Ed Caldwell asked:


I just got an email from someone who writes, ” The reason I am writing is that a client of mine is doing a computer speed reading program called (name protected). He mentioned that while his speed has increased dramatically, his comprehension has gone down. Is this normal? “

The short answer is yes. However, it is not normal for all programs on effective speed reading. The writer touches on a very sore spot for me, a researcher, educator, and trainer on accelerated learning for 30 years. The problem is with the word “speed.” Unfortunately the general population is most often mis-guided on this topic because of that word “SPEED” and they forget the second word in the phrase “reading.” So when someone wants to learn the skills of reading more effectively combining speed and comprehension, they get sold on speed. Some programs promise to have read materials at 20,000 words per minute!

“Reading” can be defined as the mind’s response or interpretation of printed material. If your eyes go through material at 100-100,000 words per minute and you have no clue about the material, it’s not reading! Because so many programs in the marketplace focus almost exclusively, if not completely on the eye movements, comprehension takes a back seat, or doesn’t even get a place in the program. That was the problem with the person mentioned above.

This common approach and experience has led to an ever increasing pile of commentary on “speed reading” which has maligned the topic and the few practitioners who focus on both speed and comprehension together. Speed is ****. It sells. But comprehension requires your mind to be engaged. This requires attention and work. That’s not ****. Work is hard. But comprehension can become easier when you know how to do it. Unfortunately, most of the sellers of programs in the marketplace do not have a clue and take it for granted or blame the user’s ineptness.

As I continue to do competitive surveillance of the market, nearly everything from e-books to 16 minute audios promise what they can’t deliver. I recently bought one of the computerized speed programs. It contained less than 300 words dealing with comprehension.

For years I wouldn’t use the word “speed” in naming my programs for the reasons above. Most people think, “Read fast! Forget faster!” But I have seen so many people’s lives and careers change so much for the better after they gain the confidence from learning the skills properly to sit by the sidelines and keep the message quiet that there is a better way to learn.

Do yourself a favor if you’re researching and considering “speed reading.” Be sure to investigate the program’s emphasis on comprehension. Because comprehension is your mind’s response to the print, you need proper instruction and support.



Lucy

Francis Hesse asked:


Speed reading can improve your life. Speed reading can also improve your ability to assimilate information at an astonishing rate, in turn, making you a more valuable employee. While the ability to read quicker may be advantageous for some, for others it is more a matter of improving their comprehension of what they have read as well as being able to hold the information.

The average rate a person will read at is about two words per second with good retention, for most that will be fast enough. Engaging the use of a speed reading course has shown to improve a persons reading speed by four to six words per second without any loss of retention to the material. Over time, with the use of a speed reading course, you will be able to increase your reading speed 10 or more words per second with better than average comprehension.

The Course

Speed reading courses are designed to help readers choose the words worth reading and which ones are not. Being able to look at a word without having to concentrate on each and every letter to visualize the word is already practiced by most readers. By using a speed reading course you will be able to eliminate more words in a sentence increasing your rate of reading.

Speed and Quality

Perhaps one the biggest challenges in speed reading is what is termed subvocalization. Children are taught early on to read to themselves causing them to sound out every word in their head as they are reading. With speed reading, the words are not silently read in their mind while going through the material and only the words that have meaning to the context of the material is retained to become part of the comprehension of the material.

Different instruction techniques are taught for speed reading and they may not all have the same desirable outcome for each person looking to improve their reading speed. Unlike repetitious physical tasks where the same movements performed with practice will enable a person to perform the task quicker, speed reading attempts to train the brain to recognize only the words that are important to the materials being read without the need to hear them in their mind. However, similar to physical tasks, practice in speed reading will increase their reading speed as time goes on.

Some belive that speed reading is a technique set aside for genius types only. Not true. Speed reading is a skill that all can acquier. There are steps that you must follow that will help to increase your reading speed and most importantly your comprehension as well.

Learning To Speed Read

There are a number of ways that you can learn the art of speed reading. The first step on your journey is to take a speed reading test so that you can gauge your current level and give you a base to see how you are progressing.

Next you will want to find some form of speed reading instruction. Some prefer audio tapes that take you though various tips and tricks of learning how to accelerate your reading. Others prefer books or a combination of book and audio.

The method you choose is up to you,the important thing is to stick with it and check your progress every step of the way.



Deborah

Robert Kokoska asked:


If you’re interested in learning to speed read, you’re in luck – there are a variety of courses available online that can help you to increase your natural current reading speed. According to all of the claims, these increases can go from moderate to quite dramatic. A moderate increase might be from 700 words per minute (the maximum speed at which most of us can read without any special training) to 1000 wpm or so.

