However, if you concentrate on the purpose of reading (locating main ideas and finding answers to your questions), your speed and comprehension should increase.
Your concern should be not with how fast you can get through a chapter alone, but with how quickly you can comprehend the facts and ideas that you need.
Comprehension during speed reading is easier than during standard reading.
This is because the mind is busy looking for meaning, not rereading words and sentences. The average reader spends about a 1/6th of the time rereading words than actually reading them.
Rereading interrupts the flow of comprehension and slows down the process, that’s why the habit of rereading should be eliminated. How to comprehend easily? Scan the chapter first.
Identify the sections to which the author devotes the most amount of space. If there are lots of diagrams for a particular topic, then that must also be an important concept. If you're really under time pressure, you can skip the sections to which the least amount of space is devoted.
Take note on headings and read the first sentence of every paragraph more carefully than therest of the paragraph. The main idea is usually situated there. Read the important parts and the main ideas. Focus on nouns and main propositions in each sentence. Look for the noun-verb combinations, and focus the mind on these. Then, close the book and ask yourself what you now know about the subject that you didn't know before you started.
Saturday, 20 December 2008
Saturday, 13 December 2008
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Within 16-minutes you can have your current reading speed doubled. It’s easy because all you need to do is follow the easy instructions by listening to the audio program in a few simple step-by-step directions.
Better still is the fact that tripling your reading speed is not uncommon after listening to this audio program just ONCE.
Its well worth giving it a go.
Speed Reading Software
Have you considered using Speed Reading software to help you improve your speed? There is a great Speed Reading And Comprehension Training software that will help. It is now available as an Online Class along With memory and comprehension classes including Audio And Real Time tests.
Pay Attention
Most people read in the same way that they watch television – in an inattentive, passive way.
What they should know is that reading takes a lot of effort and you must exert the effort.
A wise teacher once told me that you can learn anything if you do three things.
That is, PAY ATTENTION, PAY ATTENTION, and PAY ATTENTION.
Reducing Fixation Time for Speed Reading
The minimum length of time needed for a fixation should only be a quarter of a second.
By pushing yourself to minimize the time you take until you reach such rate, you will get better at picking up information from very brief and few fixations. This is a matter of practice and confidence.
Relationship between Rate of Reading and Comprehension
Research shows that there is a big relationship between rate and comprehension. Some people read rapidly and comprehend well; others read slowly and comprehend badly. Thus, there is some reason to believe that the factors producing slow reading are also involved in lowered comprehension. Good comprehension depends on whether you can extract and retain the important ideas thatyou’ve read, not on how fast you read them. If you can do this fast, then your reading speed can beincreased.
If you pair fast-reading with worrying about comprehension, your reading speed will drop because the mind is occupied with your fears; hence, you will not be paying attention to the ideas thatyou are reading.
What they should know is that reading takes a lot of effort and you must exert the effort.
A wise teacher once told me that you can learn anything if you do three things.
That is, PAY ATTENTION, PAY ATTENTION, and PAY ATTENTION.
Reducing Fixation Time for Speed Reading
The minimum length of time needed for a fixation should only be a quarter of a second.
By pushing yourself to minimize the time you take until you reach such rate, you will get better at picking up information from very brief and few fixations. This is a matter of practice and confidence.
Relationship between Rate of Reading and Comprehension
Research shows that there is a big relationship between rate and comprehension. Some people read rapidly and comprehend well; others read slowly and comprehend badly. Thus, there is some reason to believe that the factors producing slow reading are also involved in lowered comprehension. Good comprehension depends on whether you can extract and retain the important ideas thatyou’ve read, not on how fast you read them. If you can do this fast, then your reading speed can beincreased.
If you pair fast-reading with worrying about comprehension, your reading speed will drop because the mind is occupied with your fears; hence, you will not be paying attention to the ideas thatyou are reading.
Friday, 12 December 2008
Abstract Ideas
The same is possible with abstract ideas (which are also often highly complex and multidimensional),though it takes practice because there are no definite "images" to fall back on. In somecases, especially when the thought involved is quite complex, removing the verbal component not only speeds up the thinking process, but can even lead to intuitive leaps that verbal thinking might have prevented.
Consider the way in which you are reading this text. Most people think that they read the way young children do – either letter-by-letter, or at best word-by-word. The truth is, we do not read letter-by-letter or word-by-word.
