I am reading so much the past few weeks, that I decided to look into the different techniques for speed reading. I have been looking into the subject for a while now, as I believe we should always improve our skills and the way we do things. It will be much better use of my time as well. I will be able to get through more posts, research faster. I am not speaking of just reading faster and then not have a clue what I read.
Some interesting facts about speed reading
Most people read at about 200 words per minute at approximately 60% comprehension. The top 1% of fast readers, read at about 900 words a minute at about 85% comprehension. That is 5 times faster as the average joe… like me. Reading efficiency is measured by Number of words per minute X Comprehension rate. If we take the Top Readers it will be 900 X 85% or in other words a reading efficiency of 850 words per minute. On the other hand for the average joe it is 200 X 60% or a reading efficiency of 120 Efficient words per minute. The top readers are there for 7 times more efficient readers that the average reader.
Types of reading
According to some facts on Wikipedia there are three types of reading.
Mental Reading - This means that you are sounding out each word while reading. This is the slowest type of reading
Auditory reading - this is hearing out each and every word. Although still not the fastest, it is faster than Mental reading
Visual Reading - This is the fastest type of reading. This is the understanding the meaning of the word instead of hearing out or sounding out each word.
We are interested in the last type (Visual) of reading and this is something that can be taught through a lot of training and then it needs to be practised.
Faster than 900 words per minute is not possible
It does not matter what of the reading types are used, it is proven that we cannot read faster than 900 words per minute. This was proven using a few dimensions:
- The shortest possible fixation period is around one 6th of a second
- The shortest recorded time between these fixations is about on 30th of a second,
- The eye cannot see more than around 3 words in each fixation.
When we combine these above points in was proven that no human can read a ten word line of about 3 inches, hence calculating a rate of 900 words per minute at maximum.
Various training courses
There are various training courses and when I googled I came up with the following examples:
Reading Dynamics
Shilin Speed Reading
Here is a free one Read speeder
I also found a nice site, which assist user to read better and comprehend what you read better. Perls Reading , does an assessment of your current reading ability and comprehension. They then train you to the appropriate level.
A few Speed reading tips
First Skim then read
Many speed reading courses teaches "Skimming" and not the ability read faster. Skimming is when you glance over the text you are about to read. This allows your brain to pick up some of the information already. This also assist with comprehension.
You should improve you fluency, which in turn will improve your speed
Not fluently recognising the words, has a massive negative impact on the speed you are reading. If you can train yourself to recognise words quicker, it should have a positive impact on your reading speed and ability.
First understand what you want before you read
This is actually an extension to the Tip number 1 First Skim then read . When you skim you see how the article or post is structured, and this will allow you to focus more on the things that you think are more important.
Speed reading test
Here is a free speed reading test here for those who are interested in measuring your current reading speed.
I am far from a speed reader or even a specialist on the subject. What I do know and have learned in life, is that if you do not try you will never know, and I think practice is very important to learn this skill, I will end on the following note.
Practice, practice, practice!
Leave comment below on your current reading speed after you have done the test.
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There's a great extension for chrome to help you speed read the web:
Spreed
I'm using that from time to time for larger posts and articles. Really helps a lot.
Thanks @rznag, I will definetly check it out!
No problem, glad when i can help.
I'm quite sure you will love it. It lets you tokenize sentences into adjustable length parts and also is adjustable in the speed it shows those splitted sentences.
That really helps a lot to increase your reading speed slowly over time. Also it opens in a separate tab which makes it really easy to just focus on the actual words and not be distracted by formatting of the text, blinking gifs or any ads or whatever you see on most sites.
👍nice post @jacor
I tried to develop this skill, but never brought the matter to a tangible result. I also began to read a lot thanks to Steemit, so it makes sense to master this skill ;)
Thank you, @jacor! :)
Thanks for the comment @omfedor . Nice to see you around!
I love a good challenge!
Well, Steemit is the perfect place to practice reading, isn't it? I got a 614. I actually surprised myself!
EDIT: You now have a new follower. Keep posting quizzes like this!
Fully agree that this is a wonderful place to practive! Thanks for the follow!
You have a new follower here. I learned to speed read at younger age and have practiced through reading in my adult life. I got 2749 wpm with 100% comprehension. Never took a test on it before.. But speed reading is especially helpful in research so I suggest everyone try learning to improve their speed and comprehension. Thanks for article bro!
Now that is very fast reading mr @keithsmih . Like everything in life, I will start at the bottom and work my way up , word by word. Thanks for the comment!
I actually speedread this article :p
I did the test and I read 283 words per minute.
(native language isn't english)
You forgot to mention "Scanning". It is also a reading technique to be used when you want to find specific information quickly. And it is somewhat better than Skimming if you're looking for direct answers while ignoring unrelated ones.
Thanks for this tip. You're 100% correct.
Speed read this post... didn't retain any of it. Am I doing it right?
Lol, I guess not @veralynn
I use spritz for articles I want to breeze through.
I assume it's similar to other speed readers, but check it out: http://spritzinc.com/
Thank you very much for sharing @daut44 . I will definetly check it out!
Well now when someone complains i did not read a post and gave an upvote i can refer them to this post here....speed reading b********ch! lol
Indeed !!! lol
The brain and its mysterious abilities ^_^
Amazing thing the brain ! Thanks for commenting @alexoz
Thanks for this post, it contains useful info ! I Upvoted
This video also contains very good info about speed reading , Enjoy !
Thank you for sharing @denisoi
Your Welcome.
STEEMIT FOLLOW ... JUST A SMALL STEP
https://steemit.com/follow/@foxkoit/steemit-follow-just-a-small-step
Great read! Thanks! The key point is practice. That's what I'm missing the most ;)
Great test! I am an average reader :/ i vocalize mentally while i read, making me slower. Its great though to see how you can improve and become a faster reader! Thank you for sharing this post @jacor
May have to try again when I'm not half asleep...got 341. But 91% comprehension rate.
Anyone else try to speed read this post? lol
So Is speed reading viable for every kind of books? I`m thinking books about philosophy etc they take some time to understand.
"Speed thinking" should be before "speed reading".
@gebifirm , I agree with @soomrack, I think there is some reading which you should do in much more detail to comprehend! However if you do real speedreading the theory is that you comprehension also goes up !
Thanks for your post. With the explosion of information now speed reading will help us keep more up to date.
I used to speed read a bit, a long time ago... I guess I will have to start practicing again :)
Thanks for sharing this, @jacor
anyone care to share how to create the lines for blogs, where he has "happy steeming" at the end. upvote for answer