Speed Reading, commonly defined as the ability to read and understand written text, can give you the feeling of being a superhuman. Reading requires the engagement of specific body organs. What most people do not know is that speed-reading engages these organs far above the extents achieved by normal reading because the former is more efficient. When you speed read, the following happens:
What is Speed Reading?
Speed-reading refers to mechanisms involved in improving the quick reading skill of an individual. The techniques involved include chunking and reducing subvocalization. Multiple programs exist to help one develop their speed-reading skills and constitute of books, software, seminars as well as videos.
Types of Readings
The speed reading is highly dependent on the type of reading that the reader takes on. If you choose to read one word after the other, the eyes tend to jump back to the preceding word or line; it is also possible to fixate on one word even after having read it. Such technical challenges retard us in our efforts to read and understand.
Three different types of reading exist
- Auditory reading -This is where the words are heard out loud and are faster. Users have registered up to 450 wpm.
- Visual reading – This is where you have to understand what the word means as opposed to making a sound or making what is read audibly. It is the leading reading type in terms of speed. Users record 700 wpm.
- Mental reading – Also called subvocalization and involves making an internal sound of individual words when you read it to yourself. It stands as the slowest type of reading and is manifested in smart people at 250 words per minute reading rate.
Research has proven that proficient readers achieve a record reading time of between 280 and 310 wpm while achieving a maximum understanding of a reading text.
What is Skimming?
Skimming is the process where a speed reader searches with his or her eyes only for the lines that are important. This will help you to read faster and you will manage to get the main concept of the material in a shorter time. Skimming is a way of summarizing the contents of a page. This can be done by the reader reading the first sentence of every paragraph and then determine if the paragraph contains any important details. If it does not, the reader then skims over it and goes to the other paragraphs.
What is Scanning Read?
Scanning is the process where you visually have a quick search of the contents of the page. This is done by reading horizontal and vertical words at once and then looking if there are any important details contained therein.
What is Meta Guiding Reading?
This is the process where one uses an object such as a pen, ruler or finger to help them in reading. The object acts as a pointer and helps the reader to focus attention on a particular line, which then helps them to read faster. One of the reading skills and techniques that are given to enable one to read faster is telling the reader to draw a shape on the page to help then to scan over the page more quickly. This will help them to even better comprehend and remember the details that they have read.
