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

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

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

lynnoo77 asked:


I’m going to a 4 year school soon, and I would like to improve my reading skills. Where in East Bay California is the best and effective speed reading courses if it is worth the time to take it.

Angel

Sarah M asked:


Im in med school..they throw a ton at you in a short time. Do those speed reading courses actually work?

Antonio

Laro asked:


some students take speed reading courses after school at a private company,these students read well already in school.the students are 9-12yrs old. is it to benefit in college later,jump a grade,what
thanks

Joshua

Jon Kelly asked:


Almost everyone has seen someone speed read, they appear to skim the text and still have read and absorbed the content. It is normal for everyone to read at different speeds, even before some people have mastered the skills of speed reading. The people who have studied speed reading techniques will still read at different speeds; however they will undoubtedly beat those without speed reading experience. The point of speed reading is to understand and absorb the material using specifically learned strategies. Skimming a page and then rapidly turning onto the next page is not really of use if the brain is not absorbing the information at an equivalent speed. The best and most efficient way to learn to speed read is to enrol in speed reading classes, where speed reading skills will be explained clearly.

The advantage of speed reading courses is that students will be shown several different strategies for speed reading allowing them to choose the ones they find easiest to understand the material they are reading. Students should try to learn all the strategies presented during speed reading courses as, once these are mastered, they will see a dramatic improvement in their reading rate, after which they can hone and choose their preferred style. Students will see the benefits of speed reading as soon as the techniques are applied to their main field of study. The time taken for reading assignments and research for written assignments will be greatly reduced. (Allowing more time for sports and other lessons of life also learnt through college living). Equally, once in the world of business and industry, speed reading will reduce the length of time needed for reports, research papers and newspapers.

Speed Reading Strategies Encourage Comprehension

Speed reading does not take the lessons applied when learning to read at primary school and speed them up – this would not work and would not increase the speed of absorption of the information. Speed reading is about learning whole new strategies of reading, ensuring that material content is not missed or misunderstood. Primary school teaches reading in a linear form, building each word through the letters which form the syllables, the syllables forming the words and the words forming the sentences. Speed reading courses teach students to read looking for different patterns and not to read each word individually.

A traditional education builds habits in reading which a good speed reading course will push aside, replacing with new techniques. A comprehensive course will also advise students how to become more efficient readers; hopefully this will also encourage the desire for self improvement as well as the desire to read. Students often work with distractions (usually noise) around them; lecturers in speed reading will normally discourage this as research shows that by reducing the distractions the level of comprehension are increased. Lecturers in speed reading will usually take the time to teach students the importance of preparing the environment they work in before they read a single work – remember speed reading is all about increasing the speed of comprehension not just the speed of reading!

The satisfaction of reading faster and with better comprehension skills cannot be underestimated; the techniques of speed reading increase the enjoyment of reading. Speed reading is a skill to be encouraged in each and every generation of new readers.



Stephanie

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