breakneck speed and often their hand is skimming the length of the pages very quickly. It’s difficult to imagine that

they are absorbing everything that they are reading. After all, a person reading at normal speed can sometimes even

have trouble remembering what they just read. However, it is possible to read and retain all of the information in a

book or magazine even when you are reading it much faster than a normal person does.

It’s obvious that one of the keys to speed reading is the eyes. It’s the eyes that are scanning the page, and soaking

up the information for the brain. The people who are able to speed read don’t have special “bionic” type eyes. Their

eyesight is just the same as anyone else’s.

The first step to speed reading is found with the eyes. In order to read properly at all, regardless of speed, a

person has to be able to see to the best of their ability. This involves getting a regular eye examination. Once you

have a thumbs-up from the eye doctor or a new set of glasses or contact lens, you are all set to learn some of the

basics regarding your eyes in relation to speed reading.

It’s easier to read under a dim light than a very bright light. Many people have been led to believe the opposite and

have spent years sitting next to a lamp that is almost blinding them, as they read. The eyes adjust better to dimmer

light and so if you are going to practice your speed reading techniques, invest in a reading lamp which generally

features a softer type light bulb, so that it’s easier on the eyes.

For years it was strongly believed that speed reading was done by using the peripheral vision. When someone refers to

peripheral vision, they are referring to the line of sight that you see out of the corner of your eye. The idea was

that the eyes scanned the page and the words that were caught in the peripheral vision were the words that stuck.

This doesn’t seem to be the case though, as people who read using peripheral vision would ultimately be missing much

of the text. This would lead to a misunderstanding of the material.

Instead it’s important when you are attempting to speed read that your eyes scan the entire text. The techniques that

are suggested for speed reading utilize this approach. That way the person reading isn’t missing entire words or

phrases as they would be with the peripheral vision approach.

Your eyes are essential to your success in speed reading. Having the proper prescription eye wear and using a dim

light will give you the foundation you need to begin the process. By using your entire field of view, you can quickly

and efficiently absorb the material you are reading.

Speed reading is not just a parlor trick you can use to impress your friends and family. For many it’s a necessary

tool for managing time and information in the fast-paced business world, and for many others, specifically students,

it’s the only way to get through reading-heavy class loads.

The practiced speed reader can pick up a lengthy document or a thick stack of papers and use their skill to get at

the meat of the subject by skimming for the most important details and information. Without developing the ability to

speed read, this time-saving technique is merely flipping through pages fast.

Speed reading, or increasing the rate at which you read text, is linked to increasing the rate at which you

understand what you’re reading. The key to successful speed reading is increasing your understanding of the text as

you increase the rate at which you read the words. It takes training and practice, but don’t be intimidated by the

idea of a challenge. Think of it as the next, natural step to your reading development. Once you’ve mastered it, it’s

a skill that will stick with you for the rest of your life.

As a child, when you began to learn to read, chances are you began with the alphabet and the specific sounds each

letter makes. Then you learned how to combine and blend letter sounds to decipher words. It’s called letter-by-letter

reading. Then something clicked and you began to recognize words without having to sound out each letter one at a

time and you graduated to word-by-word reading.

With continued practice common words and sentence structure became more familiar and because your brain was tuned and

ready, your eye started taking in blocks of words at a time. The difference between average readers and speed readers

is in the blocks of words their eyes take in at one time. The larger the blocks, the faster your eye moves through

the text.

Speed reading teaches you how to take your reading and your comprehension to the next level. The techniques used in

teaching speed reading focus on your individual abilities, namely where you are right now and what might be keeping

you from progressing. For example, if you are a slow reader, factors that hold you back may include, but are not

limited to, moving your lips or reading out loud or holding the text too close to your eyes.

If you are in the practice of moving your lips, or speaking or whispering while you read, you’re slowing yourself

down dramatically. Your lips can only move so fast. You should be able to read at least two or three times faster

than you can speak. In effect, you’re keeping yourself at that word-by-word stage that children generally grow out of

in elementary school.

Having the ability to speed read can make a significant difference in your life, especially if reading is a strong

component of your work. Implementing some simple techniques can get you reading faster and more efficiently in no

time at all.

In order for the eye to successfully scan the page at the rate that is required for speed reading, the reading material needs to be a certain distance from the eye and it also needs to be placed in a specific position. Ideally the book will be about fifteen inches from your face and it should be placed at a slight slant. The reason for this is that it’s easier for the eyes to read material when it’s not placed completely flat on a desk. Therefore you can either place another book behind it or purchase a device that is designed to hold the book for you.

photo credit: woodleywonderworks

Either way, you’ll then have the book sitting the way you need it to be for optimum reading.  Your body should also be in a specific position. Often we lay in bed as we read, and although this bodes well in the area of rest, it’s not productive to speed reading. The best position for your body during speed reading is to be sitting upright.

