>Read
fast>>>Remember more>>>Years later
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M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com
You can TCR music,
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I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
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Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like
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Perhaps
you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com gives many ways
for you to work with the stresses of life
www.ourbusinessminds.blogspot.com development, growth,
management.
www.mreenhunthappyartaccidents.blogspot.com just for
fun.
To
quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will
know.
The
more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”
