If you think speed reading is just a fast way to get through a book, you need to learn more about speed reading. Yes, it does help you to read a book faster, but it also improves your ability to process information at a much greater rate than you did before, and remember more of what you read.
How many times have you picked up a book and put it down several times because you didn’t understand it, or had to go back and review because you didn’t get it the first time? Speed reading helps you to learn to concentrate and pick out the items in the article 
that need to be remembered. It will make it easier for you to learn how to memorize anything you read, and understand it better.
What we normally think of as good reading skills and good ability to remember what you read is enhanced with speed reading. The average person reads about 175 words a minute with good retention, and in most instances that would be fast enough. If you were reading technical information it would be the perfect rate. With time and memory techniques, speed reading will allow you to increase your reading speed to 600 words per minute or more, with better than average comprehension, and this is no lie!
There are a variety of different speed reading programs. Some have you skim the page, taking out just the highlights. They do not put the emphasis on comprehension as much as speed. If you have to get through a book that has a lot of filler information (junk to fill the page) this would be the program for you. However, if you need to be able to remember the main points it will not improve your memorizing skills or comprehension of the material.
The best speed reading courses are built to strengthen eye movement. By training your eyes to take in more area at a time you are able to send more information to your brain to process. You don’t have to concentrate on each word or letter to visualize the word.
The biggest challenge to anyone learning speed reading is the “sub-vocalization,” or sounding out the words as you read. From the time we first learn to read we are taught to real aloud and sound out the word as we read. Many adults continue to use this method when they read — although they do it silently and not out loud. With speed reading you retrain your brain by eliminating the aloud processing of every letter or word. Your brain will be learning to recognize only the words important to the material being read without the need to hear them in your head. Only the words that are important to the context of the material become part of the comprehension process.
Speed reading is not something you will learn overnight. You will need to practice until it becomes second nature, but once it is learned you will be amazed at how much more you can read and understand. For students it will make studying a lot easier, and for professionals it will make your jobs a lot less stressful. Anyone can learn to speed read, and it will definitely improve their memory skills — something everyone could use a boost with.
From the Desk of Ron White
Sources:
ArticleBase.com — Comprehension and the Art of Speed Reading by Francis Hesse:https://articlesbase.com/self-improvement/
Mind Tools — Speed Reading, Learning to Read more efficiently: http://www.mindtools.com/speedrd.html
