What are the 4 secrets to understanding at super fast speeds you need to read quickly?
One of my favorite hobbies is asking people what “speed reading” means. Invariably, the more people I ask, the more different answers I get. Their answers usually have something to do with reading faster than they currently do. Rarely does anyone include in the definition the mention of comprehension, or the comprehension of printed material along with speed. Unfortunately, if you don’t understand the material while you’re reading it, then you’re not reading! In fact, one of the most frequently asked questions I get is about being able to understand at fast speeds, especially at speeds over 600 words per minute.
There are 4 secrets to comprehension in what we would call “super fast” speed reading, with speeds in excess of 600 words per minute. Below that speed threshold, the type of reading that is done is a much faster traditional linear reading with the eyes moving generally from left to right and line by line.
The four secrets to understanding at high speeds are:
1. Read visually – Because of how you were originally trained to read, you probably learned to say the words out loud. In the early years of your reading life, you probably also read aloud to get reinforcement from an adult teacher or parent. Now, as an adult reader, you are probably still thinking things in your head. This is called subvocalization.
Subvocalization creates a problem for the speed reader because our minds can only understand spoken language up to about 450 and no more than 600 words per minute.
Reading is taking visual symbols (print) and getting meaning from them. Understanding does not require that we pronounce things and listen to them. So learn to read and rely on visual information.
two. Read by meanings, not grammatical sequence – This will allow you to read above that 600 wpm threshold, especially for informational types of reading. Reading is a thinking skill, or cognitive skill. How often do you think of grammatically correct sentences? Thought is made up of images, feelings, ideas and concepts. We rarely need to think in grammatical sequence. When you learn to speed read, it becomes challenging simply out of habit. You understand me? Yes, that sentence is out of grammatical sequence on purpose to show that we can understand the meaning out of the expected order.
3. Use your natural dimensional sight – Our sight is naturally dimensional. We see things as a whole. There is a vertical and horizontal axis which, when applied to print at normal reading distances, is typically between 1 and 3 inches in diameter. If you look at a printed page and experiment with looking at a piece of text without trying to understand it, you will notice that you can clearly see all the words contained within that “cone of vision”. We refer to this cone of vision as dimensional vision.
Four. Perceiving Wholes – Our brain naturally seeks understanding as a whole, not as pieces or parts. For example, when you look at a chair, the mind understands “chair”, instead of wood + legs + seat + back = chair. The latter is the way most people approach comprehension and contributes greatly to the inability to read much more than 450 to 600 words per minute. Perceiving wholes requires a complete change in the way we approach understanding.
These 4 secrets are natural abilities of your brain/mind. However, due to your old ingrained habits, you are not applying them to your reading. With the right training and practice, you can make the switch to becoming a proactive speed reader at the level of comprehension you desire. From that practice, a whole new world of learning will open up for you. Will you take that challenge?
Now that you know these 4 secrets to understanding while speed reading, I encourage you to discover even more free tips at http://speedreadingtips.com/sign-up/
