Comprehension and the Art of Speed Reading

Speed reading can improve your life. Speed reading can also improve your ability to assimilate information at an astonishing rate, in turn, making you a more valuable employee. While the ability to read quicker may be advantageous for some, for others it is more a matter of improving their comprehension of what they have read as well as being able to hold the information.

The average rate a person will read at is about two words per second with good retention, for most that will be fast enough. Engaging the use of a speed reading course has shown to improve a persons reading speed by four to six words per second without any loss of retention to the material. Over time, with the use of a speed reading course, you will be able to increase your reading speed 10 or more words per second with better than average comprehension.

The Course

Speed reading courses are designed to help readers choose the words worth reading and which ones are not. Being able to look at a word without having to concentrate on each and every letter to visualize the word is already practiced by most readers. By using a speed reading course you will be able to eliminate more words in a sentence increasing your rate of reading.

Speed and Quality

Perhaps one the biggest challenges in speed reading is what is termed subvocalization. Children are taught early on to read to themselves causing them to sound out every word in their head as they are reading. With speed reading, the words are not silently read in their mind while going through the material and only the words that have meaning to the context of the material is retained to become part of the comprehension of the material.

Different instruction techniques are taught for speed reading and they may not all have the same desirable outcome for each person looking to improve their reading speed. Unlike repetitious physical tasks where the same movements performed with practice will enable a person to perform the task quicker, speed reading attempts to train the brain to recognize only the words that are important to the materials being read without the need to hear them in their mind. However, similar to physical tasks, practice in speed reading will increase their reading speed as time goes on.

Some belive that speed reading is a technique set aside for genius types only. Not true. Speed reading is a skill that all can acquier. There are steps that you must follow that will help to increase your reading speed and most importantly your comprehension as well.

Learning To Speed Read

There are a number of ways that you can learn the art of speed reading. The first step on your journey is to take a speed reading test so that you can gauge your current level and give you a base to see how you are progressing.

Next you will want to find some form of speed reading instruction. Some prefer audio tapes that take you though various tips and tricks of learning how to accelerate your reading. Others prefer books or a combination of book and audio.

The method you choose is up to you,the important thing is to stick with it and check your progress every step of the way.