Last week’s blog taught you how to recognise and break bad reading habits, it also introduced you to the basics of speed reading. This week we give you eight tips to help you master your speed reading skills.
Tip One – Before starting your speed reading in earnest you should check where you are now. Doing this will allow you to see how well you are doing. You can find lots of reading assessments online, such as www.speedreadingtactics.com/DemoReading.asp or you can simply test yourself – either make a note of how many words you can read in one minute or select a passage of writing and time how long it takes you to read it. Then, after practising your speed reading for a few weeks, check again to see if you have improved.
Tip Two – Don’t make it too difficult for yourself to begin with. Choose easy texts to read, such as magazine articles or novels. If you choose something difficult, such as a challenging engineering reference book, the difficult technical terms are likely to trip you up, slow down your speed and dent your confidence.
Tip Three – As we mentioned last week, using a pointer is a great way to help your eyes keep up and prevent regression. As you progress and become better at speed reading you can start to move the pointer more quickly – your eyes and brain will follow automatically.
Tip Four – Learn to speed read appropriately. Some texts deserve or need to be read slowly, carefully and in their entirety, for example, sentimental letters from loved ones, legal documents, business reports and so on. Likewise, speed reading will not be appropriate if you need to read the information thoroughly for tasks such as memorizing, analysing or presenting the information to others.
Tip Five – Get a feel for the text. Do this by standing back to give yourself an overview of the text. Skim the information and look for titles, bolded words, bullet points or summaries to get a feel for the organisation of the text.
Tip Six – Make your environment comfortable when you practise speed reading. Get a comfortable chair and sit at a table that allows you to rest your arms and relax your shoulders. Sit upright with your back against the chair and your feet comfortably on the floor. If possible work in bright, natural light. If it’s not possible, try using a bright, but not glaring, light and take care not to strain your eyes.
Tip Seven – Prepare your text. If you have a book, make sure you leaf through the pages first so that they can be easily turned, relax the spine so that the pages stay flat and keep the flow of your reading smooth by pre-empting when you’ll need to turn.
Tip Eight – The most important tip we can give you is to practise, practise, practise! Using your skills on a regular basis is the best way to keep them sharp. Always keep in mind the old saying ‘Use it or lose it.’
Improving your speed reading skills will help with your study, work and everyday life by allowing you to get more done in the time you have.
