Turn Pages Faster for Reading Faster
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Tuesday, November 03, 2009 |
Do you want to read faster? I guess do you do so in at least some cases. Well, then turn pages faster. Sounds ridiculous? Actually, it does matter how much time you spend on paging.
 During my speed reading courses I have observed carefully how the trainees perform the reading exercises. I have noticed that different people spend considerably different amount of time on turning the pages. Most people can turn pages in one or two seconds, but some people waste too much time on it. I have seen some of the trainees to spend five seconds on turning the page.
How does it affect your reading speed? If you spend five seconds on turning the page then during those five seconds you are not reading the text. If the other guy pages in one second, then he can use extra four seconds for reading and he gains a considerable advantage.
How much will it affect the reading speed? It depends on the amount of text printed per page and on the reading speed itself. On the average, there are about 500 words per page, but it may range form 250 to 1000 words. The fewer the number of words per page the more often you have to turn pages and the greater the effect of paging speed on reading speed is. The reading speed is also important as if we read at 500 words per minute and then there will be one paging per minute in case of 500 words per page. If our reading speed will be only 250 words per minute, then we have to page every two minutes. So, paging speed becomes more important when we are faster readers.
If we are reading at 500 words per page, which is twice the average speed and there are 250 words per page then an increase in paging duration by one second will reduce the reading speed by 3.3%. I chose 500 words per page as an example as after learning the basics of speed reading most people are able to achieve that reading speed. Three extra seconds in that case would cost in 10% lower reading speed, which makes a considerable difference.
How to page fast? You have to avoid the mistakes the slow-pagers make. First, if you are not sitting straight and behind the desk, then it may be more difficult for you turn pages. It is much easier to page when the book is flat on a table. Do not lie on a sofa while reading as you have to hold your book with your hands then. In that position you are also not so actively participating in the reading process; you do not react so fast when you have completed a page and you are likely to make a delay with turning the page.
Continue:SelfGrowthLabels: Reading Faster |
posted by Editor @ 11:16 AM   |
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Reading Strategies
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Monday, November 02, 2009 |
 Reading Efficiently by Reading Intelligently
Good reading strategies help you to read in a very efficient way. Using them, you aim to get the maximum benefit from your reading with the minimum effort. This section will show you how to use six different strategies to read intelligently.
Strategy 1: Knowing what you want to know
The first thing to ask yourself is: Why you are reading the text? Are you reading with a purpose or just for pleasure? What do you want to know after reading it?
Once you know this, you can examine the text to see whether it is going to move you towards this goal.
An easy way of doing this is to look at the introduction and the chapter headings. The introduction should let you know at whom the book is targeted, and what it seeks to achieve. Chapter headings will give you an overall view of the structure of the subject.
Ask yourself whether the book meets your needs. Ask yourself if it assumes too much or too little knowledge. If the book isn't ideal, would it be better to find a better one?
Strategy 2: Knowing how deeply to study the material
Where you only need the shallowest knowledge of the subject, you can skim material. Here you read only chapter headings, introductions and summaries.
If you need a moderate level of information on a subject, then you can scan the text. Here you read the chapter introductions and summaries in detail. You may then speed read the contents of the chapters, picking out and understanding key words and concepts. At this level of looking at the document it is worth paying attention to diagrams and graphs.
Only when you need detailed knowledge of a subject is it worth studying the text. Here it is best to skim the material first to get an overview of the subject. This gives you an understanding of its structure, into which you can fit the detail gained from a full, receptive reading of the material. SQ3R is a good technique for getting a deep understanding of a text.
Strategy 3: Active Reading
When you are reading a document in detail, it often helps if you highlight, underline and annotate it as you go on. This emphasizes information in your mind, and helps you to review important points later.
Doing this also helps to keep your mind focused on the material and stops it wandering.
This is obviously only something to do if you own the document! If you own the book and find that active reading helps, then it may be worth photocopying information in more expensive texts. You can then read and mark the photocopies.
If you are worried about destroying the material, ask yourself how much your investment of time is worth. If the benefit you get by active reading reasonably exceeds the value of the book, then the book is disposable.
Continue:MindToolsLabels: reading techniques |
| posted by Editor @ 12:26 PM |
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Learn Speed Reading
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009 |
 Whether you're hitting the textbooks in philosophy class, reading long-winded emails from co-workers, or just reading the morning newspaper, chances are at one time or another you've wished you could read a little faster. So widespread is the desire to learn speed reading, in fact, that teaching the skill has become big business: a host of companies now offer books, training sessions and even computer programs to increase reading speed, sometimes at a cost of hundreds of dollars. But why fork over your paycheck or student loan money for a speed reading system when you can start reading faster today by following these simple steps?
# Have your eyes checked. Many people who read particularly slowly do so because they have an undiagnosed vision problem. Even if you think you have perfect vision, if you haven't had an eye exam recently, there's no time like the present.
# Time your current reading speed. It is important to find out how fast you read now so that you can track your improvement through subsequent timings. Not only will timing help you to tell if you're improving, but it will also keep you motivated.
* You can break out a book and a stopwatch and either time how long it takes you to read a certain number of words on a page or find out how many words you read in a given amount of time.