To put this into perspective an average printed page might have roughly about 300 words. Reading more than three pages per minute with good comprehension is certainly fast, though not stellar – it means that you would be able to read a 300 page book in about an hour and a half. For many of us, this is good enough – reading at this rate will give you an edge in your studies and in business.

There are, however, other speed reading courses which have much more spectacular claims. Some courses claim that they can teach people to read at speeds of 10, 000 to 25,000 wpm which is at least ten times faster than with traditional and conventional speed reading techniques. The methods that these courses are teaching are completely different from those of conventional speed reading programs. For example, one speed reading course method, known as photo reading, claims that your subconscious mind can be taught to mentally ‘photograph’ whole or partial pages of text at an astonishing rate with almost 100 percent comprehension afterwards.

One teacher claims that children aged between 8 to 12 years old have the potential to learn to read at speeds much faster than those of adults because a child can much easier take on a new way of learning. While it is quite rare for adults to reach as reading speed of 20,000 wpm, he claims that almost every child who takes his speed reading course attains this speed within just a few sessions. If this is true, it implies that speed reading might be a skill for which there is an age-related ‘window’, like language aquisition.

Experts are sceptical, though, and claim that reports of reading at speeds greater than 100 wpm are exaggerated or evenfraudulent. They also claim that overall comprehension is poor – only about 50% – even at 100 wpm, making this method unsuitable for studying or work-related reading. But nobody, expert or otherwise, can adequately explain how Kim Peek – a man whose abilities have been tested extensively, and who has the remarkable ability to read two pages simultaneously, one with each eye.

He reads at amazing speeds with an astonishing 98% comprehension, a claim which no one disputes. The catch is this – Kim Peek was born without part of his brain, the corpus collosum (which co-ordinates the right and left brains). Nevertheless, his accomplishments do seem to prove what many speed reading courses claim is true – that the human mind is capable or attaining and retaining information at amazing speeds.



Hazel

Jon Kelly asked:


When I first heard about the speed reading machine I could not quite understand how it worked. Speed reading is all about reading faster and not loosing any of the comprehension of the text.

So I thought that perhaps a speed reading machine was a way of guiding your reading with the techniques of spread reading i.e. the line and card technique and encouraging you to read each line at a glance from the middle of the line, by somehow focusing your attention down the middle of the page and then revealing the text line by line Well, dream on. The speed reading machine has nothing to do with speed reading!

What was described to me as a speed reading machine is in fact just a text converter. It takes text and converts it into audio files which can then be played on your computer, or walkman or MP3 player.

This machine is very useful and allows one to be absorbing reading material while on the move, and if you are a slow reader, it is faster than ploughing through the text. Also if children are dyslexic or have been diagnosed with either ADD or ADHD, then it is a good way for the child to get through their studies at a more comparable speed to the other children, and will hopefully stop the child from falling behind in class.

However, it will not speed up their reading. If anything, a child who gets used to absorbing text in this manner will not be practicing reading and will probably therefore get slower at reading!

As with all inventions there is definitely a use for it, but probably as an addition to reading, perhaps it should be targeted at those who travel a lot, but maybe not at children.

When I first heard about the speed reading machine I could not quite understand how it worked. Speed reading is all about reading faster and not loosing any of the comprehension of the text.

So I thought that perhaps a speed reading machine was a way of guiding your reading with the techniques of spread reading i.e. the line and card technique and encouraging you to read each line at a glance from the middle of the line, by somehow focusing your attention down the middle of the page and then revealing the text line by line Well, dream on. The speed reading machine has nothing to do with speed reading!

What was described to me as a speed reading machine is in fact just a text converter. It takes text and converts it into audio files which can then be played on your computer, or walkman or MP3 player.

This machine is very useful and allows one to be absorbing reading material while on the move, and if you are a slow reader, it is faster than ploughing through the text. Also if children are dyslexic or have been diagnosed with either ADD or ADHD, then it is a good way for the child to get through their studies at a more comparable speed to the other children, and will hopefully stop the child from falling behind in class.

However, it will not speed up their reading. If anything, a child who gets used to absorbing text in this manner will not be practicing reading and will probably therefore get slower at reading!

As with all inventions there is definitely a use for it, but probably as an addition to reading, perhaps it should be targeted at those who travel a lot, but maybe not at children.

Recent research has suggested that children under the age of 7 should not use a computer as this can delay their reading as they are not training their eyes to focus at the correct distance; also, children learn to read by following their fingers across the page, this teaches the brain the movement of the eyes from left to right.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much equipment there is to help our children, they all need to learn to read. Hence the reading machine, which converts text to audio, may not be doing children any favours.

