Speed Reading

[Esprit]

Has anybody come to some conclusion about fast reading programs/techniques ? I was looking for some input on the subject from experienced users. I'm sure some of these techniques enumerated here have a positive impact but an input from users overtime would be nice. I was expecting Laura to chime in on the subject in this thread but no...not yet...

 

[A Jay]

I've been using 7 Speed Reading EX off and on for a few months. Thus far my reading speed has doubled and my reading comprehension has slightly improved. So I think finding a good speed reading course, such and 7 speed reading, is worth the time and monetary investment. It does take time to relearn how to read without subvocalizing the words, and you will likely get frustrated along the way. However, being able to read 50-60 pages an hour as opposed to 25-30 pages (as was the case for me) makes finding the time to read more books a lot easier, and makes reading more enjoyable.

 

[Laura]

I learned the technique in 7th grade many years ago. Our teacher had a machine that would flash the text on a movie screen and we had to read and comprehend it. He kept making it faster and faster. He started out with sentences, and then moved to paragraphs and then to whole pages.

 

[Esprit]

Thanks a lot for your inputs. 7 Speed Reading EX looks like a good option I will try that. Looks like the training you had Laura was all about the habit of training your brain of doing the same thing you usually do when reading but faster. Was there any other tips coming with the technique or it was plain simple regular reading ?

 

[Persej]

It seems that neurofeedback can help with reading speed.

I have had 16 NO sessions. Early on I experienced small glitches, as in a couple seconds of pause to reconnect with how to do something basic, such as an automatic computer action. Maybe the NO sessions had created different pathways or connections or patterning? They have since subsided. This past week I am suddenly reading much faster. This is really interesting to observe from a self-monitoring aspect as I am not driving this new tendency. I have had much better overall sleep and deeper sleep, but also a few nights with almost no kick-over. Long-term memory has also been more accessible and overall I feel more internally content and look forward to each session.

 

[Laura]

Thanks a lot for your inputs. 7 Speed Reading EX looks like a good option I will try that. Looks like the training you had Laura was all about the habit of training your brain of doing the same thing you usually do when reading but faster. Was there any other tips coming with the technique or it was plain simple regular reading ?

The main thing the teacher wanted to impress on us was to grasp a whole text at once rather than reading one word at a time. It was to grasp ideas. First phrases, then whole sentences, then paragraphs, then pages.

 

[Galaxia2002]

I started years ago a fast speed reading course but I couldn't finish it. To eliminate the inner vocalization they explained us a simple technique: while you are reading you hum a song continuosly, it can be repetitive children's song that is suitable for that. Next you hum innerly while reading and finally you don't need do that.

 

[Zar]

I've also got 7 Speed reading EX, and I've doubled my speed and slightly improved my comprehension. What Laura is referring to is the crux of what reading faster is about OSIT. Instead of reading 1 word at a time, push for 2, then 3, up to whole paragraphs.

Some things that are mentioned in the program are to learn to suppress the voice in your head, ignore simple words like 'the' 'is' and such, and practice! I think for those who struggle with remembering what they've read, taking notes should make quite a difference. Speed reading becomes easier the more you comprehend the ideas and understand the language. So it's best to slow down when necessary, take notes, and speed up when you're reading familiar ideas while maintaining a vigilant eye for any new information.

 

[3DStudent]

I came across this video, and there's nothing really new. But I might revisit and try the technique. I think speed reading never took on for me because I didn't practice it enough to make it a habit. If I could read 2 or 3 times as many books in a year, that would be good. And I'm starting from bottom level reading speed, due to the limits of subvocalization.

The main thing seems to be to only look at a line with two glances. So you have to group the words on the left and the ones on the right "column" as you read. I guess you could make three columns if it's a wide textbook. And the second thing is to use your finger to trace and set the speed.

You cannot do that when reading on the computer. But I think it helps to make your window a size that is centered in your field of vision, and similar to the size of a book. So something like 10-12 words per line. If I want to read the forum faster, I make the window around that size. Full screen helps to make a single post more viewable, but that doesn't help with reading speed. Any thoughts?

