Do you want to learn to read faster? Reading quickly does not mean that you will quickly flip through books without understanding anything and without enjoying reading. The point is rather to speed up your reading but still understand and enjoy all the information. See step number 1 below to get started.

Steps

Improving your reading speed

Practice a little every day. Most of the skills needed to improve your reading speed won't come naturally, so you need to practice them until they become second nature. Even 15-20 minutes of practice a day will lead to a noticeable increase in your overall pace.

• Improving your reading speed will take time while you learn how to read in a completely new way. Remember that it took you years to become proficient at reading as a child, so be patient during this period of time as well.
• A good way to track progress is to measure your time regularly. Set a timer and count how many words you read per minute. The more you practice, the higher this number should become.

1. Start with simpler material. When you're training to read faster, it's a good idea to start with easier material—something you enjoy or that will provide immediate benefit—while your ability has not yet improved.

   • A good choice, for example, would be a book of memoirs of a famous person. Start with something very complex - for example, with a physics textbook? You can leave her, and the whole process will be more difficult.
   • Once your skills improve and you understand what to look for in a text, you will find that you become much more comfortable with longer and more complex materials. By now, you already know what techniques work best for you and know how to determine which parts of the text are most important.

2. Use your finger or a bookmark to set the tempo. It's a good idea to use your finger, pen, or bookmark to mark the part you're currently reading. And while using an index will keep you from losing your reading place (and will save you from having to read everything again), that's not its only benefit.

   • By quickly moving the pointer across the line and down the page, you can set whatever pace you want to read at as your eyes try to keep up.
   • Think of your eyes as a magnet that is attracted to the pointer on the page—wherever it goes, your eyes follow!

3. Change your attitude towards reading. In addition to implementing specific techniques to increase your reading speed, it is also important to change your attitude towards reading in general.

   • Instead of viewing reading as something that need to to do, see reading as an opportunity—an opportunity to have fun, to learn something new, to expand your horizons.
   • It doesn't matter what the topic is - it might be a book about statistics or a historical account of coal mining in Colorado - if you study the topic with an open mind and a desire to learn, you will find that the whole process becomes more joyful and simpler.

4. Know when to stop. Regardless of the benefits of speed reading, it is important to understand that there will always be places where you need to stop and make an effort to fully understand what you are reading.

   Let's give up bad habits

   1. Avoid saying words in your head. Many people sound out words when they read, either by moving their lips or by listening to the words in their head. This is called subvocalization and it is one of the main problems that affects your reading speed.

      • For example, the most untrained readers will read the phrase "horse in the stable" as "horse" + "in" + "stable", that is, reading each word separately.
      • However, your brain has an amazing ability to fill in gaps in information, and you can train your brain to process “horse in the stable” as a single piece of information containing the keywords “horse” and “stable”, and your brain will automatically fill in the preposition.
      • In this way, you can get the same meaning from a passage of text by reading about 50% of the words. This significantly increases your reading speed.

   2. Avoid eye movement. When children learn to read, they are taught to look at each word carefully before moving on to the next. However, your eyes can cover a much wider area than just one word—usually up to four or five—so this practice makes reading much less efficient.

      • Try to relax your face and soften your eyes when reading - this will allow you to see a larger area of ​​the page at a time. Try reading at least four words at a time before moving your eyes to the next section of text.
      • Additionally, you need to use your peripheral vision while reading. This will allow you to read the end of the phrase without having to reorient your gaze. This will save time.

   3. Get rid of regression. Regression is the practice of reading the same phrase two or three times in a row, whether on purpose or not. Naturally, this greatly increases your reading time, but does not necessarily improve your understanding of the material.

      Nothing should distract you. Many people are poor readers simply because they try to read in the wrong environment. If you want to read quickly And understand the material in front of you, then you need to remove all external and internal distractions.

   Changing the way you read

   Study the material. One of the most effective ways to improve your reading speed is to review the material before reading it. This will help you as you will get an idea of ​​what the text is about and also decide whether it is worth reading in its entirety.

   Look for the most important words. Another technique is to simply scan the material and pick out any keywords. This way you can understand the material at a basic level without spending time reading.

