We are all creatures of habit. When we are comfortable with something we find it hard to go outside our comfort zone and try something new, even if we know it can benefit us. With our lives getting more hectic as we moving along on the “information highway” we need to make time to take it all in. This is where Speed Reading can be beneficial.
As children we learned how to sound out our letters, real out loud to get experience, and use our fingers to guide us along the sentences. Most of us still use the same method today. Even though we have substantially increased our vocabularies, we have not changed our method of reading since the second grade!
&
As part of my Memory Exercises and Speed Reading Program I would like to offer a couple useful exercises to get you started and improve your reading speed.
1. Begin with an easy-to-read book and a stopwatch.
2. Move your finger along the page as you read the words so you are focusing on the word and not things around it.
3. Slowly increase your speed as you move your fingers faster across the page, establishing a smooth rhythm as you go.
4. Try to allow your eyes to take in two words at a time instead of one, moving your finger over two at a time. Then move on to three – your eyes can take in more than you think they can.
5. At the end of the page check your timer. Keep doing this on other pages and check your time.
The next phase of the exercise is geared toward improving your comprehension. Practice by reading larger blocks of words at a time.
1. Take out index cards and block out all but one paragraph on the page.
2. Read that paragraph and then move down to block off the next paragraph.
You can do the same thing on the computer by highlighting one block of words, then moving down to highlight another block.
Urban Myth: Reading comprehension decreases as a result of speed reading. If anything it increases! Comprehension does not have to be lost simply because you are reading faster. Once you work at strengthening your eye muscles you begin to strengthen your brain. You are stimulating it to process information much faster, so the points are not lost, but learning how to put it together more becoming more efficient.
Learning speed reading can be a valuable tool throughout your life. It will help in school to improve your grades by allowing you to cover more material in a shorter period of time. It can help you in your professional life by taking in as much information as you can in order to improve your job performance. It can also help you in your leisure time by allowing you more time to enjoy your family, or kick back and read a book for recreation only. It simply makes our life more efficient!
Since learning speed reading doesn’t have to take a large amount of time you can do it gradually, and you may not even realize how much you are improving. Follow the basic tips above and in just a few days you will be reading at speeds you never dreamed you could, and processing it much more efficiently — learn, practice, apply, review. Don’t make it more difficult than it needs to be.
If you would like more advanced training, I recommend you look into my Speed Reading program. As a memory champion, I can guarantee you will see results!
About the author:
Ron White is a two-time U.S.A. Memory Champion and memory training expert. As a memory keynote speaker he travels the world to speak before large groups or small company seminars, demonstrating his memory skills and teaching others how to improve their memory, and how important a good memory is in all phases of your life. His CDs and memory products are also available online at BrainAthlete.com.
Resources:
Articles Base: Two Extremely Effective Speed Reading Exercises by Rin Otori http://www.articlesbase.com/self-improvement-articles/speed-reading-exercises-two-powerful-speed-reading-exercises-651741.html
Learn Speed Reading and Change Your Life: http://www.fair-offer.com/speed-reading-learning-strategies
EyeQ – https://www.eyeqadvantage.com/personal/index.cfm?&CFID=107190&CFTOKEN=14743937