* An easier way to time yourself is to take an online reading speed test. There are a plethora of these available: just enter "reading speed test" in your search engine. Many of these have reading comprehension tests, as well, so you can see how well you're understanding what you're reading.
* Regardless of how you decide to time yourself, be sure to read at your normal speed during the timing, and time yourself on a few different pages - the average of your times should approximate your average reading speed.
# Get rid of distractions. Even if you think you read better when you have music playing or when you're in a crowded coffee house, you can probably increase your speed if you reduce distractions to a bare minimum. Try to find a solitary place to read, and turn off the TV, radio and cell phone. Even being in a room of people talking is distracting. If no solitary place is available, try using earplugs to block out any distractions around you. In order to maximize comprehension while reading quickly, you will need to focus on the material at hand as closely as possible.
Continue:Learn Speed ReadingLabels: speed reading tips |
| posted by Editor @ 1:16 PM |
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How to Prepare For Exams - Speed Reading Helps You
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Monday, October 12, 2009 |
Have you ever found yourself in time trouble when preparing for exams? Do you spend the last days and hours before the exam with your nose buried deep in the book? As a professor at the university I have seen many of the students suffer from these problems. Time trouble and last minute cramming are serious problems, which have a negative impact on many students' exam results. Yet, it is possible to avoid them if you follow my advice below.
 Why do students cram heavily before exams? Because they do not feel confident in their knowledge as they have not prepared on time for the exams. But it will not help them to achieve a good result. Heavy last minute cramming will make your head thick and while sitting in the exam room you will find it difficult to answer the questions.
It is much better if you relax before taking the exam. You may take a walk or chat with your course mates. In the latter case do not discuss the exam topics. It will not help you to gain extra knowledge, but your brain will be fresher when doing so and you can get a better result in that way.
You much admit that it is not possible to save much with last minute cramming. You have to acquire your knowledge in the right time. You cannot start with your preparation on the last couple of days. In order to avoid time trouble you will benefit from good time management and fast reading.
The first thing is that you have to plan your time. It means that you have to share your study load on all of the months of the semester. When doing so you have already acquired the required knowledge before the exam day approaches. During the last days before the exam you will only have to revise the material slightly in order to keep it fresh in your mind.
It is wise to do really hard work at the beginning of the semester. You can gain a huge advantage by taking it serious during the first two weeks of the semester, when most of the students to not think much about studying as the exams are far away. If you get an early start then you will build a strong basis for achieving a good exam result.
The second possibility to save time is to study faster. We acquire most of the information by reading. Therefore if we could read faster then we can learn faster. It means that learning to speed read will help you to gain more knowledge in shorter amount of time. Fast readers are good learners. I teach speed reading courses at my university. They are not compulsory for the students, but I can say that students, who have participated in them, tend to do better at the exams.
Speed reading will not teach only to read faster. On speed reading courses you will also learn how to prioritize your reading materials as some of them are much more important and more relevant for the exams. You will also learn how to preview texts quickly, which helps you to make that kind of choice. In many cases you can save much time by applying selective reading techniques.
It is also important that you will choose the right speed for different texts. There are always some texts, which are more difficult or more important. You should read them at slower pace, while for some other text you should be really fast. You have to be flexible with your reading speed in order to use your time rationally.
Finally, being able to speed read gives you a psychological advantage. If you are sure that you can work though piles of study material without spending too much time on it then it gives you self confidence. You will avoid pre-exam stress and have control over the study process.
Source: EzineArticlesLabels: speed reading tips |
| posted by Editor @ 11:52 AM |
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Reading Skills and Strategies
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Thursday, October 08, 2009 |
 Reading is one great habit that can truly change your life forever. Reading can entertain you; amuse you, but most of all it will enrich you with knowledge, and experiences narrated. Reading purely for leisure is fun as we all know but there exist certain reading skills and strategies, which if mastered at a nascent stage can help us, be better and far more comprehensive readers.
Although the term reading strategies might sound to mechanical and dry for the ears of a creative book-lover, these strategies can enhance your grasping power and help you get the most out of any book or any text that you lay your eyes on. These skills might not necessarily be learnt as rigid theories or rules but if understood well once they can definitely enhance the reading process and increase the quality as well as quantity of output that you get from after reading. Not only can these strategies can be taught to children right from school, but can also be used by any person of any age to help improve their reading process.
Speed reading:
Speed-reading is actually a combination of various reading methods. The aim of speed-reading is basically to increase the reading speed without compromising on the understanding or retention. Some of the strategies used in speed reading are
•Identifying words without focusing on each letter
•Not sounding out all words
•Not sub-vocalizing some phrases
•Spending less time on some phrases than others
•Skimming small sections
Speed reading is thus actually not precisely defines by specific guidelines and rules but is actually just a process that increases the speed of reading without compromising on the retention of the content.
Continue:BuzzleLabels: speed reading |
| posted by Editor @ 8:38 AM |
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Professions That Benefit Most From Speed Reading
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Wednesday, October 07, 2009 |
If you learn speed reading techniques then it will enable you to start reading considerably faster than you have done it previously. Most of us are able to double their initial reading speed after regular practice. Speed reading can be successfully applied to different job-related reading tasks so it increases your productivity on the job.
