35 How does speed reading work?
Description
This article is from the Self Improvement FAQ, by Loren Larsen llarsen@cs.clemson.edu with numerous contributions by others.
35 How does speed reading work?
Most speed reading courses focus on a number of similar principles.
One major impediment to speed reading is subvocalizing (saying
words to yourself while reading). The motion of the eye is another
key factor. Instead of reading just one word at a time, you are
taught to pick up phrases, sentences, lines, or groups of lines in
a single glance (depending on the method being taught). In order
to increase comprehension, some methods try to make the user more
active in the reading process by having the user take notes in a
specific way, ask questions before and after reading, etc.
jimw@netcom.com (Jim Whitaker) writes:
Speed Reading Made EZ:
1) Sit down at a well lit table and sit up straight.
2) Take a hardcover book with big easy to read print.
preferably not a novel -- some kind of no-brainer non fiction
works best
3) Take your finger or a pen and underline the words as you read
them. Get used to pacing with your finger for a few minutes.
4) Now speed up. Simply move your finger FASTER THAN YOU CAN SOUND
OUT THE WORDS. You probably will not be able to understand what
you read. In fact, if you think you can comprehend what you are
reading, speed up till you simply see a blur of words that you
recognize. If you are having problems and keeps sounding out
the words compulsively -- humm a tune. This disables your
brain's capacity for verbalizing words.
5) Aim your eyes above the line of text you are reading, as if you
were trying to read "between the lines". This makes it easy to
focus your attention on GROUPS of words rather than your eye
stopping on individual words, which slows you down. At first
you are not aiming to understand; you are trying to train your
brain to accept that it can see and know what phrases of words
mean simply by looking at them.
6) Practice this exercise for no more than 15 minutes at a
sittting, no more than one sitting per day, usually after your
morning wake-up ritual when you are at your prime. If you
practice for more than 15 minutes, you will exhaust the
overworked neurons that are trying to adapt to a new skill,
and will have to wait for 2 to 3 days and restart. If you try
to push too hard or too fast, your brain hardware will resist
you.
7) After 8 or so sessions, your brain will start to abandon trying
to comprehend what you read as "sounds" and instead will
visually grab words and process them in parallel, instead of one
at a time. Typical reading speeds at this point in time are
around 800 to 1500 words per minute.
8) The ultimate key to speed reading is realizing that your brain
is learning to process words with the process of seeing them in
groups, then processing their meaning. We are taught to read by
seeing words, sounding them out, and then using our spoken
speech hardware to comprehend what we read. The brain doesn't
need this slow speech step.
9) After a number of sessions in which you are comfortable with
this technique, get rid of the finger and use a small brown
index card with three black semicircular dots along one edge on
it. The black dots tell you where to position your eyes as you
read across the page. Take this card, and drag it down the
page, scaning each line 123 123 123 123 with your eyes fixating
either on the dots or above the text lines. With your finger
out of the way, you can pick up some serious speed. As with
before, don't expect perfect comprehension right away.
10) Lose the card. Get in the habit of just scanning with your eyes.
(If I'm tired, sometimes I still pull out the card. It's a great
crutch.)
There are more techniques for speed than just these. I used to
crank along at 30K WPM. This 10 step plan is good for about 3K
WPM or sometimes a little more. The fantastic rates come from
learning to scan in text essentially out of order, grabbing entire
paragraphs as your eyes pop around them almost at random.
Practice Practice Practice.
As you read, try to ask questions to yourself about what is going
on, or who the material is suitable for, or something to allow you
to "correlate" it. If you are not reading with need or potential
purpose in mind, your brain won't remember it. In fact, your brain
will not even process it. It will just see words flying by.
The purpose of studying for an exam just doesn't cut it. You
have to try to imagine using the material in the real world, or
sifting it for "junk" or planning something to do with it, and
considering what effect what you are reading will have on your
plan or your needs. In short, your brain will slowly get in the
habit of "asking questions" at lightning speeds. It won't even
bother to sound these questions out or formulate them -- just
instantly come up with them and compare them relative to the
material being read.
You will remember what you read relative to the questions you
thought up as you read the material.
Some people try to speed read novels. Forget it. It really
doesn't work so well. They become lifeless, because you
have to read for "this did happen and this did etc" Speed-read
novels often lose that sense of life. If you have an exam in a
Lit class, then speed reading is for you. Just expect the novel
to be a little less "alive" than it might otherwise be when you
otherwise read slowly and can feel the emotions that were conveyed
in the words.
Q. Is speed reading really effective?
A. The success of speed reading varies from individual to individual
and is likely dependent on commitment and practice. The average
reader reads about 350 words/minute. After speed reading training,
speeds of 500-2000 words/minute are not unlikely. It is difficult
to measure exactly how this effects comprehension. I am not
currently aware of scientific studies that show the effectiveness
of speed reading programs.
Continue to:
My Books