Many people find it best to sit at a desk while they are speed reading. Their back is straight and the book is placed in the right position. Having a dim lamp nearby is also ideal.  It goes without saying that the room you are in should be quiet. A lot of noise, such as other people talking, a television or a radio in the background can interfere with your concentration. Your mind needs to be centered and focused on the material that you are reading and being in a room free of distraction works towards that goal.

One of the best places to develop your speed reading skills is the library. The reasons are many and obvious. The library has many books to choose from. The library affords a very quiet environment. Your concentration would be at a peak there without the outside influence of noise that can occur in a home or office. Another perk associated with the library is that they generally are furnished with reading cubicles or booths. Many of these offer desks that are designed to hold books. They are crafted with a slight slant which is perfect for the speed reader.

By taking a trip to the library once a day or even several times a week, it will give you the chance to work on your reading skills in an environment specifically designed for the comfort of the reader. As you improve your reading skills, you’ll be surrounded by literary choices which will guarantee that you’ll never get bored of the material.

Do strong readers really need speed reading? If you’re a strong reader, do you really need speed reading? If you’re a student or professional, the answer should be obvious; it can only give you an edge. But more to the point, why keep your reading level at basic comprehension and average speed? If it’s obvious that making a small change in your life results in a big difference, it’s worth investigating. This is the case with speed reading.

When you are small you learn how to read by a method called letter-by-letter reading, which essentially is exactly what it sounds like. You sound out each letter and over time you can form them into entire words. Children learn this process very young when they are shown the letters of the alphabet and the sound associated with each letter.

You wouldn’t stop at letter-by-letter reading if you knew how much more you would get out of reading by moving on to word-by-word reading, which is the ability to recognize entire words. So why limit yourself to block-by-block reading that involves short blocks of words when you can increase that enjoyment and understanding even further by learning how to increase those blocks?

Speed reading is more than getting through a stack of words at high speed. It increases the text you take in at one time, which gives you a better grasp of what you’ve read which in turn increases your ability to understand what you’re reading in bigger, faster doses. We all shift gears when we read, depending on what we’re reading.

We automatically read text containing familiar words and ideas fast and slow down when we come across text with new  ideas. Speed reading gives you another gear to shift into, saves you time, increases your reading comprehension, and gives you an automatic edge.

Having the ability to speed read allows you to read as quickly through unfamiliar text as you do with text that you

have seen before. For the professional or student who needs to get through large pieces of text quickly, this is

incredibly valuable. They can pick up a book or document, spend no more than a few minutes going over it and have the

same comprehension and absorption that someone reading at a regular speed would have after spending several hours

reading it. The time saved is remarkable and for someone who is a busy professional or for a student who is faced

with many classes as well as other responsibilities, the difference in their lives can be substantially better.

Although learning to speed read takes time and patience, it’s an investment that is well worth it. Having the ability to grasp and retain information that is read at a fast speed can make a significant difference in a person’s life. If your reading skills are strong now, you can quickly and easily adapt to speed reading. Take some time to learn the techniques, make a concerted effort to employ them, and then reap the many benefits of being able to speed read.

Some children are simply overwhelmed. When they look at a book of well over two or three-hundred pages they see really see that as unproductive time that could be better spent outside playing in the snow or doing other activities with their family.

For children who have the ability to speed read, they don’t see the book report project as such a burden. The main reason is that instead of spending days reading the book and researching the material, they will spend considerably  less time with those tasks; so much less time that it could translate to hours or even in some cases minutes.

One of the greatest lessons that any parent can give to their child or any teacher can give to their students is the ability to speed read. Once learned, the child would be able to speed read for the remainder of their lives. This would result in significant changes not only in their school experiences, but also in their college and professional experiences as well.

Both parents and teachers can do things that encourage the child to learn to speed read. One is the parent or teacher can introduce exercises that aid the child in reading. A child first needs to be a strong reader before they can implement the techniques needed to speed read. A good barometer of where your child is on the reading scale is to inquire with their teacher.

Each year teachers do reading tests on the children to determine at what grade level thechild is reading at. For a child reading at a sixth grade level while in the third grade, they can easily be introduced to the idea of speed reading. However if a child is in the sixth grade and reading at a third grade level, their regular reading needs to be improved significantly before they can even consider the possibility of speed reading.

Parents can aid in their children’s basic reading ability by having the child read to them each night. Children become accustomed to having their parent read bedtime stories to them, but if the child becomes the storyteller,  their reading skills can be monitored much more efficiently.

A child can become a speed reader with a little assistance from their parents. This will help them thrive in school; it will also give them a significant boost in confidence. The material they are reading will be absorbed quicker and their assignments will be completed without worry of them falling behind because they couldn’t get through the reading material. Helping your child develop their speed reading skills is a great gift you can give to them; it’s a gift that will last a lifetime.