As an adult however, if you are forever having to sit and dredge through the latest articles in your chosen field, then the a reading machine may allow you to get through more of these as are you can continue to absorb the information when walking, jogging or even at the gym.

It seems that although all these gadgets can help, there is nothing like actually being able to read, from there learning to speed read, and then if you really want to maximize your time efficiency, then add a reading machine for times when you are on the move.

Unfortunately a reading machine will not teach you to speed read, but it will present information in a readily absorbable format. Perhaps the type of person who is interested in this type of machine is the perfect person to learn to speed read!

; also, children learn to read by following their fingers across the page, this teaches the brain the movement of the eyes from left to right.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much equipment there is to help our children, they all need to learn to read. Hence the reading machine, which converts text to audio, may not be doing children any favours.

As an adult however, if you are forever having to sit and dredge through the latest articles in your chosen field, then the a reading machine may allow you to get through more of these as are you can continue to absorb the information when walking, jogging or even at the gym.

It seems that although all these gadgets can help, there is nothing like actually being able to read, from there learning to speed read, and then if you really want to maximize your time efficiency, then add a reading machine for times when you are on the move.

Unfortunately a reading machine will not teach you to speed read, but it will present information in a readily absorbable format. Perhaps the type of person who is interested in this type of machine is the perfect person to learn to speed read!



Heather

MIKE SELVON asked:


As adults we have great demands put upon our time. There is work, families and social activities that take out huge portions of our waking hours. It is no surprise that many adults, outside of an academic situation, find that they do not have any time to read.

Many adults would list reading as a frivolous activity in which they have no inclination due to the amount of time it takes them to get through a single book. Even students feel the pressure of time as they are faced with tons of homework and required reading. How can there be enough time to study, work and live? Some people have found the answer through speed reading.

If you are lucky enough to be gifted with this amazing talent, then it is certain other people have commented on how quickly you are able to consume reading material. If you are unfamiliar with this technique, this article is for you. It will answer some of the common questions about speed reading and hopefully set you on the path to picking up a good book to read.

How do people speed read?

There are a few different methods that some speed readers use in order to increase their reading speed. It is important to note that most speed readers use a variety of methods. Some simply skim the words and the information is simple there.

You can think of it in terms of a computer scanner. You lay the book or sheet of paper on the scanner. The image is then sent via a connection to your computer where you process the information.

How is speed reading measured?

Speed reading is measured by timing the reader as he or she reads through a selection of material. After the time is up the reader will be tested on his or her overall comprehension of the material. If they make less than 50% of the questions then that test is considered a failure.

Speed reading is difficult to test because a large part of the comprehension depends on the reader’s interest. A text book may be difficult to quickly read as there is strange terminology or a lack of interest on the participants’ behalf.

Are there any records for speed reading?

The World Championship Speed Reading competition says that its top competitors average around 1000 to 2000 words a minute. The comprehension level must be at least fifty percent in order to qualify. Though a contestant may read through the material at a rate of 5000 words a minute, if they are not able to comprehend the material or recall pertinent facts, the test is considered a failure.

Is there a way to learn how to speed read?

Not everyone can speed read. There are no tried and true methods that work for everyone. The best way to learn how to speed read is to practice and study the different methods that speed readers employ.

You may be able to learn how to skim through the material for key words and phrases. You can also try to learn how to read the material without silently pronouncing each word in your mind.

How do the software programs work?

Some software programs boast that their methodologies can double a person’s rate of reading and comprehension. Most programs utilize different methods of reading such as chunking or skimming the text. It teaches the reader how to identify key words and to skip unimportant words such as “and” in order to increase their reading speed.



Charlene

Dan asked:


Like with a lot of things in life, speed reading can be greatly improved if you spend some time examining your thinking around the subject of reading and getting your thinking right so that you are able to get better results.

One of the important things to get sorted out in your thinking is your attitude towards reading and speed reading.

I have personally heard people saying in person and in books that you need to have a positive attitude, but they never really talked about what an attitude is and how to get a good one.

Well recently I found out what an attitude is made up of and so now I know how to make them more positive. An attitude can be described with the following equation:

Attitude = Belief x Value

So if an attitude is a beliefs multiplied by your values all you need to do is find out what beliefs you have about reading and speed reading and then find out what values you have about reading and speed reading and then if when you do this you discover you have negative beliefs or values simply change them to more positive beliefs and values and you will see a real change in your speed reading ability.

