Speed-Reading Techniques

Productivity
1

Hello everyone,

I’m seeking to obtain some different perspectives relating to speed-reading techniques. Which ones have you tried, and how effective are they in truly reducing reading time. I’m particularly interested in techniques which not only increase reading efficiency, but also maintain a decent level of comprehension. Any perspectives and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Jack

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2

There are a lot of unscientific claims and propaganda surrounding speed reading (reading at 1000wpm, supressing subvocalization…), so maybe the first thing would be knowing what to expect. That said, there are three things that help with reading faster (just to avoid the concept of ‘speed reading’):

  1. Reading itself as a routine. Your brain starts recognizing words and ‘sentences-to-be-expected’ more easily and goes smoother when encountering them.

For the second and third points, there is a needed clarification. If you read a paragraph at a, lets say, 300 wpm (words per minute), that doesn’t mean that you are going to read X number of pages at 300 wpm. Why? Because of losing focus and having to re-read. This said:

  1. Outside of reading itself, doing activities that improve focus, like mindfulness meditation or journaling.

  2. Using a ‘pacer’, something that follows the text as you are reading it. In a physical book, think ‘underlining’ with your own finger. This helps with maintaining focus (‘hey, you are at this point’) and decreases the need for re-reading.

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