   • For example, in the sentence “a formidable lion secretly hunted an unsuspecting prey - an antelope,” it is not necessary to read every word to understand the meaning. By breaking the text down into keywords, you get the phrase "lion - hunted - antelope", which has essentially the same meaning.
   • In this way, you can halve the time required to read the text without significant loss of meaning. This technique is best used for simple short texts, such as magazines or newspaper articles.

   1. Read the first and last sentence of each paragraph. If you are reading an article, book or document only for the purpose of finding new information, then a useful technique is to read only the first and last sentence of each paragraph, especially if the text relates to a topic that you already know.

      • A large number of scientific articles constantly repeat each other and also contain boring explanations of simple concepts. If you are already familiar with the concept, there is no need to read the paragraph line by line.
      • The same goes for newspaper and magazine articles - if you just want to get an overview of the content, you'll be surprised how much information you can glean just by reading the first and last sentence of each paragraph.

   2. Skip the parts you already know. If you are trying to improve your reading speed, you need to skip information that you already know or understand, as reading these sections will not give you much additional knowledge.

      • You can decide which sections are worth reading by scanning the text for keywords or by reading the first sentence of each paragraph. You will have a fairly good understanding of what the text contains. It will also allow you to decide if it is worth your time.
      • This technique is also suitable for texts in which you are not interested. If you're reading something like a memoir or historical account, it's okay to skip parts that don't interest you. This may go against your nature as a reader, but it will save you time and also keep you interested in the part you want to read.
      • Also, if you have a book that you don't like or that doesn't teach you anything, quit reading without regret. Many books are poorly written or fail to explain complex concepts well. Try to read 10% of each book you choose, and if you see that the book is not suitable for you, put it aside and pick up another one. This will save you time and be more profitable in the long run.

   3. Save the most important information. One of the main problems that people have when they start reading faster is the difficulty of absorbing and assimilating the information they encounter. While the main solution to this problem is to become a more active and engaged reader, there are more specific techniques you can try.

   Tips

   • Young children tend to make mistakes when learning to read, so they need to move slowly and steadily. Don't rush this process, it is fundamental to good and solid reading skills. If you want to teach your child to read a little faster, do it gradually. If reading becomes torture, your child may lose interest in it altogether. Once your child has a large vocabulary and a love for books, then you can consider increasing their reading speed using one of the methods suggested above.

Speed ​​reading is a skill that is surprisingly easy to improve. You can improve your speed by using special software or by attending speed reading courses. In this article we talk about 5 basic speed reading techniques that you can master yourself!

So here they are:

Stop saying words in your head

By the way, many people have an even more terrible habit: speaking the text out loud while reading. This slows down the reading process more than speaking thoughts in your head. Subvocalization is a habit inherent in most people. When reading, we seem to “hear” all the words with our brain. Try to get rid of this habit and your reading speed will increase significantly! All you need to do is turn off the mechanism of speaking the text in your head. Try chewing gum while reading, humming to yourself (tested it on myself, it helps!), or even eat.

Avoid "comebacks"

When we read, we tend to look back and stop at the word we just read. This slows us down significantly. Unfortunately, the only way to break this habit is to admit that you are doing it and notice when you do it.

Follow the text

One of the most amazing techniques for speed reading is “meta guiding” (text tracking). Remember how at school, when reading a text, you moved your finger/pencil over it or followed it with your head? So, this is exactly what this story is about. It turns out that this method seriously speeds up the reading process. Remember to concentrate on each word if you want to remember the information you receive.

Speed ​​reading, in fact, is not for everyone. Most people are able to process huge amounts of information they read at high speed, but there are those who cannot. If you're interested, give speed reading a chance, but don't be discouraged if it doesn't work out. There are other options:

Skip sections (or even chapters) you don't need

Another trick to increase your reading speed is to skip unnecessary information. As former British Prime Minister Arthur James Balfour once said: “A man is only half a master of the art of reading unless he has added to it the skill of skipping unnecessary text.”

Skipping unnecessary text is one of the methods of speed reading, and although this is not the best method for schoolchildren and students, for example, for scientists interested only in certain sections of a particular book, the method is a great time saver. Professor David Davis shared his strategy for effective skimming:

1. Start with an introduction or preface. Read them carefully to understand what the main point of the book is and where the information you need is located.

