Read Faster and Read Better by KEN ASSELIN
Let’s face it, the ability to read faster, and still comprehend what you’re reading, is an essential skill in today’s fast moving environment. We must read extensively if we want to be successful in our studies, or careers. There’s no doubt, learning to speed read is probably the most valuable and time saving skill you can acquire. Frankly, under today's information pressures you must read faster and read better if you are to get ahead at all. Of course, some people will say you can do fine without knowing how to speed read. WRONG! Young men and women trained in Modern Speed Reading show distinct advantages over those who lack this kind of preparation. Schools and colleges have discovered that courses in reading skills give enormous aid to students struggling under the heavier loads of today's scholastic programs. Their higher grade point averages speak for themselves. Just imagine being able to read a novel in less than half the time it takes you now, and knowing how to skim an article effectively so the information you’re seeking seems to pop out of the page for you to find. Once you can speed read, your whole attitude toward reading changes. You will enjoy reading a great deal more and will read with greater intelligence.
Once you have become proficient at speed reading, you’ve prepared yourself to move with confidence into the wonderful world of books. It will be a rich experience with your newly developed skills, for books are an opening of new horizons, a road to new adventures, and a source of unending pleasure and delight. People who have really learned to read are never at a loss and are never lonely. A good book is the best of friends, the same today and forever.
Learning to speed read is not a difficult or painfully long process. In fact, a recently released Learn To Speed Read book that I have just finished had me reading faster by the fourth chapter. Truly fast reading skills come with time and practice of course, but this book can teach you to read faster and read better right from the beginning.
If you are a High School or College Student, read extensively for your work, like reading the morning newspaper each day, or just enjoy reading a good novel occasionally, you really should consider learning to speed read. Once learned, it is a skill that will benefit you throughout your life.
Ken Asselin
Learn To Speed Read Ken Asselin is webmaster for the "Buds Best" series of websites. His 40 plus years experience in retail marketing bring a fresh outlook to website development and promotion. You can visit his “Buds Business Guide” at: http://www.budsbusinessguide.com
Tuesday 27 March 2007
Thursday 1 March 2007
Tricks of the Trade: Speed Reading
In the third instalment of our Tricks of the Trade series Clive Lewis, MD of Illumine, highlights why speed reading is so valuable in business.
Why do we need to speed read? Aren’t we under enough pressure at work already?
If this is your premise, then think again. Speed reading is not about forcing you to work harder. On the contrary, by enabling you to triple your reading speed, it is much more about helping you to handle your time and your workload efficiently. In this article I’m going to address some of the key questions that surround this approach.
Information Overload
The most common reason that people want to learn how to speed read is because of information overload. Today’s corporate executives have to take in, absorb and recall more information than ever. Most of this data arrives in written form – through minutes, reports, proposals, brochures texts and emails.
However, speed reading should not be seen as a reactive technology. Many participants on our courses report that one of the main drivers for them is to be able to find a way to read those books that have been sitting on their shelf for too long or those magazines that come every week that they never seem to have time to open. These managers and executives recognise that knowledge is the fuel of career success and, in this respect, speed-reading is a step forward in efficiency - providing people with a real edge in a competitive world.
The Mechanics
When asked, most people assume that they read in a smooth left to right motion across the page. However, when we read our eye movement is not smooth at all. Our eyes have to stop at regular intervals in order for us to take in new data and this means that we actually take a series of small jumps as we read across the page. These jumps are known as fixations.
Fixations are the key determinant of our reading speed. If you take a long fixation, reading each line word by word, you will be a slow reader. If you skip back over words or re-read whole paragraphs, as most people do, this will handicap you further. The skills therefore are these: to spend less time on each fixation and to learn to take in more words with each fixation.
Distinctions
There are two quite separate aspects of speed reading that are helpful to distinguish:
Reading better: Speed reading is not only about improving reading speed. It also includes a number of techniques which help you to read more efficiently and adapt your approach to what you are reading. For example, if you have a large report to read then to start with you will probably need an overview. In this case one good technique is to power browse:
Look briefly at the cover of your document and see what it tells you about the subject.
Look at the table of contents to understand the flow of the document.
Run through the document briefly – one or two seconds per page should do. Make a note of how it is put together and what parts interest you.
Highlight those parts that you want to explore in more detail.
Finally do a quick review and Mind Map (www.mind-mapping.co.uk) what you have just browsed.
Reading faster: The second aspect of this approach is improving your reading speed and here again there are a number of techniques to learn. However, one extremely useful example is to use a guide such as a pencil, a cursor or even your finger to underline the words as you read. Your guide is your pacesetter and keeps your eyes moving along the line smoothly. On its own people find that this one technique can sometimes double their reading speed because it simply helps them to improve their focus.
