Francis Hesse asked:


In this present-day era in which information is available in great quantity and at a very rapid rate (thanks to the Internet), there is also a burning need to be able to take in information in the shortest possible time. There is as a result a great demand for people who have a superior trained speed reading eye as this is a quality that helps in increasing productivity and so, is highly valued.

 

If you are on the lookout for some means to develop the speed at which you read, there are a number of solutions that can help to train you  in developing a better speed reading eye. There are in fact, numerous choices when it concerns diversity of speed reading courses as well as software that will help you read faster, and so it becomes essential that you choose one that will work to develop your proficiency in the most effective manner.

 

Retention and comprehension are essential.

 

When you develop a proficient speed reading eye you will then be able to use your newly acquired skills in many diverse ways and thus enjoy a more fruitful life. According to experts, there are just a small number of techniques that need to be learned to develop a good and sharp speed reading eye which will help you to enjoy the benefits of rapid reading and also comprehending and retaining the material that you have read.

 

Improving your reading speed will be of little use to you if you fail to absorb what it is you are reading.Learning to read at breakneck speeds without comprehension is not very useful, you must be able to understand what you have read and retain the information as well.

 

Also, one can always train to have a razor-sharp speed reading eye if one simply practices regularly as this is perhaps the most important facet to gaining the necessary speed at reading. In fact, though you can also practice by using your hand, or use cards to improve your speed reading eye, there is nothing quite as effective as constant practice in developing the art of speed reading.

 

It also pays to get some speed reading techniques because present day technology is so advanced that you can make dramatic improvements in speed reading by making this technology work for you. By improving your speed reading eye, you will be able to read faster as well as read better and by constantly practicing to even achieve your ultimate goal which should be to read at about hundred words per minute.



Melvin

Melvin Ng asked:


Obviously few people want to undertake the task of learning a new skill, such as speed reading, if there is no direct benefit. Life’s just too short.

So, what are the direct and indirect benefits of learning to speed read? The answer to this question very much depends at what stage in your life you are at. Here are some to consider:

High school / pre-college students

High school, pre-college, students are normally considered to be primary target groups for a speed reading programs. Basically, the reason why such students are seen as ideal candidates is because they at an age where they can still absorb new ideas without too onerous consideration – an important facet with learning to speed read.

Another upside to teaching high school students to speed read is the fact that they can take in far more information from their greater reading skills. Also, with advanced reading skills, students should also be able to comprehend more of what they are reading. Furthermore, with potentially the toughest period of their lives ahead of them, so far as obtaining information from reading is concerned, learning to speed read at this time is seen as being extremely advantageous.

College students

If a college student has not learnt, for one reason or another, to speed read by the time they enter college, it is generally considered essential that they do so within their first year (along with learning short-hand!). Practically speaking, this is likely to be the busiest time of a person’s reading life. Moreover, students are often required to read huge amounts of materials, comprehend them, condense them and then comment on them. Having the ability to speed read is nothing short of a God-send skill.

Work employees

Even though you may not have learnt to speed read prior to entering the workforce, this doesn’t mean that you no longer need to learn speed reading. Consider this: three quarters of all the world’s reading materials (which includes every book and magazine ever written) is contained within the filing cabinets of offices! And, even in this electronic age, with data protection laws in place, we are still required to read vast amounts of information at work each year.

Learning to speed read will not only allow you to read quickly, with greater comprehension of the material, but it’ll also provide you with more time to be getting on with the other tasks in your daily working life!

Pleasure

Again, even if you are only reading for pleasure, the mere fact you have more chance of comprehending that romance novel if you have the skills at-hand that allow you to speed read should be sufficient to convince you of the value of learning this essential skill. Of course, pleasure reading is a lot more enjoyable than technical reading, so if you do have speed reading skills, this will allow you the chance to read even more of those books you always wanted to read, but didn’t have time for!

Language students

One final group that we should not overlook is “English as a second language” students. Clinical evidence has shown that ESL students who have the ability to speed read have a far greater chance of comprehending the English language and are more inclined to stick to learning English. This is not to say, of course, that speed reading is the answer to all your English language problems, but it is an additional weapon to help you conquer the language barriers!

Conclusion

So, to sum up, it doesn’t really matter at what stage in your life you are at, provided that you read at anytime during the day, even if it is only the daily newspaper, you are likely to benefit from the skills acquired from learning to speed read. You are also likely to be able to comprehend more of the information you read. And, there’s every chance that because you understand and comprehend what you have read, your long-term memory will be able to retain this information for a future time. All-in-all, some very good reasons to learn speed reading now!



Christine