Instead, we are fixing our eyes onblock of words. Notice the way your eye muscles actually move when reading a printed text. Try tomove your eyes to the next block of words, and go on.
Effectively you are not reading words, but blocks of words at a time.
The period of time during which the eye rests on one word is called affixation. You may also notice that you don't always proceed from one block of words to the next. Sometimes, you may move back to a preceding block of words if you are unsure about something or if you don’t understand what it meant. These disruptions to the forward flow of reading are called skipbacks. Only speed readers have been trained to create mini eye movements, while the rest of us readwith micro eye-movements. The former produces speed reading because they engage the peripheral visionto chunk words simultaneously, not just one-word at a time; while the latter is automatic, and keep adjusting our eyes to place the words we read on our foveal centralis, the sharpest focusing area of our retina.
Consider the way in which you are reading this text. Most people think that they read the way young children do – either letter-by-letter, or at best word-by-word. The truth is, we do not read letter-by-letter or word-by-word.
Instead, we are fixing our eyes onblock of words. Notice the way your eye muscles actually move when reading a printed text. Try tomove your eyes to the next block of words, and go on.
Effectively you are not reading words, but blocks of words at a time.
The period of time during which the eye rests on one word is called affixation. You may also notice that you don't always proceed from one block of words to the next. Sometimes, you may move back to a preceding block of words if you are unsure about something or if you don’t understand what it meant. These disruptions to the forward flow of reading are called skipbacks. Only speed readers have been trained to create mini eye movements, while the rest of us readwith micro eye-movements. The former produces speed reading because they engage the peripheral visionto chunk words simultaneously, not just one-word at a time; while the latter is automatic, and keep adjusting our eyes to place the words we read on our foveal centralis, the sharpest focusing area of our retina.
Monday, 8 December 2008
How People Read
Our conscious brain takes in 16 bits of information per second, compared to our non-conscious
brain that absorbs 11 million bits per second.
Can you imagine the difference?
That is the reason why we hate to do stuffs consciously – because it does take effort and discipline. Our non-conscious brain structures process tons of information coming from our sense organs such as breathing, heartbeat, and blood circulation, not to mention instincts and emotions – all without our awareness.
The eyes, our primary tool in reading, only take in information when they are stopped. If you
want, you can verify this by holding a book up in front of people and let them read a certain part in it.
Watch their eyes as they read though don't tell them what you are observing. What feels like continuous motion is actually move à stop à read, move à stop à read, and so on. Speed readers minimize the number of stops by maximizing the number of words taken in at each stop.
Short Exercise
Here's an exercise that will help you develop effective eye movements. Try looking at the
following sentences in three ways:
First, focus your attention: look only at the first "S" in success.
Second, adjust your focus / attention: look to be able to see at the entire word, "success".
Third, adjust your focus so you are seeing three or more words at the same time.
Because you can't say three words at the same time, you can't subvocalize if you are reading
three words at a time. Thus, elimination of vocalization from thought is necessary. Although many think that verbalization is essential to linking words with concepts, common experience shows that this is not so.
For example, if someone asks a mechanic how a car works, he surely knows what to answer but will have a problem in how to respond. The subject of his thought is too complex and multidimensional to be expressed in linear forms. He may be able to visualize and manipulate concepts and find answers to mechanical problems in his mind without ever putting those thoughts into words.
brain that absorbs 11 million bits per second.
Can you imagine the difference?
That is the reason why we hate to do stuffs consciously – because it does take effort and discipline. Our non-conscious brain structures process tons of information coming from our sense organs such as breathing, heartbeat, and blood circulation, not to mention instincts and emotions – all without our awareness.
The eyes, our primary tool in reading, only take in information when they are stopped. If you
want, you can verify this by holding a book up in front of people and let them read a certain part in it.
Watch their eyes as they read though don't tell them what you are observing. What feels like continuous motion is actually move à stop à read, move à stop à read, and so on. Speed readers minimize the number of stops by maximizing the number of words taken in at each stop.
Short Exercise
Here's an exercise that will help you develop effective eye movements. Try looking at the
following sentences in three ways:
First, focus your attention: look only at the first "S" in success.
Second, adjust your focus / attention: look to be able to see at the entire word, "success".
