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Speed Reading

This document provides a tutorial on speed reading, outlining techniques to increase reading speed from 200 to 650 words per minute while maintaining comprehension. It includes three main parts: basic, intermediate, and advanced techniques, along with practical steps to measure current reading speed and improve reading efficiency. Key strategies include selective reading, optimizing reading distance, and energizing the eyes to enhance reading performance.

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Anil Hundewar
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10 views5 pages

Speed Reading

This document provides a tutorial on speed reading, outlining techniques to increase reading speed from 200 to 650 words per minute while maintaining comprehension. It includes three main parts: basic, intermediate, and advanced techniques, along with practical steps to measure current reading speed and improve reading efficiency. Key strategies include selective reading, optimizing reading distance, and energizing the eyes to enhance reading performance.

Uploaded by

Anil Hundewar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How To Speed Read And Comprehend

Basic Techniques

What if I told you that the way you have been reading your whole life is wrong. That you
have learned to read in a way that prevents you from reading no more than 350 words
per minute (wpm) and prevent you from achieving no more than 80% comprehension.

The average person can read about 200 wpm. In this tutorial I'm going to show you how
you can read at least two or three times your current reading speed and maintain or
increase your comprehension level.

This tutorial is divided into three parts:

1. Basic (200 -> 350wpm) Fix how you read


2. Intermediate (350 -> 500 wpm) Read more efficiently
3. Advanced (500 -> 650 wpm) Transform how you read

Note: You can go ahead and read them all at once, but you should try to practice the
techniques in the order that they're presented in the tutorial.

First Things First: Measure Your Current Reading Speed


In order to track your progress, you should find out what your current reading speed is.

Step 1 Choose a book that does not have a lot of


Find A Book pictures. A novel is preferable, because it usually Harry Potter
has the same number of words on each page.
Step 2 Count the number of words in the first three lines, 39 words / 3
Count The then divide the total by three. This number is the lines =
Words words per line. 13 words/line
52 lines x 13
Count the number of lines in the page, then words =
multiply by the words per line. This number is the 676
words per page. words/page
Step 3 Use a timer and read for three minutes at your 1 page
Read For 3 regular speed. Mark where you stopped. 12 lines
Mins 3 words
Step 4 Number of pages read * words per page 1 page x 676 =
Calculate + 676
Your Speed Number of lines read * words per line +
Divided by 3 12 lines x 13=
= average reading speed 156
+
3 words
= 1,199
/3
= 278 wpm

How It's Done


The three Basic Techniques to achieving 350 wpm are:

1. Read Selectively
2. Optimize Your Reading Distance
3. Energize Your Eyes

Read Selectively
Slow readers read word-for-word. Fast readers do not.

To understand how this works, read the following paragraph, but focus only on the
bolded words. Skip over the non-bolded words entirely.

I have a house cat. Her name is Ginger. She isn’t the smartest cat in the world. I can
tell by the way she looks at me. She looks at me and she meows sometimes; even
when she’s not hungry. I’ve concluded that she isn’t actually thinking about anything.
She just looks, and meows. Just because. If she could speak in English, I’m fairly
confident her vocabulary would be limited to, “hi,” “yummy,” “sleepy,” and “feed me.”
But I still love her. She’s my best friend.
Notice how you still read the unimportant words without looking directly at them? That's
because the unbolded words require so little processing power to comprehend that you
can pick up their meaning by simply passing over them.

Selective reading will not only increase your reading speed, but it'll increase your
comprehension as well.

Now, it might seem counter-intuitive that skipping words will increase comprehension, so
let me explain.

Your brain can only hold so much information at any given time. So spending time trying
to remember the words likethe at in a I but and me could instead have been spent on
more important, relevant key word. If you ask anyone in journalism, psychology or
advertising, they'll confirm this for you. Simplicity actually leads to greater
comprehension.

The challenge is to do this without the assistance of the bolded words. Here's a general
rule of thumb: If it's three letters or less, skip it.

Optimize Your Reading Distance


Faster readers read from farther
away than slower readers.

There are three reasons why this


is:
1. Your Field Of Vision
Expands With Distance
Your field of vision expands with distance.
The farther away you are from
the text, the more words can fit in your effective field of vision. Check out the illustration
to the right.

2. Your Eyes Travel Less With Distance


If you are read from twice as far away, your eyes
have to travel half as much to finish the line.

The fastest readers typically have a much better idea


of what the optimal reading distance is. You should
too. Most likely, you read with your eyes too close to
the text, so you'll benefit from reading a few inches
farther away.

The reading "sweet spot" is different for every


situation. You must compensate for text size, font and
lighting. But, with enough practice, you'll adjust
naturally to each situation.

A good starting point is to place your book on the table and read from a seated upright
position.

Energize Your Eyes

Oftentimes, your eyes are just lazy. They can read faster, but they don't want to. (You
know exactly what I'm talking about =P )

To overcome this laziness, you have to energize your eyes, then force them to maintain
an energized state.

1. Shock Your Eyes Into An Energized State

Click the diagram to the right and press F11 to expand to full screen. Follow the outline
of the shape for 15 seconds as quickly as you can.

Note: You should not be bobbing your head in this exercise. Only your eyes should be
moving.

2. Maintain The Energize State

The pointer method is the most commonly used technique to maintain a consistent, fast
speed when reading.
1. Grab a pen (your finger works too, but I find a pen works better because of its
sharper tip).
2. Trace under the words and let the tip guide your eyes.
3. Keep speeding up until you feel you've reaching your limit.
4. Slow down by about 10%.
5. That is your new reading speed.

The pointer method has three distinct advantages:

1. It ensures that you read at or near your top speed


2. It helps you maintain a consistent speed (your hand > your eyes at
maintaining a consistent pace)
3. It reduces distractions

If you often get lost when you read, you'll notice that this method will reduce or eliminate
that problem. This is explained by the fact that your eyes are actually distracted by the
lines directly above and below the line you are reading. You probably don't notice it, but
your eyes are not actually moving an a straight line, they move in a wavy, up and down
motion. By using a pointer to guide your eyes in a straight line, you are eliminating that
problem.

The Pros & Cons Of Speed Reading


At this point, you're probably feeling two things:

1) Anxious anticipation for the possibility of reading two or three times as fast.
2) Scepticism for the supposed results.

Right now you might find it hard to believe, but by the end of the Advanced Techniques
tutorial, I will explain how you can read three times as fast and increase comprehension.

However, in my experience, above 650 wpm, you will start to see a significant decline in
comprehension.

What's Next
By implementing these three techniques right now, you should notice an instant speed
gain of 30% or more.

Don't believe me? Test yourself again and see what your new reading speed is!

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