How to Speed Read without Attending a Seminar
How to Speed Read without Attending a Seminar
There are so many courses out there claiming to teach you how to speed read. However, it is possible to get a few pointers and practice on your own without spending a penny.
Erase Old Schools of Thought
If your grade school teacher or your parents told you to read every word in a book or newspaper, then it will be hard for you to learn how to speed read. If anyone reads each and every syllable or letter of each and every word, he is bound to be a slow reader.
Similarly, don't feel you are obliged to read every paragraph if you are getting the gist of what you are reading. Comprehension is the key; not the number of words you have logged.
Get the Theme
Familiarize yourself with the theme of the book. One of the best ways to do this is to read the jacket and the table of contents. This way you know what to expect. If you know a particular concept will be dealt with in more detail in a subsequent chapter, you need not read too much into it from the very beginning. Similarly if you feel a topic has only been mentioned once in the book, you'll want to make sure you absorb it the first time around.
This is cause, an important factor in learning how to speed read is never to have to re-read anything. That is a waste of time and goes against the basics of speed reading. Compare this with going school shopping for your child. You will visit a few schools you like, but you will not sign up everywhere. Therefore, while it is essential that you learn about the basics of each chapter or concept, you need not go in to deep details until you come to the sub-section of your choice.
For instance, if you are a sleep-deprived mother of infant twins and you are reading a voluminous book about getting your babies to sleep, you need not read word for word about the theories behind various methods an the scientific research findings. Browse through the options and then read in detail the one you seem to fit your needs the most
When learning how to speed read aim for around 600 words a minute; that is around 10 words a second. It may sound impossible, because average people read around 250 words a minute. However with practice and determination it is doable; after all President Kennedy is said to have read at 1200 words a minute. By learning how to speed read, you can too!