Beliefs and Attitudes
So reading speed is all to do with the way our eyes take in information - is that right? Not wholly. When it comes to speed reading, our challenges stem as much from our beliefs as from our physiology. For example, do you believe that you can read more than one word at a time, maintain comprehension when you are reading faster and recall more of what you have read when you are reading faster?
These benefits are all within reach, if you practise. And this is the real issue. We all have bad habits. For example, most people back-track every now and again to make sure they have understood what they have just read, even though research shows that it makes little or no difference to comprehension. We need to challenge such long established patterns, be willing to try out new techniques and be motivated to practice. However, changing our behaviour is not just a question of willpower. We need to create a positive attitude towards our subject. If we are in a negative frame of mind we will find that we absorb very little of what is in front of us. But if we can engage with interest, enthusiasm and creativity then we can, quite literally, transform our effectiveness as readers.
So, should you be learning how to speed read? Is it worth your time? If you are among the 90% of people who feel that they are suffering from information overload the real question to ask is can you afford not to?
Clive Lewis is the Managing Director of Illumine Training, who specialise in providing personal and management development training to individuals and organisations worldwide. Illumine is Tony Buzan's preferred partner in corporate and public sector training. For more details go to www.illumine.co.uk or call 01753 866633.
Why do we need to speed read? Aren’t we under enough pressure at work already?
If this is your premise, then think again. Speed reading is not about forcing you to work harder. On the contrary, by enabling you to triple your reading speed, it is much more about helping you to handle your time and your workload efficiently. In this article I’m going to address some of the key questions that surround this approach.
Information Overload
The most common reason that people want to learn how to speed read is because of information overload. Today’s corporate executives have to take in, absorb and recall more information than ever. Most of this data arrives in written form – through minutes, reports, proposals, brochures texts and emails.
However, speed reading should not be seen as a reactive technology. Many participants on our courses report that one of the main drivers for them is to be able to find a way to read those books that have been sitting on their shelf for too long or those magazines that come every week that they never seem to have time to open. These managers and executives recognise that knowledge is the fuel of career success and, in this respect, speed-reading is a step forward in efficiency - providing people with a real edge in a competitive world.
The Mechanics
When asked, most people assume that they read in a smooth left to right motion across the page. However, when we read our eye movement is not smooth at all. Our eyes have to stop at regular intervals in order for us to take in new data and this means that we actually take a series of small jumps as we read across the page. These jumps are known as fixations.
Fixations are the key determinant of our reading speed. If you take a long fixation, reading each line word by word, you will be a slow reader. If you skip back over words or re-read whole paragraphs, as most people do, this will handicap you further. The skills therefore are these: to spend less time on each fixation and to learn to take in more words with each fixation.
Distinctions
There are two quite separate aspects of speed reading that are helpful to distinguish:
Reading better: Speed reading is not only about improving reading speed. It also includes a number of techniques which help you to read more efficiently and adapt your approach to what you are reading. For example, if you have a large report to read then to start with you will probably need an overview. In this case one good technique is to power browse:
Look briefly at the cover of your document and see what it tells you about the subject.
Look at the table of contents to understand the flow of the document.
Run through the document briefly – one or two seconds per page should do. Make a note of how it is put together and what parts interest you.
Highlight those parts that you want to explore in more detail.
Finally do a quick review and Mind Map (www.mind-mapping.co.uk) what you have just browsed.
Reading faster: The second aspect of this approach is improving your reading speed and here again there are a number of techniques to learn. However, one extremely useful example is to use a guide such as a pencil, a cursor or even your finger to underline the words as you read. Your guide is your pacesetter and keeps your eyes moving along the line smoothly. On its own people find that this one technique can sometimes double their reading speed because it simply helps them to improve their focus.
Beliefs and Attitudes
So reading speed is all to do with the way our eyes take in information - is that right? Not wholly. When it comes to speed reading, our challenges stem as much from our beliefs as from our physiology. For example, do you believe that you can read more than one word at a time, maintain comprehension when you are reading faster and recall more of what you have read when you are reading faster?
These benefits are all within reach, if you practise. And this is the real issue. We all have bad habits. For example, most people back-track every now and again to make sure they have understood what they have just read, even though research shows that it makes little or no difference to comprehension. We need to challenge such long established patterns, be willing to try out new techniques and be motivated to practice. However, changing our behaviour is not just a question of willpower. We need to create a positive attitude towards our subject. If we are in a negative frame of mind we will find that we absorb very little of what is in front of us. But if we can engage with interest, enthusiasm and creativity then we can, quite literally, transform our effectiveness as readers.
So, should you be learning how to speed read? Is it worth your time? If you are among the 90% of people who feel that they are suffering from information overload the real question to ask is can you afford not to?
Clive Lewis is the Managing Director of Illumine Training, who specialise in providing personal and management development training to individuals and organisations worldwide. Illumine is Tony Buzan's preferred partner in corporate and public sector training. For more details go to www.illumine.co.uk or call 01753 866633.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
