Speed-reading as the term indicates, is reading faster and at the same time assimilating and understanding information in the same speed. This is a highly useful skill, more so in the current times as now, where we are severely hard pressed for time, even as we are expected to keep pace with the information overflow.
If you sit back and analyze how you read this article your style of reading will be evident to you. Generally people tend to read by moving from one word to another, in the same manner as the child does. Adults very often read by moving from one block of words to another in a continuous way. Occasionally we might go back on a line of words, when they are not clear to us. These disruptions to the flow of the reading are known as ‘skip backs’.
The most common problem that hinders speed-reading is sub-vocalization. As your eyes move from one word to another, you will find movement in your tongue or the throat region. That is because you are reading the words silently within yourself. Such sub-vocalizations lead to a mismatch between the reading speed and thinking speed.
One way to overcome this habit is to consciously count one to ten as you keep reading so the focus is on the content rather than on sub-vocalizing the information. As you work on this, you will soon find that you begin to process the words in your mind, an area called ‘thought stream’ rather than your tongue or throat. Through speed-reading you can keep pace with your thinking speed without any brakes in the form of ‘skip backs’. This greatly enhances your reading and comprehension skills.
Another way is to speed your eye movements. Draw two vertical lines and wrap the text within them. Now move your eyes in ‘Z’ pattern over this text at a slightly faster speed. Since your eyes move over the words, and do not rest your eye to read word by word, you will automatically learn to fill in the gaps. In time not only do you learn to read faster, but also comprehend the information faster, which helps in increasing your recall abilities.
So speed-reading is simply not about how quickly you can read. It involves much more of your brain centers and attention and thus in the process, it greatly enhances your comprehension and creativity skills. Since speed-reading is a kind of non-linear style, it combines well with mindmapping, which is based primarily on non-linear ways of absorbing information.
Mindmapping uses concise words, pictures, color, associations and other visual aids to convey the essence of an idea or information. By constant use of mindmapping, you learn to ‘fill in the gaps’ and increase your cognitive skills. Mindmap thus is a complementary tool that helps your thinking, comprehending and recalling skills.
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