The effect of speed reading on the productivity depends on the proportion of the working time spent on reading and of course it is different in case of different jobs. On the general, office workers will spend more time on reading and they will benefit more from learning to read at fast speed in comparison to manual workers.
So which professions will benefit most from speed reading? Although this list is not conclusive on the average the representatives of those professions have more possibilities for applying speed reading techniques.
• Managers and executives. Information is vital for them for making right decisions and the time for obtaining that information can be very limited.
• Clerks. They have to read and write many documents, and their work is to large extending desk work. 
• Secretaries. Similarly to the clerks they are subject to heavy paper work. They frequently have to read lots of material for searching information for their bosses.
• Accountants and auditors. It will take a lot of time to work through those long reports if you are a slow reader. In addition, the legislation is continuously changing and you have to keep up with it.
• Lawyers. Reading loads of materials is a must for orientating in the legislation. Knowledge is a power for lawyers and it will help winning court cases.
• Doctors. For becoming a doctor you have to study a lot and when you are a doctor you have to still study a lot for keeping up with the new developments in the medicine.
• Journalists. For writing a good article you have to be well-informed and often you have to read a lots of materials for that purpose
• Engineers. Lots of technical reading for engineers.
• IT specialists. They have to read different types of manuals, system descriptions etc.
• Researches and analytics. Research always means lots of reading.
• Teachers. Reading student's homework and keeping up with the recent developments in your profession can be very time consuming if you are a slow reader.
• Professors and other scientific workers. Reading scientific literature can take a lot of time; speed reading will help them a lot.
Besides, high school or college students can be added to this list as they have to do a great deal of reading for their studies. Speed reading will help them to save time, read more materials and achieve better results on the exams
Source: EzineArticlesLabels: speed reading benefits |
| posted by Editor @ 9:50 AM |
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Speed Reading Tactics
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Tuesday, October 06, 2009 |
 Speed reading has become an essential business and academic success tool in the knowledge economy. With the onset of PCs, and the internet, live classes have diminished as a result of "instant access." One of the seemingly easiest choices someone might take to learn the skills is to buy a software program. But does software training work?
Although I can't state that I have reviewed all software programs, I have reviewed the most popular ones on the market. The benefit of learning speed reading with software in general, is that the software does allow for interesting eye pattern simulation training. By that I mean, software addresses one of the components of speed reading somewhat well - the mechanics, or getting the eyes to move more efficiently.
When you read, the eyes must first "see" the words. The eyes stop for a very brief moment to "fixate" on the words. Untrained readers see only a single or a few words per fixation. This is inefficient. You can picture this by imagining a photograph taken with a zoom lens focused in. If you zoom out with the lens, you see more of the foreground and background of the picture. Your camera takes in "more."
Similarly speed reading software trains the eyes to see more for each fixation, or stopping (snapshot) of the eyes. Software can help with this. But it is only one piece of the speed reading puzzle, and some software training programs teach you to expand this visual focal area wider than what the eyes can naturally see during these fixations. This can cause terrible eye muscle strain.
Continue: Speed Reading TacticsLabels: speed reading techniques |
| posted by Editor @ 10:34 AM |
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The Importance Of Reading
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Monday, September 28, 2009 |
It is a well-known fact that when there were no televisions or computers, reading was a primary leisure activity. People would spend hours reading books and travel to lands far away-in their minds. The only tragedy is that, with time, people have lost their skill and passion to read. There are many other exciting and thrilling options available, aside from books. And that is a shame because reading offers a productive approach to improving vocabulary and word power. It is advisable to indulge in at least half an hour of reading a day to keep abreast of the various styles of writing and new vocabulary.
It is observed that children and teenagers who love reading have comparatively higher IQs. They are more creative and do better in school and college. It is recommended that parents to inculcate the importance of reading to their children in the early years. Reading is said to significantly help in developing vocabulary, and reading aloud helps to build a strong emotional bond between parents and children. The children who start reading from an early age are observed to have good language skills, and they grasp the variances in phonics much better.
Reading helps in mental development and is known to stimulate the muscles of the eyes. Reading is an activity that involves greater levels of concentration and adds to the conversational skills of the reader. It is an indulgence that enhances the knowledge acquired, consistently. The habit of reading also helps readers to decipher new words and phrases that they come across in everyday conversations. The habit can become a healthy addiction and adds to the information available on various topics. It helps us to stay in-touch with contemporary writers as well as those from the days of yore and makes us sensitive to global issues.
Source:EzineArticlesLabels: reading |
| posted by Editor @ 11:09 AM |
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A New Way to Look at Speed Reading
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Sunday, September 20, 2009 |
With all the information thrown at us in this high-paced insane society, many struggle just to get all the required reading in, without even finding the time for the elective reading they really wish they had time to read. Perhaps, this is why speed reading is so important to folks and why so many are searching the words "Speed Reading" on the Internet these days - it's true, it is one of the most searched phrases in the educational realm.