2. Read the last chapter or conclusion.

3. Skim through all the chapters and read the first and last paragraphs.

Obviously, you won't do this with every book. We don't recommend it. Skimming is best used for those books that you are not very interested in reading or for a quick acquaintance with the book and identifying areas that interest you most for subsequent detailed familiarization with them.

Listen to audiobooks when you can't read

When you're traveling somewhere, cooking or playing sports, or other times when you can't read, listen to audiobooks. This is a great way to use your time effectively.

Read several books at the same time

Last year, Jeff Ryan set himself a goal of 366 books that he had to read in a year. This seems like an incredible goal until you find out how Ryan achieved it:

The idea of ​​reading one book a day from cover to cover quickly failed. Jeff also had days when he was busy with work and raising children, and he did not have a minute of free time to read. As a result, he used the parallel reading method and eventually managed to complete his difficult challenge.

Of course, Jeff combined this tactic with others that we have listed here. The technique of reading several books at the same time means that you can distinguish between the material you are reading and it does not merge into a continuous mess in your head. If there are signs of this behavior, adapt the method to suit yourself: read books of different genres and formats at the same time (example: comics, novel and audiobook).

Give up books that don't work for you

The advice seems obvious, but we will still dwell on this point in more detail. So, if you have already read several chapters and do not feel any pleasure or benefit from reading it, then just stop reading it. Think about why you don't enjoy reading. Is it just the wrong book at the wrong time? If so, then just put it off until better times. Someone recommended a book to you and you don't like it? Return it to the seller, donate it, or give it to the library. Don't waste your precious time on books you don't like.

Summary

Take a look at the books you want to read. Using the methods described above, you will master them in less time. Set yourself a reading schedule and get going!

Views: 1,173

To keep up with the times, you need to adapt quickly, and to make history yourself, you need to develop twice as fast.

The paraphrased words of the Queen from the book “Alice Through the Looking Glass” could not have more accurately described the human-information relationship in the 21st century.

You can increasingly hear about speed reading, which allows you to read a book a day, thereby increasing your own productivity. In this article we will talk about how to learn to read quickly.

It is documented that the reading speed of the prototype of the main character of the film “Rain Man” - the famous Kim Peak - was 10,000 words per minute. A peculiar natural failure, namely a congenital brain defect, allowed the development of such phenomenal abilities, however, there are methods for mastering such a technique.

The skill of speed reading has been known for a long time; many famous politicians and writers possessed it at different times: T. Roosevelt, J. Kennedy, A. Pushkin, M. Gorky, V. Lenin. They all knew how to learn to read quickly.

What is the difference between reading and speed reading?

The reading speed of the average adult is 150-300 words per minute. The process is as follows: the gaze focuses on a group of words, then moves in a spasmodic movement to the next group, after several similar leaps the gaze freezes to comprehend what has been read. Such movements are called saccades and take an average of 0.5 seconds.

Speed ​​reading is the ability to quickly read text using special techniques that increase speed by 3-10 times.

Speed ​​reading techniques

• Text tracking.
  One of the oldest and proven techniques. Its essence boils down to the need to move a pointer (finger, ruler) along the lines for greater concentration. In a more complicated version, following the text involves searching for keywords, which speeds up the reading process.
• Reading without stopping.
  The essence of the method is to suppress saccades and regular pauses to save time. However, this approach significantly reduces the receptivity of the material, since it is the presence of saccades that allows the brain to comprehend and remember what is read.
• Reading "diagonally".
  This method includes the “zigzag” and “one glance” reading techniques.
• The essence of the technique is to snatch individual meaningful words and use peripheral vision.
• Scientists argue that peripheral vision does not allow adequate recognition and perception of text, and since most of the text falls precisely in this zone, information is lost, which can hardly be called real reading.
• However, this method works when repeating material that has already been read and learned.
• Rapid sequential visual presentation.
  The most modern way using technology. Its essence is to display text one word at a time on the device screen at a certain speed with center alignment. The gaze focuses on one point, no time is wasted on saccades, which saves the reader’s time.
• The method has its drawbacks: all words are displayed on the screen at the same speed. During normal reading, the speed of reading familiar words is higher than that of unfamiliar words, which are additionally comprehended and remembered.
• Suppression of subvocalization
  Subvocalization is speaking the text to yourself while reading. Internal repetition takes time, so the method is designed to suppress the desire to speak out what you read and tune in to reading with your eyes. However, suppression of subvocalization leads to a deterioration in understanding and comprehension of what is read. It has also been proven that it is impossible to completely get rid of pronunciation - the brain is not able to do without subvocalization, even those who use the “diagonal” reading technique mentally pronounce key words.

