The 3 Things You Can Do Now To Instantly Increase Your Reading Speed By 50%

By Robert Watson

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Have you ever wished that you had more time in the day? I know I have.

Time is something we can never have enough of. There’s simply too much to do, and too little time to do it! Having said that, take a simple task like reading. We take it for granted that the speed at which we read is going to remain the same. In fact most of us don’t even think about whether our reading speed is ever likely to change! Well, with new techniques and tactics, one can double their reading speed and slash their reading time, in virtually no time!

Speed reading is essentially a collection of techniques developed to make the process of seeing words and understanding them, quicker. There are various ways to achieve this and many resources such as speed reading books are available.

Here are some quick tips developed by experts in the field.

1. Don’t backtrack. A substantial amount of our reading time is used up in re-reading lines that we’ve already read. To prevent this, try reading while placing a bookmark on the lines above the one you’re currently reading. Try it with any book or magazine you happen to be reading. This prevents backtracking or re-reading and increases the focus on the words being read.

2. Don’t sub -vocalize. While reading, most of us are ‘saying’ the words silently, in our minds. When we’re young we read aloud, then we’re taught to read silently. What most of us don’t realise is that hearing the words in our minds and comprehending the meaning of those words are two distinct and totally separate processes. Vocalizing each and every word simply increases the amount of time spent on each word. On the other hand, people who read more than 800 hundred words per minute simply will not have the time to ‘say’ each word in their minds. Their eyes see a word and the brain has been trained to associate a meaning to that word image. So in a sense, speed reading means reading in a more visual manner. Sub-vocalization is a deeply ingrained habit but can be broken with some practise, like any other habit we have.

3. Chunking. Try reading words in groups as opposed to reading each word individually. Reading small groups of words together increases the speed of reading but doesn’t compromise on comprehension. Be determined, as this requires practise and conscious effort.

These are just a few pointers to get you started! With some effort and a reasonable amount of practise, you will find that your reading time has greatly increased! There are a lot of resources to help you along, should you want to try and achieve your true potential!