 The reason is clear, folks need to read more to keep up with their schooling, professional on-going educational requirements, and the news, data and reports for their work.
Personally, I can tell you as an avid reader of many topics and subjects that it is indeed a huge challenge. Not only must we be selective in what we read due to limited time factors, we must also read faster, skim more and get to the meat of whatever we are reading quickly.
Too, it is imperative that we comprehend what we read, as there is no time to go back and do it again. Scientists have shown that folks remember less than 30% on average of what they read, even when they pay attention to the details and facts. Thus, simply reading faster and reading more in a shorter amount of time my not solve the problem.
So, I'd like to suggest a completely new approach to the concept of speed reading. Here is what I do; I micro-schedule my time. That is to say, I'll read 3-5 pages of a report, a chapter of a book, a few articles on the web, a chapter in another book, part of the newspaper, then finish up the report, read another chapter of yet another book and so on. Why you ask?
Well, because the Internet has trained my brain to flip from one subject to the next, and because this keeps my mind from getting bored and allows me time to soak in the information, before coming back to it again. Thus, I am further reinforcing the imprinting of that information into my head. Think on this, it might very well work for you too.
Source:A New Way to Look at Speed ReadingLabels: speed reading tips |
| posted by Editor @ 10:43 AM |
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The Advantages Of Speed Reading
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Monday, August 24, 2009 |
 Speed reading is a skill that can come in very handy, especially these days when people are constantly bombarded with information that needs to be understood. In order to keep up with the pace of life, it is important to be able to quickly assimilate the information that is being presented. While audio books, MP3 talks and discussions, video reports, and multi-media presentations can be entertaining and hold one's interest, there is nothing like being able to speed read when it comes to soaking up information in the least amount of time.
The ability to read quickly is something that does not come naturally and is not learned in the classroom when children are first taught to read. But, it is a skill that can benefit people in many ways, from excelling in advanced studies in school and preparing for examinations, to setting oneself apart from the competition in business settings. In fact, a survey of many successful business people and government leaders showed that a high percentage of them had taken a reading speed class at some point in their education or later training, and attributed part of their success to that skill.
For those who enjoy to read for recreation, speed reading is a skill that they are naturally drawn toward as they strive to learn as much as possible from their favorite tomes. Learning how to read faster not only gives people the ability to take in more information at a faster rate, but it also has been demonstrated that their comprehension is better at the same time.
Continue:EzineArticlesLabels: speed reading |
| posted by Editor @ 10:48 AM |
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Avoid These Costly Mistakes of Eye Span Training
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Friday, August 07, 2009 |
Speed reading successfully requires you to train and use your eyes in new ways. All speed reading training covers some approach to getting the eyes to move more efficiently. Did you know that there are eye training methods that could actually be harmful? Here are some mistakes to avoid.  1. Focusing on eye span development exclusively. Speed reading does require the reader to learn to use the eyes more efficiently. Moving the eyes more fluidly and "attending" to more words for each fixation (stop of the eyes) is essential. However, there is a second aspect that is almost never addressed with the depth that is required to master the skills. The missing component is comprehension. Most books, software training, and other speed reading development resources do not really teach the comprehension process to a level that most people can actually succeed in achieving their desired results. 2. Using a tachistoscopic type of eye training. Tachistoscopes were machines that would flash words on a screen. Gradually it would increase the number of words across a whole line to the point of seeing a whole line then several lines, and finally a paragraph. This method was proven to be harmful as far back as the 1960s. However, the same approach has continued in a variety of software applications, and books on the subject. This type of training requires the eye muscle to loosen to see beyond the normal visual field of the reader. Stretching the muscles can damage the eyes. 3. Using a ruler or index card is another common approach. There a couple of problems with this. First, who walks around with a ruler in their pocket? Secondly, the ruler or index card may help the eyes track on a particular line of print, but it blocks the visual field below that line. That interferes with feeding the visual information to the brain. When this approach is used the speed will not increase exponentially. Continue: Speed Reading Tactics
Source: SelfGrowthLabels: speed reading successfully |
| posted by Editor @ 11:15 AM |
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Reading For Success
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Sunday, July 12, 2009 |
We live in the information age, dominated by the development of the internet and computer power to levels that were unimaginable even a few years ago. Because out world is changing so rapidly, knowledge today is doubling approximately every two to three years. This means that you must double your knowledge in your field every two to three years just to stay even.
 Becoming a well-equipped and proficient reader today is not optional. Building a personal library and becoming an excellent reader is mandatory for success in any field. It is no longer something you can choose to do or not to do. It is absolutely essential and indispensable for your success.
There is an unwritten law that says, to earn more, you must learn more. The future belongs to the competent. And the race is on. America today is not divided into the lower, middle, and upper classes. Rather, America is divided into those who know less, those who know more but do very little with it, and those who know a lot more and do a lot with it.
The most powerful factor of production not just in America but in the world today is not money or real estate. The most valuable factor of production in the world today is knowledge. Money and opportunities flow to the people who have the most knowledge.
So why don’t people read more? One of the main reasons people often give, is that they don’t have enough time. They are so busy with work and family that they barely have time to read the daily newspaper, let alone books or magazines. So if lack of time is a major factor for people not reading enough, let’s look at how you can read more in less time.