Third, adjust your focus so you are seeing three or more words at the same time.
Because you can't say three words at the same time, you can't subvocalize if you are reading
three words at a time. Thus, elimination of vocalization from thought is necessary. Although many think that verbalization is essential to linking words with concepts, common experience shows that this is not so.
For example, if someone asks a mechanic how a car works, he surely knows what to answer but will have a problem in how to respond. The subject of his thought is too complex and multidimensional to be expressed in linear forms. He may be able to visualize and manipulate concepts and find answers to mechanical problems in his mind without ever putting those thoughts into words.
Friday, 28 November 2008
Practice Activity
In order to avoid reading every word, you must increase the rate your eyes move across the
page. As a practice activity, choose an easy material for to read. Sweep your eyes faster across the page than you’ve ever done before. Do not mouth the words; do not even mentally say them.
page. As a practice activity, choose an easy material for to read. Sweep your eyes faster across the page than you’ve ever done before. Do not mouth the words; do not even mentally say them.
Start with short practice periods, e.g. 3 minutes, record your rate (how many words have you read in 3 minutes?), and then continue with longer periods or with texts that are more complicated.
The First Steps in Speed Reading
In reading, your starting position and reading gesture is relevant: sit up straight, with the book
being held by your left hand, and with your right hand doing the pacing.
Being already a good reader is a plus factor in attempting to speed read. Otherwise, it may be
quite difficult and may take some time. Speed reading program will not work if you have problems comprehending and your vocabulary is too little. In fact, rushing through things you can't understand is actually useless. Yes, you may be able to read fast, but you just won’t understand what you will be reading.
The First Steps in Speed Reading
In reading, your starting position and reading gesture is relevant: sit up straight, with the book
being held by your left hand, and with your right hand doing the pacing.
Being already a good reader is a plus factor in attempting to speed read. Otherwise, it may be
quite difficult and may take some time. Speed reading program will not work if you have problems comprehending and your vocabulary is too little. In fact, rushing through things you can't understand is actually useless. Yes, you may be able to read fast, but you just won’t understand what you will be reading.
Speed Reading Tips
Read until the end! Do not get tired, discouraged, or bored; don’t just stop reading when you
want to. Don’t you know that ideas do become clearer the further you go with the reading materials?
After you finish reading, recall the things that you have learned, return to the ideas that seem unclear, and reread them in order to grasp their ideas. When you begin to read, you should:
· Be able to find the answers to the questions you’ve come up with
· Answer guide questions at each chapter (you may see these questions at the beginning or at the end of the chapter)
· Take note of the important words and phrases – underlined, italicized, and bold printed
· Read only one section at a time, and recite the summary of each section afterwards
· Do not ignore captions under pictures, tables, graphs, etc.
· Carefully read and absorb difficult passages. On parts which are not clear, don’t be afraid to
stop and reread
Knowing How Deeply to Study the Material
Where you only need the shallowest knowledge of the subject, you can skim the material.
This is done by reading only chapter headings, introductions and summaries.
If you need a moderate level of information on a subject, then you can scan the text. Here you
read the chapter introductions and summaries in detail, but may speed-read the contents of the chapters – picking out and understanding key words and important concepts. At this level of looking at the document, it is worth paying attention to diagrams and graphs.
Only when you need detailed knowledge of a subject is it worth studying the text. Studying is
skimming the material first to get an overview, and afterwards reading it in detail while seeing how the information presented connects to the overall structure of the subject. An effective method of getting the deepest level of understanding on a text is to use a formal method such as SQ3R (discussed in a later post).
Do you read every article of every magazine, or every chapter of every book? If so, you're
probably spending a lot of time reading stuff you don't need. Remember: You don't need to read all of what you DO read. Be choosy.
Remember - Select the chapters and articles that are important. Ignore the rest!
Sunday, 16 November 2008
Before Speed Reading
How many times have you promised yourself to read more but just never found enough time?
If only you could do it quickly and more efficiently.
Effective and efficient readers learn to use many styles of reading for different purposes, which include skimming, scanning, and critical reading. Before reading, you need to identify the purpose why you’ll be doing such activity:
Are you looking for background information on a topic you know a little bit about already?
Are you looking for specific details and facts that you can marshal in support of an argument?
