Speed Reading!

Master Speed Reading

Speed reading skills are a must for any ambitious individual. In this competitive world where equipping one’s self with extra knowledge is a must to attain the winning edge, nothing helps like speed reading. Speed reading is very important for students who have a lot of homework and reading in their daily schedule. Speed reading does not mean mere surfing of words. It more or less resembles the work of a scanner. Comprehension and retention of contents are not affected or reduced in any way in speed reading skills. People use many techniques in speed reading which may include identification of words without focusing on the alphabets, not sounding all words, spending less time on phrases and skimming small sections. 

A comfortable body posture, good eye sight and enough air in the surrounding are basic necessities for speed reading. While handling the process called skimming, one searches the page for clues to grab the meaning of the article. Information rich reading material is handled with the skimming process where less interesting or irrelevant words are skipped. Meta guiding is another technique where the eye is guided by the finger or a pen which enables faster movement of passages. The information would be printed in subconscious for later retrieval. Removing sub vocalization is another important technique of speed reading. 

There is no specific method which is applicable for everyone. Each person has to try one of the methods which suit him and continue with that. Speed reading could be started with familiar text subjects. Reading the index of contents, scanning headings and subheadings would also help in getting prepared to comprehend text as you read. 

Measurement of Speed Reading Skills

The number of words that a person reads at a given time is recorded. The reader is later tested for his comprehension of the read text. If he fails to give correct answers for more than half of the total questions asked, he is considered to be failed in grasping the skill. Strange terminology in the script and lack of concentration on the reader’s part could also result in poor comprehension.