Continue:Reading For SuccessLabels: power reading |
| posted by Editor @ 10:57 AM |
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Your Own Business - Reading for Success
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Tuesday, July 07, 2009 |
When you start your own business it pays to read book since most likely someone has already made the mistakes and written a book about it to help prevent you from doing the same. So reading business books can save you time and help make you more money. But many people are uncomfortable reading and lack the skills to help them remember what they read. Discover a few tips on how to read better, faster and to recall more. 
If you’re reading a lot of articles about starting or growing your own business, such as this one, then you know there is much to be discovered in reading. While articles are a good source to pick up valuable nuggets of information, you will have to pick up and read whole books to get further details. However, reading books is scary to a lot of people. They don’t feel they have enough time, or they can’t concentrate, or they can’t read fast enough, or recall what they read.
The time has come to stop such reasons for not reading and do it. The time saved will be incredible. No matter what your business is or what situation you are facing, someone else has been through it and written a book about it. So why make the same mistakes yourself and lose ground to your competitors? Simply by investing a few hours of time reading a book, you’ll gain days or weeks against your competition and eventually move ahead of them. The information you’ll gain simply by reading is that valuable.
Like most of us, I was a poor reader several years ago. I was fortunate enough to discover a program called Reading Genius, that was developed by reading expert Ed Strachar. Ed’s program was quite different from the other so-called speed reading programs that I had tried before. It wasn’t a series of tasks and assignments that just added to the frustration. Rather, it was more of an internal and experiential reading program that taught me how to relax and read better while remembering more.
Continue:Reading for Success
Source:BuzzleLabels: reading techniques |
| posted by Editor @ 11:32 AM |
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Tips to Help Increase Speed Reading Skills
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Friday, June 12, 2009 |
Virtually everyone wants to know how to increase speed reading skills. The idea of being able to whiz through a book in record time, while still remembering everything you just read is a dream come true to every college student and business person alive. Imagine if there was a way for you to cut down the time it takes you to read anything. There are simple things you can do right now that will decrease the time it takes you to read everything from the daily newspaper to a textbook.  One simple and effective way to increase speed reading skills is to read whatever you need to read as early in the day as possible. Your brain is most alert soon after waking so this is something you need to be taking advantage of. Unfortunately many of us leave our reading until late in the evening when we are already mentally exhausted. You'll actually be able to read at a quicker rate and retain more of the information if you get in the habit of reading earlier. You should also sit up straight when you are reading and have the book directly in front of you. Reading while in bed is not going to help increase speed reading rates for you. You are too relaxed in this position. It's much more productive if you sit in front of a table or desk with the book lying in front of you. Some people find they can scan the pages of the material they are reading faster if the book is held at a 45 degree angle. This really is a matter of personal preference so experiment with it a bit. The average adult reads at a rate of just 250 words per minute. This can dramatically impact your success in both school and career environments. You have a distinct advantage once you learn how to increase your reading speed. Source: EzineArticlesLabels: speed reading tips |
| posted by Editor @ 11:03 AM |
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Learn To Speed Read
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Friday, June 05, 2009 |
Accelerate Your Reading
You may believe that speed reading is only for genius types. After all, you need to center on what you're reading if you hope to grasp what the text is trying to tell you. However, this is a misconception. Anyone can speed read; it's a skill that has to be acquired. Before you can begin to speed read, you should take a speed reading test to determine your reading speed level. You can find free speed reading tests online. This will help gauge how fast you can read at present and be the bench mark to see how far you've come. It is awe-inspiring when you view the results of both tests, before and after you've taken your speed reading course, to see that it is possible for you to become a speed reader; even if you thought it was impossible.
 Speed Reading Education
You can learn how to speed read in a number of ways. Some prefer audio tapes that take you thought various tips and tricks of learning how to accelerate their reading. These audio tapes will generally come with booklets that include a speed reading test. Again, you should take it before and after you've completed the course so that you can see how well you're progressing.
You may also want to buy books on the subject. Many books can teach you how to speed read by also including tips and tricks. It may seem strange to buy a book on speed reading, even though you're not speed reading it at first, but soon you'll be cruising along page by page, reading a book in a fraction of the time it took before you started the course.
Speed Reading Instructor
One of the best ways to learn speed reading is to find a instructor who already speed reads and who is well versed in teaching others. This person is also someone that can give you a speed reading test, as you know it will be graded by someone else and not yourself; as is the case if you were to take a test via an audio tape or book. You can find speed reading teachers at your local library or you can look them up on the internet as well, either through the yellow pages directory or on free listing sites such as Craig's List.
Speed reading, again, is a skill you can learn. It doesn't take a genius, you do not have to have an oversized brain, you just have to learn how to skim the words quickly so that you can comprehend what is written. It takes concentration, a quick mind and you should take many speed reading tests so that you can gauge your progress every step of the way.
