Speed reading: find with efficiency the information you seek

by | Jul 15, 2021 | critical thinking, learning, productivity, reading

speed reading
speed reading

Hi Makers,

The purpose of speed reading is to navigate through material as fast as possible while keeping a strong level of comprehension in order to acquire and memorize knowledge. The objective of speed reading techniques is to enhance the reading speed of an individual while maintaining a high degree of comprehension of the material. Speed reading is not an objective in itself, but rather a mean to find the information you seek in a set of knowledge sources.

“wpm” means words per minute and is the reading speed unit.

According to Abby Marks Beale, your reading level is defined as such:

  • 100-200 wpm = slow reader
  • 200-300 wpm = average reader
  • 300-400 wpm = good reader
  • 400-500 wpm = above average reader

Research material before reading

A “speed reading” technique that should be executed as pre-reading is to chose carefully the books to be read and to discard any material that is not useful or interesting for the reader at the given speed reading time. Spending time searching for the adequate and relevant reading materials through the immensity of information available is critical to ensure a laser focused study. Then, speed reading that selected top-notch material will increase further the knowledge acquisition frequency.

Researching material means reading books front and back covers, content tables, abstracts, online summaries, related blog posts, Amazon’s descriptions and reader’s comments, etc.
Read purposefully

Before reading a selected material, it is recommended to define and even write down the reasons for which that material should be read. Then, it is recommended to define the questions for which answers would be researched for in that material. As a result, the reading should be dynamic, which means always asking questions and trying to find answers.

Skimming

Visually search the sentences for clues to the main idea. Read the beginning and the end of a chapter for information gathering, then optionally read the first and last sentence of each paragraph to understand if there is more information that needs to be read in that paragraph.

Skimming seems to be useful to search for information and to get a general idea about the material content but results in lower comprehension rates related to the details of the materials, by essence, as these are skipped.

Findings suggest that speed reading courses which teach techniques that largely constitute skimming of written text result in a lower comprehension rate (below 50% comprehension on standardized comprehension tests) (Carver 1992). (Wikipedia)

Duggan & Payne (2009) compared skimming with reading normally, given only enough time to read normally through half of a text. They found that the main points of the full text were better understood after skimming (which could view the full text) than after normal reading (which only read half the text). There was no difference between the groups in their understanding of less important information from the text. (Wikipedia)

Scanning

Similarly to skimming, scanning is a visual search for keywords.

It involves moving your eyes quickly down the page – often down the center – and identifying specific words and phrases as you go. These can be key sentences (often the first sentence of each paragraph), names, numbers, or trigger words and ideas. (Mindtools)

Learning to expand your peripheral vision can help with this.

Pacing

Visual guiding of the eye using a “guide” or “pacer”, such as a finger, a pointer, a cover card or a pen in order for the eye to move faster along the length of the passage of a text.

An advantage of the Pointer and Tracker-and-Pacer methods is that they should reduce your need to skip back and re-read sentences – a hindrance to speed reading that is known as “regression”. (Mindtools).

Eliminate subvocalization

Stop talking to yourself. Almost every reader “subvocalizes,” or moves their throat as they imagine speaking the words. This may help the reader remember concepts, but it’s also a major barrier to speed.

Eye movement

Train the eyes to make fewer movements. Each visual capture should contain more words.

According to the University of Massachusetts (via WikiHow):

  • You can only read while your eyes are stopped.
  • Research reveals limits to how much English readers can see at once:
    • You can read eight letters to the right of your eye position, but only four to the left. This is roughly two or three words at a time.
    • You notice letters 9–15 spaces to the right, but can’t read them clearly.
  • Normal readers don’t process words on other lines. Training yourself to skip lines and still understand them would be very difficult.

Chunking

Read a line using a triple chunk, i.e. in three groups of words instead of word-by-word. With practice, double chunking and single chunking seem possible.

Multiline reading

Ability to read using a “Z” or “S” pattern across several lines of a text.

Rapid Serial Visual Presentation

Techniques to process information more quickly. Software can help develop these by presenting a unique word to read at a time. Words are succeeding to each other at a given pace that should be slightly above your capabilities to force you to speed up.

Read the top half of the letters

Read only the top half of the letters instead of reading entirely the letter. According to Weschler, scientific research shows that the retina processes information up to 60 percent faster when a scan of only the upper halves of words is made. You may read the interline if it helps only acquiring the top half of the letters.

Examine graphics

Examine graphics and visuals as they often contain a high density of information without much reading required.

Summarizing

Think of and/or write down a summary after each relevant sequence of information, such as information dense pages or chapters.

Increase vocabulary

The reading speed decreases when new or unfamiliar words are encountered, which include specialized words (legal, accounting, medical terms, etc.) As a result, learning new words will help in achieving fast reading.

Leverage markers

Markers are tools to improve the retention of information, more specifically to memorize a set of words by associating them to a picture or mental image of the situation. Markers can be associated with keywords from a given reading material to improve the retention rate as well as the comprehension rate.

Comprehension advice

Advice to improve comprehension and retention of information while speed reading.

Self-assess comprehension

Self-assess the comprehension of the text read, the amount of material remembered, the percentage of comprehension.

Take notes

Highlight or underline text in a material, take notes when necessary. Then, review notes on a regular basis to keep the knowledge in your memory if you do not use regularly the content. Flash card software might be used.

To conclude this article, don’t forget that speed without comprehension is a waste of time. Speed should not be a goal in itself. Finding the right information and eliminating waste will help you save time and may constitute a relevant goal. In order to do so, try the previous techniques and keep within your toolbox the ones that help you to adapt your reading speed to your objective and to the material you are reading.

Make it happen!
Nico

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