Speed Reading - How it works and how to do it

Speed reading refers to different techniques that are supposed to improve how fast you can read and hopefully understand a text. The aim of these methods is to help you quickly recognise and assimilate multiple words or sentences at once, instead of simply identifying a single word at a time.

The average reader reads around 250 words per minute (wpm). Proponents of speed reading methods and courses claim that you can double this or even manage thousands of words per minute practicing the correct techniques. Is this actually possible? Well, like everything in life, it depends. I'll explain below.

But first, how does one actually speed read? As mentioned there are various different methods. Here are some of the most common ones:

• The Pointer Method - This involves moving the tip of your finger along the line of text as you read.
  
• The Scanning/Previewing Method - For this one you briskly move your eyes down the centre of the page, picking out particular words or phrases in the process, such as key phrases, trigger words, numbers, key ideas etc.
• Eliminating subvocalisation - Subvocalisation is when you 'speak' what you read aloud in your head. This method focuses on not doing that, which is supposed to improve your reading speed.
• Reading chunks of words - With this method you teach yourself to read a couple of words at a time instead of just one. This reduces the number of stops your eyes make while reading and helps you do it faster.

Now let's get back to that it depends. Does speed reading actually work? Yes and no. The above techniques, with practice, can definitely help you read faster, but this tends to come at the cost of comprehension. There might be a workable balance to be found here, but that really depends on what you're reading and how profoundly you need to understand and remember it. 

Beware of courses that promise you full comprehension at a blistering 1000wpm or more (or less). Yes, some people will be able to maintain understanding at faster rates of reading than others, but the same holds true for everyone: after a point, the faster you read, the less you will retain.

Now, this is not to say that speed reading is completely useless to you, especially as a university student (probably working part or even full time on top of that). In that scenario speed reading is something you'll have to do to some extent. There are just too many notes, textbook chapters, case studies and additional readings you have to go through - it's all just too overwhelming and too much!

Your lecturers are aware of this, and they're counting on you developing the ability to prioritise, pick out the most important info, and skim. That last word is key. At the end of the day, that's all speed reading is; it's skimming. Skimming for key words, phrases and concepts and identifying which parts you need to go back to to study in more detail. Some texts will allow for more speed and less understanding, and others will demand more of your time and attention. Speed reading/skimming will help you identify them.

All of that being said, regular practice will help you improve everything. The more you practice speed reading (or whatever you want to call it), the faster you will be able to read while also still understanding what you're reading. And, perhaps more importantly, the more you practice reading, just plain reading, the faster you will do that too.

Finishing on that note, I'll leave you with the following video, 5 Ways to Read Faster That ACTUALLY Work by our favourite College Info Geek, Thomas Frank. He'll give you some invaluable tips that you can also use for all your required reading and studying at university. If you want to find out more about the science behind speed reading, you can check out the other two videos Thomas mentions in the video as well.

 

 

 

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