Dirty Rat asked:


Any students, attorneys, or others who are required to read large amounts of material have any advice to give on this subject? I’m looking to improve my speed reading but really don’t want to have to spend $100 or more on programs to improve it.

Any ideas?

Ronald

Robert Kokoska asked:


If you’re interested in pursuing a speed reading program, you’re in good company. Because of the over abundance of information that we all have to deal with on a daily basis, speed reading is looking increasingly attractive to more and more people. In fact, if you can more than double your current reading speed without losing any comprehension, it could benefit you greatly in many ways. It’s no wonder that more and more students and professionals are looking for an effective speed reading program.

In order to take full advantage of a speed reading program, though, it helps to investigate the truth behind all of the claims. This is because some of the claims that speed reading courses make are absolutely incredible and border unbelievable, and might well be too good to be true. Consider the following: When we’re reading in order to learn something for comprehension, that is, most of us naturally read at speeds of around 200 – 400 words per minute (wpm), depending on our natural ability and the difficulty level of the text being read. Sometimes, of course, we naturally speed up as we read for longer periods or if we are re-reading certain text.

If someone is reading an article or book for pleasure, and it’s not totally important to read all of the words, we automatically slip into another type of reading – sometimes called ’skimming’ or ’scanning’. This is just what it sounds like – rather than reading every single word on the page, we skim the information, looking for what we want or what interests us and for certain bits of information. We allow our eyes to travel down the page, and stop on relevant information. This is known as ‘lazy’ reading, in a sense, but comprehension is still fairly good for most people – about 75%. The average speed for this type of reading is somewhat faster – it can range from anywhere between 400 to 700 wpm.

A speed reading program can teach most people to increase their reading speed significantly above and beyond their current speed of ’skimming’ text. The next thing that most people wonder about is how much speed can be increased – and this is where it can get really confusing! Some speed reading programs offer a moderate increase in speed – to about 1000 wpm. This seems reasonable and achievable by most; what these programs are doing is teaching you to skim more efficiently. They do this by using a pacer to keep your eyes moving across the page, or by teaching you to read using your peripheral vision which allows people to see a large chunck of text at a time and memorizing it all.

However, there are many other speed reading programs that exceed these claims quite dramatically – some even claim that they can teach you to read at the truly amazing speed of up to 10,000 wpm, or even more! Needless to say, experts are sceptical of these claims, though many proponents of speed reading swear that they are true.



Francis

Robert Kokoska asked:


Speed reading programs vary greatly in terms of what techniques they teach, what they promise, and the actual outcome. This can be confusing if you have decided to explore speed reading for the first time, and had always thought (like many of us) that speed reading is just one single concept or technique that can be learnt. Actually, there are at least two major approaches to speed reading that differ in fundamental ways. Most speed reading programs are based on one of these two major approaches to speed reading, though there are also a lot of individual variations between the many programs.

Traditional speed reading programs are based on something that we all do naturally – instead of reading a passage in detail, there are times when we just scan it, letting our eyes travel down the page quickly. With simple scanning, most people can read up to 600 or 700 wpm (words per minute), as opposed to 200 – 400 wpm when we are reading carefully, for comprehension and study. The first speed reading programs just improve on scanning speed.

Many studies corroborate the fact that there is no need to read every single word in a passage of text in order to gain comprehension or an understanding of it – the mind naturally fills in the gaps of what we don’t actually read. And to put it simply, the more we ’skip’ while reading, the faster we can read. Though this varies among individuals, it is generally true that a certain amount of material can be skipped without losing very much comprehension. Of course, some experts disagree, saying that speed readers typically comprehend only 50% of what they are reading, as opposed to as much as 75% for regular reading.

Some other speed reading programs teach you how to speed up the rate of your ’scanning’ by leading your eyes across the page using the sweeping motion of a ‘pacer’ (which your eyes naturally follow) or by teaching you to use and increase your peripheral vision while reading. Despite what some experts say about the low comprehension, there is considerable documentation of the efficacy of these speed reading programs and some people have proven that they can comprehend just as much information as someone who read the exact same piece of text at normal reading speed.