Doing this kind of inner game work is one of those things that you really need to do on a regular basis to get the full benefits from, but it is well worth investing the time into this exercise.

Another big piece that is important to work on in order to become a fast speed reader, is to boost your speed reading stamina, your speed reading stamina is the amount of time you are able to read at speed for with good comprehension and recall. Boosting your speed reading stamina will help you to train and recondition your brain to reading at faster speeds and so will allow you to get all of the benefits of speed reading faster.

I have collected together all of the important things that you will have to do in order to boost your speed reading stamina, all of this information has been arranged into a 7 part e-course that you can take. To receive this valuable resource for boosting your speed reading stamina which will help you to increase your reading speed faster, simply visit my reading stamina web page and enter you name and a email address so that I can email it to you right away.

Thanks DAN!



Ellen

Ed Caldwel asked:


Speed Reading Myths Debunked

There is so much misinformation about speed reading that as a user for over 30 years, and as an instructor of tens of thousands of learners from all walks of life and all levels of education, I feel compelled to debunk some of the most prevalent and popular myths. However, before we begin, it is essential to define what is reading.

Reading Defined

Although definitions may vary somewhat, reading can be defined as the act of interpreting visual symbols and deriving meaning from those symbols (letters, words, etc.). If you accept this definition, then it follows that reading is a cognitive thinking skill. Therefore, one can read, as fast as one can think (or interpret) the visual symbols.

So when someone wants to learn to “speed read,” there is a two-fold problem. One is seeing the symbols more quickly (that’s the easy part), and secondly is getting the mind to respond more quickly. Said simply, there are 2 components to speed reading – developing the mechanical skills of getting the eyes to move more efficiently, and learning to push the mind to think and respond more quickly (comprehension).

Myth # 1 – “It doesn’t really work.”

This is both true and false. One of my biggest challenges with learners is the notion that if they enroll in a program, then magic will happen. Because of the nature of learning a new system of skills and habits is difficult, the learner must immerse themselves completely in the experience and let go of preconceived notions of what they believe about themselves as learners and loosen their attachment to the “see-say-hear-understand” habit they grew up with. What I tell learners is, “it doesn’t work, you work it.” In other words, Dynamic Speed Reading is a system, a methodology to be applied to the act of reading, but the reader has to bring themselves and their mind to the process. One technique outside of the process will not work for all reading situations.

Myth #2 – “Speed Reading Is Merely About Moving Your Eyes Fast”

False. Although historically this is true, and most programs today focus almost exclusively on the speed of eye movements, this statement contradicts the definition of reading as stated earlier. In fact, this is the primary cause of cynicism and skepticism towards the concept of speed reading. It is not reading if you merely move your eyes and see all the print. Learning the mechanics without learning the comprehension process is only part of the solution. If someone is serious about wanting to develop their efficient reading skills, a strong emphasis on how to build comprehension is critical for success. I do not recommend software programs, or any other type of mechanical devices because of this. By definition, you can only read as fast as you can think or respond to the symbols on the page. Comprehension, or the cognitive skills, must be developed as well.

Myth # 3 – “When Speed Reading You Lose Comprehension”

Again, false. Although the answer to this is included in myth 2, this needs additional explanation. As I explain this, keep in mind the premise that you are not reading if you are not comprehending. Comprehension means understanding. This myth has developed not only because most programs focus on merely speed, but also because of the nature of the adult learner trying to change a lifetime of habits around.

Typically the adult learner has formed the belief/habit that in order to comprehend well, you need to start at the beginning and read word by word to the end in a linear fashion. This belief/habit was formed as a result of early reading training from school days. However, research has proven that comprehension is a process. In other words, we need to build comprehension like we build our learning of any other skill. A useful analogy would be to take a trip to a new state, province, or country. You would start by looking at a map to get a general sense of direction of where you are to where you want to be. Next, you might look at the major highways that lead you there. Finally, you would focus on the specific streets that would get you to the point of your destination. Reading comprehension experts agree, comprehension must be built. Stated differently, you need to “prepare the mind to read.”

Another part of this myth’s development is due to the fact of the nature of the learning process in developing speed reading skills. As the learner works on breaking the habit of focusing on individual words both visually and cognitively, a dynamic flow of eyes over stimuli (words) needs to be achieved in order to create meaning faster. Here we are talking about the mechanical skills. As the speed reading student first enters this phase of development, comprehension will decrease initially as he/she struggles to learn fluency of the mechanics. This can be compared to first learning to drive a car. Remember? You had to focus on managing all various pedals, buttons, and mirrors while simultaneously navigating this ton of steel down the road safely. If you’ve been driving for years, you might not even be able to remember how clumsy you felt. Another good comparison would be learning how to do a new dance. The learner needs ample time to build fluency.

