How to Learn Speed Reading (PART 1)

Part 1 of 3: Learning to Read Faster

1. Understand the purpose of these tips. These instructions are great for increasing your reading speed without losing too much comprehension. They are the best way for anyone to begin increasing their reading speed, including someone who wants to become an extreme speedreader.

a. If you're trying to cram for a test faster or browse magazines more quickly, take a look at the section on Skimming Text Faster.

b. If you want to learn to read books extremely quickly and don't need to understand them fully, browse these tips first before moving on to Further Speedreading Exercises.

2. Stop imagining the spoken word. Even if you don't mouth the words silently as you read them, chances are good you "subvocalize," or imagine the words being spoken aloud.^[1] This is useful for difficult texts, but mostly just slows you down needlessly.

a. Stop yourself whenever you notice this happening. Being conscious of the habit can be enough to minimize it.

b. If you can't stop, try quietly chanting something repetitive such as "1 2 3 4" or "A E I O U."^[2] Stop if the chanting distracts you from reading.

c. Groups of words are harder to vocalize, so practice reading in blocks using the techniques below to help with this issue as well.

d. If you are physically moving your lips as you read, hold a finger against them while reading to stop this habit.

3. Take in groups of words. Instead of reading each word separately, train yourself to understand a group of words at once. This requires less eye movement, which in turn makes reading much faster.[3]

a. Hold the book or screen a little farther from your eyes than you are used to as you read to take in more words at once.

b. Soften your gaze and relax your face. If you are too focused and tense, you won't be able to see the words farther from your center of vision.

c. Follow along with a pencil or other object as you read, but hold it slightly above the text to make your eyes focus on a wider area.

4. Train yourself not to read the same passage twice. Most people frequently stop and skip back to words or sentences they just read to try to make sure they understood the meaning. This is usually unnecessary, but it can easily become a habit, and many times you will not even notice you're doing it.

a. Use an index card or pen to hide the words you've already read, training your eyes not to move backward.

5. Find a quiet, well lit environment. Even if you think you read better when you have music playing or when you're in a crowded coffee house, you will understand the text much better if you reduce distractions to a bare minimum. Try to find a solitary, well lit place to read, and turn off the TV, radio, and cell phone.[4]

a. If no solitary place is available, try using earplugs to block out any distractions around you.

b. Light is important even when reading on a computer screen.

c. Reading in bed makes many people sleepy. Try sitting up at a desk, with your book tilted at a 45º angle away from you.^[5]

6. Read when you're alert and engaged. Some people function well in the morning, while others think better in the afternoon. Save important reading for those times of day.[6]

a. Start a reading session by reading the important material first, when your eyes and brain aren't tired out.

b. Ask questions to yourself as you read the text or the chapter headings, and search for answers as you read. This keeps you focused and avoids daydreaming or other mental distractions.^[7]

7. Adjust reading speed depending on the material. Even this one article probably contains advice you've already heard as well as some that's completely new to you. A good reader slows down to understand something complex and speeds up through familiar sections.

a. Don't be afraid to fall back on "bad habits" to understand a text better. If you are reading a difficult book and don't have a time limit, feel free to reread sections or read them aloud in your head. In fact, you can use these tools to better effect now that you're aware of them!

^{SOURCE : http://www.wikihow.com/Learn-Speed-Reading}