Source: Learn To Speed Read Labels: speed reading |
| posted by Editor @ 11:01 AM |
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How to Read Better and Faster
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Tuesday, June 02, 2009 |
Most students and professionals would like to learn how to read better and faster to master larger volumes of information and spend more time doing the things they enjoy. If you've never done any research on how to improve your reading skills, you might assume that there is no way you can read better and faster because our reading speeds are fixed. If this were true, then everyone would read at the same speed.
However, there is always someone who can read better and faster than you, and this is because they have taken the time and opportunity to learn speed reading strategies and implement them in their lives. 
Learning how to read better and faster through speed reading has a number of advantages. First of all, you get to read more chapters in far less time, which expands your information base and makes you knowledgeable about a number of things. Aside from that, you also get a bigger vocabulary, increased concentration, better communication skills, and improved concentration and focus. The best part about learning how to read better and faster is that it doesn't take four years of hard work to learn the techniques to speed reading. All you need to do is set aside at least ten minutes every day to practice these simple techniques, and you will read better and faster in no time.
The trick to learning how to read better and faster is to avoid the bad habits that slow down our reading speed. One of these is called sub-vocalization - the habit of reading the words out loud as you read them. Try to be self-aware when you read, and catch yourself when you find your lips moving along with the text. By eliminating this habit, you'll know how to read better and faster in no time. Another one of these bad habits is back-skipping, or looking back at words and sentences you've already read. Back-skipping usually occurs when the reader is daydreaming or is only half-focused on the text in front. To prevent yourself from back-skipping, make sure you're reading in a quiet, comfortable environment free from unwanted distractions. By reading in a place that's conducive to learning, you'll find that you can read better and faster because of the increased focus and concentration.
When you practice how to read better and faster, make sure you practice using a text that is easy to read. Don't try to improve your speed reading skills using a complicated technical manual with lots of jargon! The best reading material to practice on is a newspaper or magazine article on a topic you find interesting. This way, you'll have fun learning how to read better and faster, and you'll learn something new about a topic that interests you too.
You can also purchase a speed reading program if you're serious about learning how to read better and faster. Speed reading programs contain all the secrets and tricks to becoming a better reader, and most of them have money-back guarantees if you don't double your reading speed. So if teaching yourself how to read better and faster is not working, consider letting the professionals help you out.
Source:EzineArticlesLabels: speed reading tips |
| posted by Editor @ 11:31 AM |
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The Power of Positive Reading
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Monday, May 18, 2009 |
The reason reading is so vital is because it determines the focus of your mind. A passive person accepts whatever information is send by default. The environment determines such a mindset and usually that means negative input.
This is an arena where the advantages of taking control over one's thoughts are significant in seeing results. Thoughts determine action. Focused action leads to accomplishment. Feeding the right thoughts to the brain is analogous to planting the type of seeds one hopes to harvest.
Reading is power. It enables one to interact with some of the most inspiring thinkers and achievers in history. I use the word interact intentionally, because reading can be active on the part of the reader. A dialogue can be developed between the author and reader as comments are made in the margin, portions of the book or article are highlighted, and even dates and locations are recorded when new insight was made.
Reading to Gain Knowledge 
One motivation to read is to learn something about a topic. Reading of this sort has a cause-and-effect. Exposure to the material has extended a person's knowledge base. An active reader can learn more about a specialization and increase expertise or gain a broader insight into a general topic. George Mcdonald observed, "As you grow ready for it, somewhere or other, you will find what is needful for you in a book."
Reading to Inspire
A second reason for reading is to stimulate action. Reading of the accomplishments of other people is a way to get the juices flowing. Goethe noted, "Every reader, if he has a strong mind, reads himself into the book, and amalgamates his thoughts with those of the author." Reading is not escapism, it is a means of expanding one's capacity.
Labels: power reading |
| posted by Editor @ 11:12 AM |
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Eye Movement and Speed Reading
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Thursday, May 14, 2009 |
Most students learn to read in their early years of school. However, some students experience significant reading problems. This article tells why students have reading problems and offers hope for remedial readers.
Eye movements in reading should have the same kind of automatic response as driving a car or word processing an e-mail. Training students to read faster helps build this automaticity by reducing line fixations and the amount of time spent on each fixation. 
So, how do our eye movements affect our reading ability? Most people would probably say that their eyes follow the print, left to right, at a consistent rate across the page. However, this is far from the truth. Using sophisticated cameras and computer analysis, scientists have found that our eyes fixate on several places in the line in a rather herky-jerky motion.
In fact, when our eyes move, they aren’t even looking at the words, but are just moving from one fixation to the next. Eye movement accounts for only about one-tenth of the time spent on each line of reading text. In other words, reading consists of a series of individual glances at each line of text and the corresponding meaning-making of each glance.
The greater the number of fixations per line and the more time it takes to make sense of each fixation, the slower the meaning-making will be. Better readers have less fixations per line and rapid processing of each word. This is what Marilyn Adams (1995) refers to as "automaticity" and is the necessary prerequisite for reading well. This automatic processing develops as the reader becomes able to quickly and effectively apply the semantic, graphophonic, and syntactic cueing systems to the text.
