Let me change course right now and remind you of something else you might not have realized: Training to increase your reading speed shouldn\u2019t be your only goal.\u00a0 During this post, we will also focus on exercises that are designed to help you improve your comprehension.<\/p>\n
Think about it, reading and comprehension really go hand-in-hand.\u00a0 I mean, what sense would it make for you to learn how to read really, really fast, but not be able to understand anything that you just read?<\/p>\n
It wouldn\u2019t make any sense at all, would it?\u00a0 If you were able to increase your reading speed to some crazy number like 1,000 words per minute, but you didn\u2019t comprehend anything you read during the previous minutes, guess what?\u00a0 You\u2019d have to go back and reread everything you just read!\u00a0 If you read just as fast the second time and still had no idea what you just read, you\u2019d have to go back again \u2013 and again \u2013 and possibly again.<\/p>\n
If you kept doing that you\u2019d find that your reading speed would probably be as slow as or even slower than it was when you started reading this post!\u00a0 Your aim here is read faster and with better comprehension.<\/p>\n
Although reading and comprehension go hand-in-hand, when you\u2019re first learning to speed read, they won\u2019t always be in synch.\u00a0 As you begin learning techniques to help you read faster like skipping unimportant words, you will probably find that you comprehend less.\u00a0 Again, don\u2019t worry.\u00a0 That happens because you\u2019re used to reading word-for-word.<\/p>\n
Once you start skipping words, you\u2019ll be preoccupied with worry wondering whether the words you skip change the meaning of the sentence.\u00a0 Because you aren\u2019t quite ready to trust your brain, you\u2019ll be tempted to go back to your old habit of rereading, or regressing.\u00a0 But we can\u2019t let that happen.<\/p>\n
Instead, I want you to keep training the way the speed reading activities teach you to read because a big part of learning how to skip words is learning how to improve your concentration.\u00a0 One of the ways to do that is by learning to stay more focused on what you read.<\/p>\n
As you will learn later on, the better your ability to concentrate while you read, the better your ability to comprehend what you read.\u00a0 But that\u2019s not all.\u00a0 The more you comprehend what you read, the more information you retain. \u00a0And once you retain it, that information will always be there, ready for you to recall it.<\/p>\n
I know this seems like a lot to grasp right now, and it is.\u00a0 Learning to speed read is like learning how to do any new thing.\u00a0 Before you can acquire new skills, you need to break free of your comfort zone and spend some time feeling uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
If you wanted to learn how to ride a bicycle without training wheels, you\u2019d have to start by taking the training wheels off your bike, right?\u00a0 Then you\u2019d have to muster up the courage to straddle the bike and begin pushing the pedals, knowing full well that you\u2019re now on two wheels, not four.<\/p>\n
Without those extra two wheels, you\u2019ll no longer have that familiar feeling of comfort.\u00a0 With only two wheels on your bike there\u2019s now a bigger risk of falling.\u00a0 A bigger risk of falling also means there\u2019s a bigger risk of getting hurt.\u00a0 No one wants to fall and get hurt.<\/p>\n
But somewhere in your mind you realize that without those two training wheels slowing you down, you\u2019ll be able to ride your bike so much faster.\u00a0 So now you have to decide.\u00a0 Do you want to remain in your comfort zone and remain on four wheels?\u00a0 Or do you want to experience temporary discomfort in order to take a chance on something new?<\/p>\n
Deciding to throw caution to the wind, you take off the training wheels and start pedaling.\u00a0 When you fall, you get up and try again.\u00a0 If you fall again, you get up and try again.\u00a0 After a few times of falling and getting back up, you\u2019re going to find that you start feeling more comfortable, even though you might be a bit banged up!<\/p>\n
But also something else is happening.\u00a0 As you start to feel more comfortable, you\u2019ll notice that your confidence is also beginning to increase.\u00a0 And before you know it, you\u2019re riding like an expert full of confidence on only two wheels.\u00a0 Riding on two wheels starts feeling so normal and so comfortable that you won\u2019t even remember what it was like to ride on four wheels.<\/p>\n
Learning to speed read requires the same kind of approach.\u00a0 Before you\u2019ll be successful, you\u2019ll have to decide it\u2019s worthwhile to break free of your old comfortable reading habits, the ones that have been part of your life since way back in elementary school.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s a hard decision because really, who wants to do that?\u00a0 Most of us prefer to operate from within our comfort zone.\u00a0 That\u2019s why we don\u2019t vary our routine or the way we drive to work or school.\u00a0 We get up, eat, shower, work, and do whatever else we do pretty much on the same schedule every day, with the exception of the weekends.<\/p>\n
Changing old habits is like asking someone to take off the sweat pants they\u2019re accustomed to wearing and change into business attire.\u00a0 When you\u2019re not used to dressing for business and you first put on slacks, it\u2019s natural to resist and feel uncomfortable at first.\u00a0 With different pants on, you won\u2019t think you look right, you won\u2019t know the best way to sit or stand to avoid wrinkles, and the material might even feel itchy.<\/p>\n
But after a few weeks of wearing different clothes, your body and your mind begin to adjust.\u00a0 And before you know it, you\u2019ll start enjoying your new look and you\u2019ll start feeling just as comfortable in your new slacks as you used to feel wearing your old baggy sweats!<\/p>\n
The habits we\u2019ll work on breaking in our speed reading training are the same ones we talked about previously; habits like subvocalization, which involves saying or hearing in your mind the words you read one-by-one, and regression which happens when you reread material you\u2019ve already read because you don\u2019t trust your brain to get the information right the first time.\u00a0 We\u2019ll spend some time on fixation as well.<\/p>\n
Video Version of Post
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