Teach Yourself to Read Faster
The secret to reading more
It’s not always easy to find time to read. But the more you read, the slower your reading speed will be. And while it may seem like you have plenty of time in which to read, this kind of neglect is a dead end.
Mastering how to read faster can make all the difference between a life full of literature and one that only exists in conversations with others who also love good books. That’s why we wanted to share this post filled with tips on how anyone can teach themselves how to read faster. And in the process of reading more and faster, you’ll also pick up better comprehension skills.
What causes reading to be slower than desired?
In this post you’ll learn how to make reading easier. By that we mean you’ll be able to choose your own ideal reading speed based on what you want to get out of your books – whether it is practical knowledge, inspiration, or relaxation. You’ll discover why some people slow down as they read and why others read so fast that they lose a lot of what they are trying to take in when they do it. You’ll find strategies for reading faster that are based on the latest research on human cognition and the best methods for learning to read more effectively.
How to speed read for pleasure
Reading a book is a very passive experience. You sit back and watch the story unfold as the author chooses who will live and who will die, what will be explored, who will fall in love and how that love story will end, who’s guilty of what crime, what facts are covered up or revealed, who wins at the game being played. You don’t choose these things when you read – the writer does. And the best writers will tell the story that they want to tell, even if it means not answering some of your questions (or creating new ones).
At its best, reading allows us to experience life in a multitude of ways. As we dive into stories, we vicariously become another person experiencing things that we have never done. We live in different cultures and different time periods as characters with rich inner lives depicted on the page. And when we read to learn positive skills and knowledge, we can practice using those skills ourselves – just as if we were trained by an expert in those fields.
How does reading speed affect understanding and retention?
If you are concerned about how fast you read, the research shows that slow reading hurts comprehension and retention. If you aren’t sure why this is the case, here’s a quick explanation:
In order to understand what we read in a book, we need time to relate it back to our experiences. We take in ideas and concepts at a faster pace than is ever needed to understand them. For example, when we read literature, movies or plays we often take in multiple references in one sitting – often without realizing that many of these references are common knowledge.
That being said, we have a limited amount of time to understand what we read. Once we have fully grasped the core concepts, we need to recall them if they are going to stick with us.
When reading speed is slow, there is more mental effort required in order to grasp the main ideas in a text. This is because with slow reading you are often rereading material that you have already understood once. It also means more time is needed to relate ideas back to your past experiences – which means they are less likely to stick in your memory and be relevant later on when you need them most.
How to speed read for professional success
By taking a strategic approach to speed reading, you can also:
Improve your memory. When you read faster, your mind is more alert and attentive. You retain more. You can remember more information from a text by reading it at a faster pace than you would reading it normally. This is the reason fast readers have better retention than slow readers. Read faster, remember more! Increase your brain power and IQ. With a faster rate of information processing, your brain processes more information – which means you will mentally be able to hold more in larger amounts of short-term memory before seeing what it is you have stored at the end of the session. You will be able to make connections and think more creatively. You’ll also be better able to multi-task. Make better decisions when you read faster. When we read faster, our brains are more alert and we can take in more details within the context of a single reading session. This means we can make better sense of what is written and we will have an easier time considering the different sides of a debate or argument. We’ll also be able to compare and contrast information in multiple sources by taking them in at the same time with speed reading strategies that will help us understand them quickly – before moving on to those that are next on our list of priorities. Speed reading is a proven method to stay competitive and win in your field. It also has benefits for you personally to understand more about the world around you.
How to speed read for personal development and self-improvement
Reading faster helps you improve on a number of personal goals:
Learning: You’re able to absorb more information at a faster rate, which means you are more likely to retain what you have read. In fact, studies show that the higher your level of mental intelligence is, the better off you will be when you speed read. (If this interests you, take our online IQ test. It will get you started on the road to better understanding your approach to learning!)
You’re able to absorb more information at a faster rate, which means you are more likely to retain what you have read. In fact, studies show that the higher your level of mental intelligence is, the better off you will be when you speed read. (If this interests you, take our online IQ test. It will get you started on the road to better understanding your approach to learning!) Motivation: When we learn for personal development purposes, we have much higher chances of success if we read something many times over – rather than once. By reading again and again as fast as possible, we are able to absorb and digest information more effectively. We are also able to make connections that wouldn’t be made otherwise. With speed reading strategies, we are able to take in more pages of material in each session of reading. This means we can learn faster and retain more information – which helps to motivate us and keep us on the right path.
When we learn for personal development purposes, we have much higher chances of success if we read something many times over – rather than once. By reading again and again as fast as possible, we are able to absorb and digest information more effectively. We are also able to make connections that wouldn’t be made otherwise. With speed reading strategies, we are able to take in more pages of material in each session of reading.
Conclusion
Now you are probably asking yourself:
Why speed reading? Why is it so important to master this skill? How do I learn speed reading?
With all the benefits of efficient reading that we’ve outlined above, why not start practicing today? If you want to get good at speed reading, you need to start. And the more times you practice, the better your chances will be to succeed in this new skill set. Where do you go from here? Well, why not start with these proven Speed Reading Methods, Speed Reading Books and Speed Reading Techniques for Beginners. You can also choose from our list of best Speed Reading Resources for a deeper dive into this topic.