Are you trying to see how an author approaches his topic rhetorically?
It is crucial to know your purpose in reading as it helps focus your attention on important aspects of the text.
Before turning reading this text, take a moment first to reflect and clarify what your goals really are.
There are many ways to familiarize your self with the background of the text, and gain a useful overview of its content and structure before actually absorbing and digesting the text. Seek information about the context of the reading, its purpose, and its general content.
Look for an abstract or an authors or editors note that may precede the article itself. Read any background information that is available to you about the author, the occasion of the writing, its intended audience, and more useful information. After viewing the title and noting general ideas that are accessible to you as a reader, you can continue to browse pages and scan paragraphs in order to get the gist of what material the text covers and how that material is arranged. As soon as you finished looking over the text as a whole, read the introductory paragraph or section, noticing that some authors will provide an overview of their message as well as an explicit statement of their thesis or main point in the opening portion of the text.
Considering the background information, the messages conveyed by the title, note or abstract and the information from the opening paragraph or section, you should be able to proceed with a good hunch of the reading material’s direction. In order to become aware of your reading situation, ask yourself questions like:
What do I want (or need) to know and learn?
In which context do I want (or need) this?
Which texts could suit these needs?
What made me choose this text?
How deeply an understanding of the text do I need?
How much time have I got?
How do I want to proceed?
Consider Your Purpose
To help you determine a purpose, consider the following ideas:
Are you looking for brief information, main ideas, complete comprehension, or detailed analysis?
How will this text help you?
Is this the best material to meet your goals?
What does background or summary information provided by the author or editor predict the text will do?
Does there seem to be a clear introduction and conclusion that can be useful?
What claims does the author make at the beginnings and endings of sections?
Are there key words that are repeated or put in bold or italics to help you skim and scan?
What kinds of development and detail do you notice?
Does the text include statistics, tables, and pictures or is it primarily prose?
Are names of authors or characters repeated frequently?
If only you could do it quickly and more efficiently.
Effective and efficient readers learn to use many styles of reading for different purposes, which include skimming, scanning, and critical reading. Before reading, you need to identify the purpose why you’ll be doing such activity:
Are you looking for background information on a topic you know a little bit about already?
Are you looking for specific details and facts that you can marshal in support of an argument?
Are you trying to see how an author approaches his topic rhetorically?
It is crucial to know your purpose in reading as it helps focus your attention on important aspects of the text.
Before turning reading this text, take a moment first to reflect and clarify what your goals really are.
There are many ways to familiarize your self with the background of the text, and gain a useful overview of its content and structure before actually absorbing and digesting the text. Seek information about the context of the reading, its purpose, and its general content.
Look for an abstract or an authors or editors note that may precede the article itself. Read any background information that is available to you about the author, the occasion of the writing, its intended audience, and more useful information. After viewing the title and noting general ideas that are accessible to you as a reader, you can continue to browse pages and scan paragraphs in order to get the gist of what material the text covers and how that material is arranged. As soon as you finished looking over the text as a whole, read the introductory paragraph or section, noticing that some authors will provide an overview of their message as well as an explicit statement of their thesis or main point in the opening portion of the text.
Considering the background information, the messages conveyed by the title, note or abstract and the information from the opening paragraph or section, you should be able to proceed with a good hunch of the reading material’s direction. In order to become aware of your reading situation, ask yourself questions like:
What do I want (or need) to know and learn?
In which context do I want (or need) this?
Which texts could suit these needs?
What made me choose this text?
How deeply an understanding of the text do I need?
How much time have I got?
How do I want to proceed?
Consider Your Purpose
To help you determine a purpose, consider the following ideas:
Are you looking for brief information, main ideas, complete comprehension, or detailed analysis?
How will this text help you?
Is this the best material to meet your goals?
What does background or summary information provided by the author or editor predict the text will do?
Does there seem to be a clear introduction and conclusion that can be useful?
What claims does the author make at the beginnings and endings of sections?
Are there key words that are repeated or put in bold or italics to help you skim and scan?
What kinds of development and detail do you notice?
Does the text include statistics, tables, and pictures or is it primarily prose?
Are names of authors or characters repeated frequently?