Why speed reading techniques are criticized

The question of how to quickly learn to read is extremely popular and discussed nowadays. There are both supporters and critics. Almost any technique listed here is associated with filtering out unnecessary information, and not with increasing reading speed. This leads to superficial reading, for which it is extremely sharply criticized by scientists.

Speed ​​reading is effective for business and technical literature, the purpose of which is to obtain information and data and does not require immersion in the text.

Fiction influences the reader’s imagination and feelings, which makes speed reading an ineffective technique, because the effect of “living” the material disappears, only the technique remains.

When mastering speed reading, you should realize that all techniques have their pros and cons, “swallowing” a book a day, you can get lost in the variety, but such a skill will definitely not be superfluous.

Many people want to improve their reading speed in order to truly enjoy studying books. It is also important to be able to remember what you read; this feature helps improve memory. Experienced experts recommend using practical recommendations. They are aimed at improving memory and general perception of information. Let's consider the important aspects in order, highlighting the main thing.

Create conditions for the perception of information

1. To improve your reading speed, create comfortable conditions. It is enough to select a cozy place, a soft sofa or chair, and moderately bright light. Reading should not be done in noise, otherwise you will have to skim the material several times.
2. In the absence of optimal conditions, attention is scattered and you will not be able to remember what you read. For this reason, you don’t need to take a book on public transport or do this while the TV is on.
3. Go read in a separate room, away from other household members. If possible, study books outdoors with the sounds of birds chirping and a gentle breeze. It is important to completely immerse yourself in reading so that nothing distracts you.
4. The most ideal time is considered to be early morning (from 07.00 to 11.00). After waking up, your head works quite well, most importantly, don’t forget to have breakfast. If it is not possible to read in the morning, carry out the procedure in the afternoon.
5. Many people prefer to bed down with a book in the evenings. However, at this time information is absorbed worst of all. You should also not read after eating; be sure to wait 30-45 minutes. Otherwise, the body is busy digesting food, as a result of which it “has no time” to absorb information.

Highlight the main thing

1. To increase concentration and better remember information, study the material and highlight the main thing from it. This way, you will remember what you read without much effort, since the essence will be clear.
2. Let's give a simple example that will help solve the problem. Sentence: “We went with our parents on vacation abroad to enjoy the azure sea.” The meaning will be clear from the following keywords: “we-vacation-sea”. You don't have to read everything, skip the unnecessary stuff.
3. In this way, you will reduce the time for processing information without losing the semantic load. It is advisable to use this technique when reading small texts, such as magazines, newspapers, and posts on social networks.

Eliminate Regression

1. Regression refers to reading the same sentence/phrase many times in a row. It doesn’t matter at all whether you do it intentionally or not. Such actions significantly increase the reading time, but do not add understanding of what is happening.
2. Regression appears when the meaning of the text is lost. It turns out that a person returns to the beginning of a sentence or, even worse, a paragraph to find. You can avoid such situations using a pencil, bookmark or finger. Mark the place where you stopped earlier.
3. Other people start to regress when they don't get it right the first time. You can get rid of this feature, but you will have to be careful. When you sit down to read, concentrate, only then start working with the text.
4. It is a mistake to believe that reading is a passive activity. During information processing, the brain is involved quite strongly, so the action requires concentration. As a result, you will completely eliminate regression, thereby speeding up the speed of text processing and improving the perception of information.
5. It is also worth determining how important the information you are rereading is. If you understand the gist without rereading it, don't go back to the paragraph again and again. This way you will only waste time.

Don't read the words

1. The speed will slow down greatly if you read one word at a time. Replace the incorrect technique with processing information in sentences or chunks (phrases).
2. To give an example, the situation would look like this: “car in the garage” or “car + in + garage”. Less trained readers will act according to the second principle, which will not be considered correct.
3. The brain has a nice ability to fill in the gaps it finds in a certain segment of a sentence. You can read “car in the garage” as “car”, “garage”, the preposition will be automatically substituted on a subconscious level.
4. In this way, we again return to isolating keys from a whole sentence or phrase. You will reduce the amount of processed information by 45-50%, which will significantly increase your reading speed.

