Breakthrough Reading Speed: Is It Really Possible?
Have you ever seen one of those commercials about amazing reading speeds, and found yourself wondering if it was really possible? Truthfully it can be done, and it can be a great advantage to students, as they improve their ability to complete assignments and keep up with the teacher in class.
Even if one is not a student or teacher, improved reading speed can help them in day to day tasks such as reading and understanding magazines and newspapers. Pleasure reading, too, is more enjoyable when it takes up less of your spare time.
Speed reading does not have a set number of words per minute, pages by minute, etc. It just describes the ability of a reader to search through printed material faster than normal. The average adult without any special training reads about two words per second or 120 words a minute. Some trained speed readers have stated they have the ability to process and read over 10,000 words a minute and more. Of course the claims vary and this is a controversial topic.
All of us actually practice a technique of speed reading at times. This is called “skimming”. Skimming is the process of quickly glancing over a document scanning for keywords, phrases, or words which catch your attention. You then get a sense of what the text content is about without a whole lot of detail and of course, a low degree of comprehension. Some speed reading methods are structured around skimming techniques but with emphasis placed on the reader trying to increase comprehension at the same time.
Some techniques in speed reading teach the reader to look at large segments of text as opposed to individual words, to train your eyes to take bigger “bites” of text at a time. This helps the person to see a wider line of typing at a single glance. This is based on old military studies which employed a tachistoscope. This device using a window, would flash text at the reader in a sequence. Research found that one could speed up the machines flash rate, without the subject losing much comprehension.
Finding and dealing with bad habits in reading will greatly increase reading speed. Some people say each word without any sound (volume) being applied without being aware of it. While this actually can be helpful in our development when first learning how to read, in the long term it becomes a hindrance as each word takes longer in the process of being sounded out, letter by letter, then by syllable. Making the reader aware of this can eliminate the problem, and increase reading speed.
Another bad habit is including internal dialogue. Rather than reading aloud, the process is mental but still has the effect of slowing the readers speed. Making the reader aware of this in advance, they can them concentrate on the whole section and think it over. Another important issue is re-reading the same text passages multiple times. These methods can be taught via coursework, software, books, or other forms of media.
Being able to read at speed is important for students as well as for every day life. Students must be able to read at the Class Reading Speed to keep up with the teacher. You may need to practice some speed reading techniques to develop your Course Reading Speed. Techniques such as skim reading for words or phrases that attract attention can help. Reading whole segments rather than words can help your speed, as can breaking any bad habits you’ve developed. There are techniques that help you achieve a Breakthrough Reading Speed of many hundreds of words per minute.
Filed under: Management