Look for Specific Words
Scan a section for key words
Skim to the words that provide meaning and may be useful for you and your purpose. Become an Impatient Reader Speed readers are considered impatient readers. They read with a purpose and want to find answers immediately. They can’t wait to find out what the whole text is all about that they usually make predictions and guess the answers. Some readers say, "If I think ahead while I am reading, my predictions may be wrong. "The truth is, predicting is useful because all your concentration is focused on the reading and you are actually making senses of it.
Speed readers predict what the text is likely to tell them next, but they are not upset if a prediction is wrong; they quickly adjust their expectations. Different Speeds for Different Materials You do not need to read every word to understand a text; however some texts will require careful reading, so you need to know when to adjust your reading speed.
Finally, remember, skim a text, and then decide if a slower reading approach is necessary!
Introduction - Pre-Requisites of Speed Reading
Alvin Tofler, author of Third Wave, contends that we are now in the information age. It is said that power belongs to those who have the knowledge and information.
This we would like to dispute. Being in the information age, so many data and inputs are available. Tons and tons of materials are readily available with just one click of the mouse.
Numerous data are readily available to all people. Yet, how come not all of these people who have access to mountains of materials are considered powerful? It is our contention that those who are able to wade through tons of information, comprehend, and make use of that knowledge for meaningful purposes IN A SHORTER PERIOD OF TIME are the ones who hold the key to power.
Speed is the key. This reality reinforced the need to update our skills in speed reading. The need to accelerate our reading and learning abilities to the extreme resulted to this book. This book offers techniques that you can make use to hasten the skill in reading and comprehension. It presents scientific explanation on the causes of slow reading. It explains how the practice of hearing your “inner voice” actually saying the words you are reading can drastically slow you down. Speed reading basically covers two areas: reading and comprehension. These go hand in hand.
It is useless to study speed reading if you have trouble in absorbing information. You should already be an able reader before you try to speed read. Speed reading will not help you if you have problems in understanding the meaning of the words. To be able to enjoy the full benefits of speed reading, you must have the necessary facilities in understanding college-level materials.
This we would like to dispute. Being in the information age, so many data and inputs are available. Tons and tons of materials are readily available with just one click of the mouse.
Numerous data are readily available to all people. Yet, how come not all of these people who have access to mountains of materials are considered powerful? It is our contention that those who are able to wade through tons of information, comprehend, and make use of that knowledge for meaningful purposes IN A SHORTER PERIOD OF TIME are the ones who hold the key to power.
Speed is the key. This reality reinforced the need to update our skills in speed reading. The need to accelerate our reading and learning abilities to the extreme resulted to this book. This book offers techniques that you can make use to hasten the skill in reading and comprehension. It presents scientific explanation on the causes of slow reading. It explains how the practice of hearing your “inner voice” actually saying the words you are reading can drastically slow you down. Speed reading basically covers two areas: reading and comprehension. These go hand in hand.
It is useless to study speed reading if you have trouble in absorbing information. You should already be an able reader before you try to speed read. Speed reading will not help you if you have problems in understanding the meaning of the words. To be able to enjoy the full benefits of speed reading, you must have the necessary facilities in understanding college-level materials.
Before starting on speed reading exercises, you must have the condition of your eyes checked.
You might want to adjust your reading glasses. Speed reading will “exercise” your eyes, and would not unduly strain them and hamper your improvement. Consult the eye doctor for possible advice on how to take care of your eyes. They will provide advice on the best position while reading, proper position of the lamp or light source, what to do when you experience eye strain, etc. Apart from these, the speed of learning speed reading (excuse the pun!) is heavily dependent on four other factors.
Ask yourself these important questions:
· Why do you want to improve your reading?
The purpose determines the motivating factors that will inspire you to go through and complete the whole program.
· How much do you want to improve?
Do you want to increase it from 300 words per minute to 800 wpm then to 1,000 wpm?
You have to set a target to be able to determine the extent of your growth.
· How much time do you have for the exercises?
Practice make perfect.
It is not enough for you to know the skills, but you should devote time to practice and upgrade your skills faster.
· How open are you to new techniques?
This report requires you to have an open mind to be able to see and recognize the usefulness of new and scientific techniques in speed reading.
This report incorporates new practices such as reading a report from the computer. It is said that speed readers are considered impatient readers.
So, what are you waiting for? Let the lessons begin …
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