Don't mouth the text

1. Many people make the mistake of spinning words in their heads or mouthing them while reading. This feature is called subvocalization. This is what affects reading speed.
2. Of course, children are taught to receive and perceive information in this way, but speed is not important to them. In your case, subvocalization makes it difficult to process information faster because you are not speaking at lightning speed. This can be done much faster in your head.
3. If you get rid of pronouncing words with your lips, your speed will increase 2-3 times, which is an undeniable advantage. To prevent subvocalization, it is enough to occupy your mouth with a toothpick or candy during the reading period. From now on, you need to read, as they say, with consciousness, without muttering.

Skip what you already know

1. To increase your reading and better master the information, you need to skip unnecessary sections. This includes information that does not carry any meaning. It's fairly easy to determine which subsections are worth your attention.
2. To perform the manipulations, scan the text with your eyes, highlighting the key words (or lack thereof). You can also read the first sentence of all paragraphs, understanding the essence. This move will help you understand the content and decide whether the text is worth your time or not.
3. This technique is especially relevant in cases where you need to understand a particular chapter or passage from a book (if you cannot find the necessary information). This applies to memoirs, reference books, etc. Human nature may be very reluctant, but this way you will better understand the essence and increase your reading speed.
4. In addition, if the book is not to your liking or is not useful, avoid reading it altogether. For the most part, many works are not well written and do not reflect the concept. Read 7% of each publication, and then choose the most suitable one for yourself.

Study the material before reading

1. To improve your reading speed, study the material before extensive processing. To do this, skim over the first and last sentence of each paragraph. Pay attention to words in bold or italics.
2. Such actions will help you understand whether it makes sense to read the entire chapter or whether it can be excluded. Don't skip the headings; as a rule, they characterize the essence.
3. As a result of selective reading, you will get a complete understanding of all components of the text. If necessary, you can return to a particular paragraph and study it in more detail.
4. The technique of preliminary study of the material makes it easier to perceive, remember and read a previously unseen book. This way you can quickly process a complex article or scientific publication.

Train your memory

1. If you have difficulty remembering information you read, improve your memory. An excellent option is to study a foreign language or words separately. You can study at home or enroll in the appropriate school. The skill will also be useful in everyday life (work, travel, etc.).
2. To train your memory, start reading poems and then memorize them. To improve visual perception, regularly look through complex photographs or pictures, try to remember every little detail from the image.
3. Another way to improve memory is the correct placement of words. For example, ask household members to write 12 words in different orders. Read them, put them away, then try to reproduce the sequence on a separate sheet of paper. Repeat the manipulations 7 times per session, 2 times a day. Gradually increase the number of words in the list, try to remember their sequence.
4. Experienced minds around the world unanimously say that when reading it is extremely important to develop memory. If we talk about research, experts have found that after reading a book, a person remembers about 18-22% of its content. The worse the conditions for text processing, the more detrimental this affects perception and assimilation.
5. It is known that age is directly related to the brain’s ability to remember information. After finishing school and college, many people stop developing their memory, but such actions are wrong. It is important to always practice, otherwise you will not be able to capture even the smallest complex fragments.
6. The absorption rate is influenced by the genre of the book and the pleasure with which it is read. If you like the plot and theme, the percentage of memorization automatically increases by 1.5-2 times. For this reason, it is important to choose literature that is right for you.

Don't move your eyes

1. If you remember the moment when a small child is taught to read, you can understand the following. The child is told to look carefully at the word he is reading before moving on to the next one. In the case of children, this step is partially correct, but it already leads to failure in the future.
2. It is known that the brain captures more information through the eyes thanks to peripheral vision. As a result, you can cover not one word, but 4-5, it all depends on the complexity of the text. The practice of “stopping” has a detrimental effect on reading speed.
3. To get rid of a bad habit, relax the muscles of your face and eyes before working with text. As a result, you will be able to view most of the page. Try to read at least 4-5 words, only then move your eyes further.