Some of the newer speed reading programs work on a different principle. They argue that scanning the page in a linear manner, whether or not you read every word, is completely unnecessary; in fact, they claim that it even wastes time. Rather, they posit that the human mind is capable of mentally ‘photographing’ a complete page of words – taking in everything that is on it in its entirety, in a very short period of time. Some speed reading programs claim incredible success rates based on this principle, though it remains controversial. Mainstream scientists are sceptical about these claims, arguing that the programs just teach people to scan really quickly, and that the overall comprehension is poor.



Megan

Dan asked:


I see developing your speed reading skills as being very similar to weight training for building bigger muscles. You wouldn’t expect some one who has never lifted very heavy weights before to start off lifting massive amounts of weight to start off with.

Instead what normally happens is you would start of with light weights and gradually increase the weights you lift over time as your muscles and strength increase.

Well speed reading is the same way, a person who is new to speed reading can not be expected to be able to read thousands of words a minute, but instead what happens is you start of with setting yourself small  manageable amounts and over time push yourself to reading more and more in the same amount of time.

When I first started to do speed reading I would find that I would be reading fast and think I was making progress and felt real proud about how fast I was reading, but I was actually not able to comprehend very much if any of what I read because I was going so fast and not use to that speed and so unable to comprehend what I was reading.

Well after I discovered this problem I went to look for a solution and found a neat exercise for stretching your speed reading comprehension. Below are the basic steps you can use yourself to help improve your speed reading comprehension.

Stretching speed reading and comprehension

1)     Using a pacer read one page of a book as fast as you possibly can.

2)     Next stop and write down everything you can remember from the page.

3)     Read five pages like this everyday, while gradually increasing the number of pages you read before you stop and recall what you’ve read.

When I started out doing this I started off with reading matter I was familiar with, and as I got better started doing it with more complicated reading matter as my confidence grew. I would suggest you do the same.

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!



Daniel

Dr Jay Polmar asked:


Words are everywhere. No matter where you go, you cannot get away from the written word.

Being able to read and comprehend faster will help you not only when you want to read for pleasure, but it will help you in business even more.

The ability to speed read—reading more than 500 words in a minute with at least a 50% comprehension rate—will be able to help you immensely in the corporate world. Read over corporate reports—yours and your competitors’—in half the time, giving yourself time to work on other projects. Read other books more quickly to increase your knowledge on other subjects you can use to get ahead in business. Keep the peace at home by reading that book your husband or wife has been nagging you about in only an hour or two!

With our Speed Read Complete Corporate course, improve your reading speed, memory, reading comprehension and recall, concentration, and note taking. You will be climbing the corporate ladder in no time.

In less than one hour a day for a month, we guarantee you’ll be reading significantly faster. After the one-hour beginner’s course, follow it up with our second book, the Business Speed Reading Success, a course specifically designed for business people and MBA professionals. With our book How To Get Things Accomplished In Less Time, you will learn over 100 tips to manage your time wisely. Include with that the daily exercises and learning to read in a new way, and you’ll be reading more in less time than you ever thought possible.

Supplement your study with our audio add-ons, to ensure rapid success. These MP3s, which can be downloaded to your favorite device, follow the books and include subjects such as memory enhancement and speed reading comprehension. We have also included audio courses on relaxation techniques and stress relief, developing self confidence, and eliminating the negative inner dialogue.

Written by Dr. Jay Palmor, a former university professor and author with over 40 titles to his name, Speed Read Complete Corporate has been used by professionals in all areas from government to education to the corporate world. Used by corporations, teachers, and government officials in over 25 countries, Speed Read Complete has been translated into five other languages to help people learn to speed read in their native language.



Linda

Jon Kelly asked:


Many courses claim to teach people how to speed read. However, instead of spending the money, try using a few helpful tips to improve your own pace. With some practice, anyone can improve their reading speed without losing comprehension. There are plenty of speed reading methods and information available.