Of course, the number of fixations per line and the duration of each fixation should depend on the degree of reading difficulty. Reading unfamiliar material or subject-specific vocabulary requires slower processing. Also, the purpose of the reader should determine reading speed. Reading a biology text for a test is quite different from reading a Goosebumps mystery for fun. The problem is that poor readers tend to read everything in the same way, that is with too many fixations and taking too much time to process the words.
Specific speed reading techniques have been developed to vary the reading rate according to the degree of text difficulty. Speed reading will also help call attention to, and even break, many poor reading habits. Effective speed reading will also maintain or improve reading comprehension as students increase their silent fluency rates
Source: BuzzleLabels: eye movement, speed reading |
| posted by Editor @ 11:44 AM |
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Choose from various speed reading programs
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Monday, May 04, 2009 |
Speed reading programs vary greatly in terms of what techniques they teach, what they promise, and the actual outcome. This can be confusing if you have decided to explore speed reading for the first time, and had always thought (like many of us) that speed reading is a single concept or technique. Actually, there are at least two major approaches to speed reading that differ in fundamental ways. Most speed reading programs are based on one of these two major approaches to speed reading, though there are also a lot of individual variations between programs.
Traditional speed reading programs are based on something that we all do naturally - instead of reading a passage in detail, there are times when we just scan it, letting our eyes travel down the page quickly. With simple scanning, most people can read up to 60 0 or 700 wpm (words per minute), as opposed to 200 - 400 wpm when we are reading carefully, for comprehension. The first speed reading programs just improved on scanning. Many studies corroborate the fact that there is no need to read every single word in a passage in order to gain comprehension - the mind naturally fills in what we don't actually read. And to put it simply, the more we 'skip' while reading, the faster we read. Though this varies among individuals, it is generally true that a certain amount of material can be skipped without losing comprehension. Of course, some experts disagree, saying that speed readers typically comprehend only 50% of what they are reading, as opposed to 75% for regular reading.
Speed reading programs teach you to speed up the rate of your 'scanning' by leading your eyes across the page using the sweeping motion of a 'pacer' (which your eyes naturally follow) or by teaching you to use your peripheral vision while reading. Despite what some experts say about the low comprehension, there is considerable documentation of the efficacy of these speed reading programs.
Some of the newer speed reading programs work on a different principle. They argue that scanning the page in a linear manner, whether or not you read every word, is unnecessary; in fact, it wastes time. Rather, they posit that the human mind is capable of mentally 'photographing' a page - taking in everything that is on it in its entirety, in a very short period of time. Some speed reading programs claim incredible success rates based on this principle, though it remains controversial. Mainstream scientists are sceptical about these claims, arguing that the programs just teach people to scan really quickly, and that comprehension is poor.
Source:Buzzle Labels: speed reading |
| posted by Editor @ 11:24 AM |
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Lifelong Effects of Speed Reading
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Sunday, April 26, 2009 |
 How would you like to remember 90% of what you read from anything? the newspaper, your favorite novel, business reports, your child's MySpace blog? How would you like to be able to read faster? Perhaps youll even read 3x faster and still remember almost everything you read! How would you like this to happen in just one single hour?
Impossible? Not hardly! With speedreadcomplete.com and the Speed Complete Speed Reading Program, hundreds of thousands of people have done just that!
But what can one do with the ability to read over 600 words per minute and remember almost every word? The lifelong effects of speed reading are numerous.
First, you will finally be able to get to all those books on your list "or your university professors' "Suggested Reading" lists" you have never had the time to read before. Suddenly, an hour's commute to work on public transportation won't mean simply a chapter or two it will mean an entire book checked off your list! You won't even get that sense of disappointment when you skim a book just to finish it. With the Complete Speed Reading Program, and the new ability to retain nearly everything you read, you'll be able to discuss the book in next month's "or even next year's" book club! When you read Les Miserables or Moby Dick for your literature class, you will be able to read the unabridged versions in less time than it takes your classmates to read the bastardized cut-out-entire-chapters versions! Not only that, you will have the bragging rights that come with reading the classics as the author intended
Continue:Lifelong Effects of Speed ReadingLabels: speed reading |
| posted by Editor @ 11:22 AM |
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Selecting speed reading software
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Saturday, April 18, 2009 |
Speed reading software can drastically improve your reading speed in the shortest time.
If you are interested in speed reading, it usually means that you are pressed for time. After all, who isn't? Students as well as professionals are sometimes overwhelmed by their work load, and it's easy to see why. Every year, it seems that more and more written information comes our way. This accounts for the current interest in speed reading, and more specifically, in speed reading software. If you don't have time to keep up with your reading, you probably don't have time to take a regular course. Speed reading books are great, but many of us need something more interactive in order to learn speed reading methods. Speed reading software seems to be the solution - it allows you to participate in a virtual course, but at your own speed. 
Speed reading is not a new idea. In fact, it was popular in the 1960s and 70s, and invented decades before that. However, the concept of speed reading is evolving. In the past, the speed of about 100 words per minute was considered the maximum speed that the common person could hope to achieve. This is relatively fast - it would allow you to read a 300-page book in about an hour and a half. Nowadays, however, there are new speed reading claims - ones that seem incredible. One individual claims that he read Tolstoy's War and Peace (a book of about a thousand pages) in fifteen minutes. A speed reading teacher claims that he can teach some adults, and virtually all children (who seem to have a greater natural ability) to read up to 18,000 words per minute. Speed reading software may not allow you to reach those dizzying speeds, but it probably will allow you to substantially increase your natural reading time all the same.
