In the time crunched world that we are living in speed reading can come as a boon to many who are struggling with large volumes of reading material. Whatever be your background -student, lawyer, doctor or a company executive-all can be benefited in some way or the other by speed reading techniques.
People shy away from adopting speed reading mainly because they feel it can be taught only in a classroom. Though classroom courses are beneficial, you can start improving your reading speed by adopting and practicing a few simple steps.
You need to identify a need to improve your reading speed. If you are a student, all the lessons that you need to finish in one course time is a good enough reason to improve your reading speed. The identification of need is important since that is what will keep you focused. Do not try to read all reading material at the same speed. This can lead to frustration and ultimately make you give up on the practice. Serious reading material like a business or medical report can be read at a slower pace. Lighter material like a newspaper or magazine can be read at a considerably faster pace. Reading the table of contents or an abstract when available, can save considerable time. this is due to the fact that one you know what you are reading you are in a better position to look for what you want. You do not waste time looking for searching for information but only spend time in reading. Highlight the text that you are reading. Using a highlighter may not be a good idea but you can use your finger or a book mark to highlight the text. Highlighting the text in some way helps you focus on the words that you are reading. When you know what information you need, keep asking questions when you read heading and sub headings. The questions you frame will fine tune the information requirement as well as help you locate the information faster. Your eyes are doing an exercise while reading. Do not exhaust them. The moment you feel your eyes are being strained, stop reading and take a break. Also get your eyesight checked periodically. Poor vision can slow down the reading speed. Learn to prioritize what you are reading. When you are reading a textbook, not all chapters are equally important to you. Rank the chapters and read them in the order of their rank. If you are someone who gets distracted easily, find a solitary place. Even without adopting any other technique you will be able to read faster if you are not distracted. Concentration is a key parameter contributing to speed reading. Avoid rereading texts even if you do not understand the meaning. You can read the entire material again to gain the information. Rereading over a period of time becomes a habit and slows down the reading speed. Eliminate the habit of sub-vocalization or reading aloud. Reading speed is limited when you want to hear the words and not read words by seeing.
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