Speed Reading Basics – The Easy Way
Thu Jan 13 17:12:47 2011
Get a boost to your reading speed using this simple method.
There's a way to increase your reading speed significantly; a simple method that does not involve selective reading (i.e. you still read the whole thing).
If you ever tried to learn speed reading with any of the common methods, you might be familiar with the idea of dividing the page, horizontally, into three equal parts and training to look just at the divisions, while grasping the surrounding text with your peripheral vision.
The methods that I've read suggest using a pen for this process; placing it at the divisions and taking in either one or, later, two lines at a time:
I found this almost impossible to achieve. My eyes kept being distracted by the pen. Luckily, a less involved method came to me. I've simply taped two lengths of string onto my eReader, and those strings indicate the divisions my eyes should follow:
Having an eReader helps, but is certainly not necessary. You can create the same "training wheels" for regular books. Simply tape the strings onto a transparent piece of plastic, or even tie them to the ends of two toothpicks. While reading, place the plastic or hang your toothpick setup over the page.
Remember, you don't need the guides forever. Depending on how ingrained your old habits are and how good your peripheral vision already is, you might learn to read twice as fast after as little as couple hundred pages. Once you learn to look at the page properly, ditch the guides. To further increase your speed, try to look strictly at the middle of the page and take in the whole line at a time, or even take in two or three lines.
The inspiration for the idea came from great book called Maximize Your Memory (ISBN: 978-1-60163-117-6). For more in-depth speed reading techniques, see Work Smarter with Speed Reading (ISBN: 978-0-07-173998-6).
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