It is quite difficult to learn to read quickly and subsequently remember the information received. As practice shows, memory records only 20-30% of all studied material. Highlight the main thing, exclude regression, do not pronounce the text with your lips, do not read the words. Skip chapters you already know. Study the material paragraph by paragraph before starting mass processing. Train your memory through exercises without moving your eyes.

Video: how to learn to read and remember what you read

Whether you're reading a textbook in a philosophy seminar or reading the morning newspaper, reading may seem tiresome. Learn speed reading techniques to complete this task much faster. Speed ​​reading will worsen your understanding of the material, but with proper practice you can partially overcome this defect.

Steps

Part 1

Learn to read faster

Stop saying words to yourself. Almost every reader mentally pronounces the text (subvocalization) or is distracted by repeating the word. This helps the reader remember the terms, but also slows down the reading speed. Here are some ways to minimize this habit:

Cover the words you have already read. When reading, your eyes often return to the words you've already read. Basically, these are short-term movements that do not improve understanding in any way. Use a bookmark to cover words after reading them, breaking yourself of this habit.

• These "backslides" also occur when you fail to understand the material. If your eyes jump back a few words or lines, it's a sign that you need to slow down.

1. Let's move on to eye movement. As you read, your eyes move in jerks, stopping on some words and skipping others. Reading only happens when your eyes stop. If you reduce the number of movements per line of text, you will learn to read much faster. But be careful—studies have been done that reveal the limit to what a reader can see at one time:

   • You can read eight letters to the right of your eye position, but only four to the left. This is about two or three words at a time.
   • You notice letters 9-15 spaces to the right, but are unable to read them.
   • Ordinary readers cannot read the words on other lines. Learning to skip lines and still understand the material is extremely difficult.

2. Reduce the amount of movement your eyes make. Typically, your brain decides where to move your eyes based on how long or familiar the next word is. You'll be able to read faster if you train your eyes to go to specific places on the page instead. Try the following exercise:

   • Take a bookmark and place it above a line of text.
   • Draw an "X" on the bookmark above the first word.
   • Draw another X on the same line. Place it three words further for good understanding, five words for simple texts and seven words to review key points.
   • Continue drawing X's at the same spacing until you reach the end of the line.
   • Try to read the line as quickly as possible, lowering the bookmark down and concentrating only on the text under each “X”.

3. Read faster than you can understand the text. Many programs are built on the principle of increasing reading speed using reflexes, so that the brain gradually learns to adapt to the new pace. This method has not been thoroughly studied. Your speed of moving through the text will undoubtedly increase, but you will understand little or nothing. Try this method if you're looking to achieve maximum reading speed, and hope that a few days of practice will help you understand the material better. Here's how to do it:

   • Follow the text with a pencil. Come up with a phrase that will take you exactly one line of text to pronounce at a calm pace.
   • Try reading for two minutes at the speed of a pencil. Even if you don't understand anything, concentrate on the text and keep your eyes open for a full two minutes.
   • Rest for a minute and then speed up. Now try reading for three minutes, but now the pencil should cross two lines while you pronounce the phrase.

4. Use speed reading programs. If the above methods do not help you achieve your goal, try rapid sequential visual presentation. In this technique, a phone app or computer program displays text one word at a time. This allows you to choose any reading speed. But don't increase the speed too high, otherwise you won't be able to remember most of the words. This method is useful for quickly browsing the news, but not while studying or reading for pleasure.

   Part 2

   Quickly view text

   1. Know when a quick review is warranted. This reading method can be used for general familiarization with the text without deep understanding. You can quickly scan the newspaper to find an interesting article or identify key points while skimming your textbook before a test. A quick glance does not replace a full reading.

      Read titles and section headings. Read only the chapter titles and any subheadings at the beginning of large sections. Read the titles of all news articles or contents in the magazine.

      Read the beginning and end of the section. All paragraphs in textbooks usually contain an introduction and conclusions. For other types of text, read the first and last paragraph of the chapter or article.

      • Read faster if you are familiar with the topic, but don't try to beat yourself. You will save yourself time by scrolling through unnecessary text, but it is still important to understand the meaning of what you read.

   2. Circle the important words in the text. If you want to learn more, then instead of just reading, quickly skim through the text with your eyes. Now that you've got the hang of the section, you'll be able to highlight key words and highlight important areas. Stop and highlight the following words: