How to Read Faster?
One of the best ways to save time is to do speed reading. When you read fast, you can get a rough idea of what material is presented to be read. Remember, speed reading is not an alternative to normal reading, but actually an exercise to make normal reading more effective.
How to read faster ? The technique of speed reading involves the use of your finger. You need to train your eyes initially to follow your finger and after that as you increase the speed of your finger, you will be able to read faster.
To start with, take any book with only textual information and turn it upside down. Now keep your finger just below the line you are starting with. Move your finger as you read. Do this for at least 10 minutes and then start increasing the speed of your finger. The book still stays upside down. As you increase the speed further, soon there will just be able to keep it in the center of the lines.
Now put the book straight again and use your finger to read. Will you be able to read faster ? Of course! Measurements of word speeds indicate upto 50% increase in speed.
Do this 20 minute exercise for a week. Your mind may not initially be able to cope up with this, but soon it will get used to.
Super Students don’t necessarily read at super speeds. But being able to cope up with fast speeds, they can grasp more at slower reading speeds. This makes their reading effective.
TIP
Take the reading test every time you finish this exercise.
IN PRACTICE
Read the passage given after the chapter on SQ3R
Note the seconds you take to complete the passage from the first to the last word.
Here is a table for you:
600 wpm is a decent speed, and can be increased with dedicated and can be increased with dedicated and sustained effort.
| Time (seconds) | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 60 |
| Speed (wpm) | 1500 | 1100 | 850 | 750 | 650 | 550 | 500 | 450 | 350 |