Treat your speed reading software as you would any course. Set aside a time and place, preferably every day, for working on it. Follow the instructions carefully. One drawback of speed reading software as opposed to an actual class is that people are a bit more likely to get discouraged in the early stages. Speed reading is not necessarily a skill that you can pick up at high speed - more often, it takes some painstaking practice at first, followed by a 'breakthrough' of sorts. Because you are working on your own with speed reading software, you aren't able to observe the progress of others, as in a classroom. Rest assured, though, that if you are having problems, you aren't alone. At the early stages, the trick is just to stick with it, doing all the speed reading exercises. In the long run, chances are excellent that you will successfully decrease your reading time.
Source: BuzzleLabels: speed reading software |
| posted by Editor @ 8:28 AM |
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Easy speed reading techniques
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Wednesday, April 08, 2009 |
Most of us typically read about 200 to 400 words per minute (wpm) when we are reading for comprehension - that is, when we want to learn and retain knowledge from what we are reading - and this speeds up to about 400 - 700 wpm when we are skimming or scanning. These techniques are things that we all naturally use in the course of reading; skimming and scanning consist of moving your eyes down a page, but not reading every word. You get the general idea of what a passage is saying.  Speed reading means reading at a rate that is significantly faster than that of normal skimming and scanning. With speed reading techniques, most people are able to read 1000 wpm or more. some of the fastest speed readers can read up to ten times that rate, with good comprehension. Obviously, speed reading is useful in many ways. So many of us - students and professionals - are inundated with a great volume of reading material every day. If we can get through this material at a significantly higher speed (and without sacrificing comprehension), the benefits are great. We are able to achieve more and learn more with less effort than we ever thought possible. The best speed readers are capable of reading at speeds you might find amazing. For example, some can finish a novel or reference book at the bookstore or newsstand, and remember what's in it afterward - imagine the money you'd save, as well as time! Reaching these speeds is not out of the question for you, if you find speed reading techniques that work for you. But if you increase your reading speed even by half (which is easily achievable) the benefits will be great, particularly if you have to do a lot of reading for school or work. Speed reading techniques vary greatly; in fact, they are based on different principles. Many of the techniques are really accelerated versions of skimming. You are taught to read only part of each word or phrase, which is all you really need much of the time - your mind will automatically fill in the rest. Sometimes this is achieved by using peripheral vision. Other speed reading techniques, which boast much faster speeds and greater comprehension, work on a different principle. For example, one method (sometimes known as photo reading) engages the sub-conscious or para-conscious mind to mentally 'photograph' whole passages, enabling you to 'read' them without actually reading individual words or phrases at all. Though this claim sounds incredible, many testimonies indicate that it's true. Source: Buzzle |
| posted by Editor @ 8:08 AM |
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Select the right speed reading course
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Tuesday, March 24, 2009 |
 If you're interested in learning to speed read, you're in luck - there are a variety of courses available that can help you increase your reading speed. According the claims, these increases can go from moderate to dramatic. A moderate increase might be from 700 words per minute (the maximum speed at which most of us can read without special training) to 1000 wpm or so. To put this in perspective an average printed page might have about 300 words. Reading more than three pages per minute with good comprehension is certainly fast, though not stellar - it means that you would be able to read a 300-page book in about an hour and a half. For many of us, this is good enough - reading at this rate will give you an edge in your studies and in business.
There are, however, other speed reading courses which have much more spectacular claims. Some courses claim that they can teach people to read at speeds of 10, 000 to 25,000 wpm - at least ten times faster than with conventional speed reading. The methods that these courses teach are different from those of conventional speed reading programs. For example, one speed reading course, known as Photo Reading, claims that your subconscious mind can be taught to mentally 'photograph' pages of text at an astonishing rate. One teacher claims that children aged 8 to 12 have the potential to learn to read at speeds much faster than those of adults. While it is rare for adults to reach as reading speed of 20,000 wpm, he claims that almost every child who takes his speed reading course attains this speed within just a few sessions. If this is true, it implies that speed reading might be a skill for which there is an age-related 'window', like language acquisition.
Experts are skeptical, though, and claim that reports of reading at speeds greater than 100 wpm are exaggerated or fraudulent. They also claim the comprehension is poor - only about 50% - even at 100 wpm, making this method unsuitable for studying or work-related reading. But nobody, expert or otherwise, can adequately explain Kim Peek - a man whose abilities have been tested extensively, and who has the ability to read two pages simultaneously, one with each eye. He reads at amazing speeds with 98% comprehension, a claim which no one disputes. The catch is this - Kim Peek was born without part of his brain, the corpus collosum (which co-ordinates the right and left brains). Nevertheless, his accomplishments do seem to prove what many speed reading courses claim is true - that the human mind is capable or attaining and retaining information at amazing speeds.
Source: BuzzleLabels: speed reading course |
| posted by Editor @ 8:43 AM |
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