Speed Reading Articles
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Course
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Various Speed Reading
Techniques
~ by
Melvin Ng
The ability to speed read is an
important skill in todays world, where whether we are
students or at work - we are often expected to read hefty
amounts of materials on a daily basis. As a result, improving
your speed reading technique is something each and
every one of us should not only do, but maintain. What, then,
are speed reading techniques?
Speed reading the essential elements
Before you start to learn any particular
speed reading technique, you need to consider that all
speed reading techniques rely on three essential elements:
1. A desire to improve you reading
speed;
2. A willingness to give new ideas a
chance; and
3. Motivation, discipline and continued
practice.
Without these three key elements, no
speed reading technique is going to succeed.
Speeding reading technique (1)
Skimming
Almost all successful speed readers will
attest to the fact that they are a successful speed reader
because they have a form of peripheral vision that allows them
to see large amount of data on a page and to skim
what they are reading. In short, speed reading like
this means that one is not reading each and every word on the
page, but merely scanning through the material. Using this
speed reading technique, every now and then you will come
across a keyword or phrase and it is this that will provide
you with the essence of what is being written. The rest of
the information on the page is discarded.
Although this speed reading technique
would seem to indicate that the reader does not fully
comprehend what has been written, in fact studies have shown
this is not the case majority of speed readers using
this technique actually increased their
comprehension of the reading materials!
Speed reading technique (2) first
sentence reading
Unlike speed reading technique
(1), in speed reading technique (2), the reader will
read the first sentence of each paragraph, in order to get the
crux (main idea) of the idea behind the paragraph and will
then skim read the remainder of the paragraph. This process
is then repeated on down the page until such time as all the
reading material has been exhausted.
Using speed reading technique (2),
it is generally understood that the reader will glean enough
information from the first sentence not to be overly concerned
about the information contained in the remainder of the
paragraph, where the writer will merely be reinforcing the
notion set out in sentence one. However, this technique does
fall-down on one major point it pre-supposes that a
paragraph only has one idea, which is clearly not always the
case! If you find that you are reading material where the
writer has used multiple ideas in the same paragraph, you may
need to adapt your speed reading technique to one of
the other speed reading techniques.
Speed reading technique (3) Group
wording
There is a term in speed reading circles
that is seen as being one of the major demons of reading: subvocalization.
Subvocalization is a clinical term for word-for-word
reading and its a huge no-no in speed reading techniques.
Subvocalization slows reading down, without providing
any upswing in reading comprehension to counter the lost
reading time.
Group wording, as the name suggests, is
where the reader looks at a group of words and phrases at the
same time. Using the group wording technique, speed
readers are able to read large chunks of information at
the same time thus, saving time.
Additional speed reading techniques
Aside from the specific speed reading
techniques in 1 to 3 above, there are a number of
habits/practices that are generally considered
counter-productive to speed reading thus will have an
affect on your speed reading abilities. In no
particular order, these include:
* subvocalization as already
stated, this is where you speak out the words you read. Its
a major cause of slow reading. Unfortunately, as most
of us are taught to speak out the words we read when we learn
to read as children, it is also one of the hardest habits to
break. All that can be said is that you keep plugging away at
trying to eradicate this habit.
* digressing digressing is where the
reader will read a passage, then return to re-read it, usually
in the mistaken belief that they will be able to comprehend
better what has been written on a second read. Again, in
speed reading circles this is seen as a major no-no, bad
habit, which needs to be broken!
Conclusion
So, if you want to improve your speed
reading skills, you need to remember not to subvocalize
or re-read passages, and to read great chunks at one time by
broadening your eye-span. Simple really! Actually, in
fairness, it will take time to learn, and dont expect to get
it right the first time. Dont push this issue too much, as
pushing it may prove to be counter-productive.
About the author:
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Melvin Ng teaches speed reading
through his
16-Minute Speed Reading Audio Program.
This breakthrough technique
Guarantees to
Double your reading speed in just
16 minutes!
http://www.bestspeedreadingcourse.com
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