Learning how to read fast can be a very useful skill. Whether you need to peruse a document, quickly scan the newspaper to find out what’s happening in the world or need to quickly read something because you ran out of time, speed-reading can definitely improve how effective your time spent reading is.
Most people read around 250 words a minute, if you can double your reading speed your already at 500 words a minute. Speed-reading is also great for comprehension, which is crucial during your school education.
You can speed read through a document once to get the main idea, then re read again at a slower pace. By your second read you’ll already have some of the ideas and concepts in your mind. This article will give you a few techniques you can use to improve your reading speed.
Start reading your document by doing a quick scan. Look for familiar words, numbers, industry terms or names. This will help you get a general idea of what the document is about. During your scan look for headlines and bullet lists, they will help solidify your knowledge about the topic.
Also look for bold or italicized words, usually they are important to the topic.
Use your index finger to pace the speed that you read at. This helps you stay on track, sometimes when trying to read fast people accidently move their eyes down to the next line. Use your finger to guide you and keep you on track.
Reading in general is a good way to increase how fast you read, as the co author of this article Kartikeya Sharma suggested. Reading helps your eyes and brains get used to the shapes of certain words and recognize them aster. Your vocabulary also expands which helps you understand documents faster, which is essential in higher education.
When you scan a document and come across a word you don’t understand, your brain stops comprehending. Having a vast vocabulary will help reduce how often you’ll need to stop.
Reading fast can be achieved by anyone but it is a skill that needs to be practiced. The tips in this article will help you get started but ultimately you’ll have to find a method that works best for you. This isn’t something included in your school education.
Everyone’s brain works differently so different thing can help increase how fast you read. You’ll find increasing your reading speed to be useful in higher education. Remember to read daily and expand you vocabulary and most importantly, practice!