Erase Old Ideas

You may have heard from a parent or grade school teacher that it is important to read each word carefully. If these ideas are ingrained in you, it will be more difficult to learn any speed reading methods. While it is important to not lose your reading comprehension to speed, it is not necessary to focus on every syllable on the page. Taking time to be thorough will reduce your overall reading speed.

Gathering The Main Ideas Of A Passage

Depending on what you are reading, there may not even be a need to read every paragraph in its entirety. Many speed reading methods focus on gathering the main ideas of a passage instead of every detail. This may not be ideal in every situation, but in the end comprehension is the most important factor in any speed reading methods.

Understanding Themes

Reading the book jacket and table of contents is a great way to familiarize yourself with the themes of a book. By knowing what to expect and what kind of text you are about to read, you can improve your speed. Some speed reading methods suggest that if you know that the next chapter of a textbook will cover a subject in detail, you can skim any information in the present chapter. However, if a topic will only be covered in one particular section, you will want to pay more attention and absorb the details.

Never Re-Read The Information

When learning any speed reading methods, it is important to never have to re-read information. This will naturally slow you down. If you are missing things and having to go back, it defeats the purpose of learning speed reading methods. It is essential to absorb all the important concepts of the book the first time around and to be able to identify which details you will need in the future and which are fine to skim.

For example, if you are reading something to find new techniques you may not need to know specifics about the philosophy and background of the subject. Know what you want to focus on before you sit down, and your speed reading methods will be more effective.

President Kennedy Was A fast Speed Reader

While the average person reads at a pace of 250 words per minute, with the right speed reading techniques you may be able to up your pace to ore than 600 words per minute. This may sound difficult but it is an achievable goal. It is said that President Kennedy could read at a pace of 1200 words per minute. If you put your mind to it, you too can read more quickly and efficiently.



Lorraine

The Dougler asked:


I want to improve my reading speed and comprehension by a considerable amount. Are there any books that would not only tell me how to improve my reading speed but why the techniques work.

Jean

Gerri Stone asked:


If you have made up your mind to master the skill of speed reading, the next step is to decide how to acquire the skill. One effective way is to attend a speed reading seminar. Seminars can introduce you to speed reading, help you improve your skills, or assist you in improving your speed, if you already have the skills.

Attending a speed reading seminar will help you build skills that help you become more efficient in various types of information processing. As you develop an understanding of the philosophy behind speed reading, you will see how these skills apply to other areas of your life as well. Being able to process information at a faster rate is one of many benefits of attending a seminar of this type.

Increasing your reading speed and comprehension will help you find more free time to spend on activities you enjoy. You will cut thru your email in half the time it takes now, and you will spend less time on web research. You will easily find the time to complete your professional reading, which can help you advance in your career.

Many speed reading seminars begin by giving you a reading test, so you will know what your baseline speed is. Next, you will discover your own bad habits, and learn how to eliminate them. Understanding how to manage and group information helps you become more efficient will help you in all areas of time management.

Most speed reading seminars are hands-on, rather than theory oriented. You will learn the skill and apply it immediately. When you leave the seminar, you will have improved your reading speed and comprehension. You may also be given exercises that you can use to continue improving your reading speed.

Many seminars combine time management and speed reading skills. This is a natural combination, as managing information overload improves our ability to manage time.

Once these skills are mastered, you will be able to regain control of your life, and find the time to spend on activities you truly enjoy. You will spend less time at work, and less time feeling pressured by all the information that builds up on a daily basis.



Carol

stephen asked:


i want to improve my reading speed and comprehension are there any speed reading institutes in india?if yes,in which cities they are?if no,then what are other options like books on this subjects,websites,free sources,ebooks ,softwares etc i have searched it on net there are too many things popping up.i don’t know which one is good? if you have any information please answer.thanks in advance

Chris

David S asked:


My speed is about average, but I would like to improve my reading comprehension. Courses like Evelyn Wood claim to improve both speed and comprehension. Can anyone speak from experience?

Nicole