Speed Reading
Speed Reading helps you to read and understand text more quickly. It is an essential skill in
situations where large amounts of information need to be understood quickly. The main objective of
speed reading is to escalate reading speeds while retaining a good amount of comprehension by
eliminating bad reading practices such as vocalising words, re-scanning passages already read, and
other habits which slow down the process of reading. The eye is capable of scanning lines of text
rapidly and speed reading depends on taking in chunks of information, picking out key words or
phrases.
To improve reading speeds be aware of these few basic concepts:
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Don’t pronounce the words. Keep you mouth absolutely still. Vocalising words as you read
limits reading speeds to the speed you can read aloud.
Try not to read back. Avoid re-reading words and phrases as this will slow you down, and it's
unnecessary.
Try to read words in groups, Groups of words are more meaningful and improve
comprehension.
Work on eliminating these factors:
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vocalising whist reading
reading one word at a time
lack of concentration
losing your place
lack of reading practice
fear of not being able to understand what you're reading
a habit of reading slowly
trying to remember everything.
Techniques to improve the speed of your reading:
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Before reading anything, think about what you want to know from what you are about to read.
A fundamental part of speed reading is the notion of prioritising content. In order to find
unnecessary content, identify the most important parts of the book through skimming before
you start the process of reading.
Don’t read word by word. Instead, look at two to three words at a time without moving your
lips.
Reading aloud, vocalising words, or making any visible mouth or throat movement is not
efficient reading. Try putting a finger over your lips or keeping a hand over the part of the
face that is moving. this will make you aware of the moving part allowing you to make efforts
to eliminate the visible movement.
An ideal reading surface is a sloped table or desk which aims the book at the reader's face,
with the text between 15 and 18 inches in front of the eyes. Other postures can make it
awkward or difficult to use the fingers to pace with. Any kind of physical discomfort provides
distraction as the reader tries to maintain position. A moving book makes it very difficult for
the eyes to rapidly focus
Place a fingertip underneath the printed text lines starting at 3/4 of an inch from the left hand
margin to 3/4 of an inch from the right hand margin at a speed of approximately two-thirds of
a second to a second and a half per line. The finger acts as a pacer which the eyes will
naturally follow. Don’t trace the finger to the margins as this prevents the eyes from spending
time fixating on areas where half the vision span covers no text which wastes time.
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Try not to read back. Read some text and note how your eyes tend to look back and read the
same words repeatedly. At first it will take concentration to read with a steady flow as the
eyes will read a chunk of words, then another, and so on. However, don't let this distract you:
recognise that some texts simply require reading and rereading again before comprehension
begins to settle in. If you didn't understand something that you have just read, read it again
and as many times as necessary.
Try to keep your eyes still whilst reading. As you read your eyes should grasp a couple of
words, then your gaze should move forward in order to read the next couple of words. When
you actually read, your eyes are not moving. In order to read as quickly as possible, read as
many words as possible in each glance.
Vary your reading speed to fit the material. Some material requires more comprehension and
thought.
To develop reading speed attempt to read twice as fast as you can make sense out of the
text for a minute or so, then slow down to the speed at which you can make sense out of the
text. Do this by moving a finger twice as fast under the text. The brain will be forced to make
as many adjustments as it can to the higher rate of speed. Repeating this exercise often
allows you to develop incrementally greater speeds every day
The main stages in the way we read occur in the following order:
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assimilation of visual data by the eye
recognition of letters and words
understanding words in context
comprehension – relating material to one’s own knowledge
storing the information in the memory
recalling the information when it is required
using the information, communicating it to ourselves and others.
Conclusion
Reading at speed is pointless unless you have understood what you have read as reading is not
merely a matter of recognising words, but a process enabling readers to identify, assimilate, integrate
and absorb the material that is being read. With this in mind you should select the appropriate
reading speed for the material being read.
The many speed reading methods all adopt the same principle, namely, that the fewer times your eye
stops in a sentence, the faster you will read (the fewer fixations made, the faster one will read).
Speed reading is in essence the notion of reducing the number of times the eye needs to halt in order
to comprehend the text being read.
Read frequently and practice. The general rule is that the more you read, the faster you will read.
For more information on any aspect of study skills
contact CMI’s Information Services on 01536 207400
or email mic.enquiries@managers.org.uk