Myth #4 – “Speed Reading is Merely About Skimming, Scanning, Key-wording”

False. Skimming is sample reading portions of text – a sentence or two here and there, or some other approach. Skimming is a good “pre-reading” technique, but is not “dynamic speed reading” in itself.

Scanning, by definition, is to glance from point to point often hastily, casually, or in search of a particular item. We may scan the telephone book for a particular person’s number, scan the newspaper ads for a job, but we do not scan a new book, report, manual, etc. if we want to master it. Scanning may be used as an after reading technique, but is not speed reading.

Key-wording is an old speed reading technique where the learner was told “don’t focus on the unimportant words,” such as, “a,” “the,” “of.” This cannot be done. Try this yourself: sit opposite someone who is about your height and look at their face. While you do this try to not see their nose. Sight, the mechanical part of reading, is impartial. Or in other words, you cannot not see something within your field of vision. Your mind may not register or respond to something your eyes see, but that is another issue. In fact, that again is the issue of comprehension which we have discussed.

Myth # 5 – “You May Get Some Results At The End Of The Program, But They Don’t Last.”

This is both true and false. Reading is a skill like other skills, when you don’t do it for awhile, you will slow down. If you spent 5-10 years learning to play piano and then hadn’t touched the piano for 10-20 years, you would get rusty. All it takes once you have mastered it is occasional practice. When buying a program, look for long term support and follow-up.

Myth # 6– “If You Look At the Naturally Fast Readers, Only Really Smart People Can Speed Read”

The truth is one of the things that made these folks smart was the fact that they were voracious readers. They loved to read. When you develop more ease with reading, you’ll read more and enjoy it more, and learn more. When you read more, you’ll naturally get smart!

Now that these 6 major falsehoods of speed reading have been explained, what will you commit to do to deal with your information overload? In today’s knowledge economy there is no other option but to learn a new approach in getting through the piles.



Elsie

dbeck29 asked:


my reading needs improvement, with both speed and comprehension. Please recommend me your best!

Pedro

rbpa2031 asked:


I would like to speed up my reading and improve my comprehension, what are the best programs and are there any web-based speed-reading programs?

Bonnie

Robert Kokoska asked:


If you have decided that you would like to dramatically increase the speed and efficiency of your reading in order to work or study more effectively, there are several options open to you nowadays. Taking speed reading classes remains a popular option. Though it may be possible to gain the same knowledge through a book, software or a correspondence course, speed reading classes may well be superior to all of these other options.

The opportunity to measure your progress against that of others in the class, and to have personal instruction as needed, can prove to be invaluable and makes learning much easier plus you have the instructor to help you if you are having any problems. Many students progress much faster after they make the choice to attend speed reading classes.

So what can you expect from attending a speed reading class? Some of us would find the idea quite intimidating – probably because they are afraid that they will be unable to learn to read at speeds of 100 words per minute or more. It is true that, just as natural reading speed varies between individuals, so does one’s capacity to learn speed reading. However, don’t be discouraged if you consider yourself a slow reader by nature. Speed reading classes teach you knew techniques for reading that are different from those you normally use. It is not uncommon for the average person to at least double their current normal reading speed.

Take for example, the Evelyn Wood speed reading method (designed by one of the pioneers of speed reading) involves the use of what’s known as a ‘pacer’ to speed up the movement of your eyes across the page. Evelyn Wood had herself stumbled upon this method, when frustrated by her own inability to read faster. The accidental movement of her own hand across a page showed her how the eye is ‘led’ by a moving object. The result? It has been well proven that people can learn to read much faster than previously thought, with little or no loss of comprehension.

Other speed reading classes teach completely different methods but can achieve similiar if not better results. The object of many of them is to stop people from ‘dwelling on’ or stopping at a certain word, because that slows down the reading process considerably. One method, therefore, calls for using your peripheral vision to read. If you read out the the corner of your eyes, so to speak, the eye seems to be naturally drawn forward.

As you get faster – and some speed reading classes claim an incredible 1000 wpm – opinions vary regarding whether comprehension is lost. According to some skeptics, who have studies speed readers under controlled circumstances, it appears that speed does come at the expense of comprehension. In fact, some experts claim that reading faster than 600 wpm means that comprehension is radically reduces. There is also strong evidence to the contrary, however, and most speed reading experts claim that little or no comprehension is lost, even at incredibly high speeds.



Josephine