 

[beetlemaniac]

I came across this video, and there's nothing really new. But I might revisit and try the technique. I think speed reading never took on for me because I didn't practice it enough to make it a habit. If I could read 2 or 3 times as many books in a year, that would be good. And I'm starting from bottom level reading speed, due to the limits of subvocalization.

I was also into the speed reading techniques of eliminating subvocalization, reading by glancing at sections of a sentence at once, and not reading directly from the edge of the page but somewhere closer to the middle. Unfortunately (or not) I got tired of reading this way and the main issue I faced really was a lack of comprehension and recall of the material. This really bugged me that I started just reading very slowly, keeping Laura's advice in mind to read for understanding, even if it means having to re-read. Now I have a bit of a better sense of whether I'm actually grasping the material that I'm reading. With that as a base, maybe it would be a good idea to start working on increasing my reading speed using the suggestions in that video

You cannot do that when reading on the computer. But I think it helps to make your window a size that is centered in your field of vision, and similar to the size of a book. So something like 10-12 words per line. If I want to read the forum faster, I make the window around that size. Full screen helps to make a single post more viewable, but that doesn't help with reading speed. Any thoughts?

I think that might help. I tend to get off-track and distracted when the page width is wide and lines are long, thanks to our newfangled wide screens the default window sizes always mean that this is the case.

Thank you for the video 3DStudent!

 

[Harmony99]

Francis Bacon once remarked that " some books are to be tasted,others to be swallowed,and some few to be chewed and digested."
I have done my fair share of research on how to read faster. I have arrived at the conclusion that not all books and materials should be read at the same speed. I found a book earlier this year that have been very helpful on my journey in reducing the pile which keep climbing every month.IMO i think it can be a very useful tool to increase our reading skills. It was written in 1940,one of the author,Mortimer J. Adler was a chairman of the board of the Encyclopaedia Britannica and director of the Institute for Philosophical Research.

With regard to reading speed they had this to say;
Many books are hardly worth even skimming;some should be read quickly;and a few should be read at a rate,usually quite slow,that allows for complete comprehension.It is wasteful to read a book slowly that deserves only a fast reading;speed reading skills can help you solve that problem. But this is only one reading problem.The obstacles that stand in the way of comprehension of a difficult book are not ordinarily,and perhaps never primarily,physiological or psychological. They arise because the reader simply does not know what to do when approaching a difficult-and rewarding-book.He does not know the rules of reading;he does not know how to marshal his intellectual resources for as is too often true,he/she does not know what he/she is looking for and does not know when he/she has found it.
The ideal is not merely to be able to read faster,but to be able to read at different speeds- and to know when the different speeds are appropriate.
Insert from the first chapter and other information can be read on Amazon

Amazon.com

 

[Pecha]

Reading fast is very difficult for me, but with constant training, I'm slowly rewiring the neurons in my brain to improve fast-reading focus. I was looking through videos on this subject online and came across this interview by a world champion speed reader. He goes a little bit into NLP and some practical techniques:

After looking at the video, I'm experimenting with training my eye to smoothly scan a page instead of jumping from word to word, which feels quite natural. From the get-go, it feels a bit more calming to do it that way, which seems to help produce a better productive mind state.

 

[meadow_wind]

I would like to revive this post by asking forum members how they are doing regarding their reading skills since they first posted all those years/months ago. Or simply chime in if this subject interests you!

What techniques/apps have you tried or want to try?
Are you satisfied? Have you improved?
Have you been training for speed reading English as a second language or is it your native language?

I did one test I found with Google, and it measured I was reading English at an average of 450-470 wpm. It's not bad. But Laura's material is much more complex than the little test I did, so I know I'm reading much slower than 450 wpm. And English is my 2nd language. There is so much material to read that I need to speed up otherwise, I'll be on my deathbed without having read half of what's stored on this website!