Understanding The Basics Of Speed Reading
Author: Brandon C. Hall

Speed reading is not just a parlor trick you can use to impress
your friends and family. For many it's a necessary tool for
managing time and information in the fast-paced business world,
and for many others, specifically students, it's the only way to
get through reading-heavy class loads.

The practiced speed reader can pick up a lengthy document or a
thick stack of papers and use their skill to get at the meat of
the subject by skimming for the most important details and
information. Without developing the ability to speed read, this
time-saving technique is merely flipping through pages fast.

Speed reading, or increasing the rate at which you read text,
is linked to increasing the rate at which you understand what
you're reading. The key to successful speed reading is
increasing your understanding of the text as you increase the
rate at which you read the words. It takes training and
practice, but don't be intimidated by the idea of a challenge.
Think of it as the next, natural step to your reading
development. Once you've mastered it, it's a skill that will
stick with you for the rest of your life.

As a child, when you began to learn to read, chances are you
began with the alphabet and the specific sounds each letter
makes. Then you learned how to combine and blend letter sounds
to decipher words. It's called letter-by-letter reading. Then
something clicked and you began to recognize words without
having to sound out each letter one at a time and you graduated
to word-by-word reading.

With continued practice common words and sentence structure
became more familiar and because your brain was tuned and
ready, your eye started taking in blocks of words at a time.
The difference between average readers and speed readers is in
the blocks of words their eyes take in at one time. The larger
the blocks, the faster your eye moves through the text.

Speed reading teaches you how to take your reading and your
comprehension to the next level. The techniques used in
teaching speed reading focus on your individual abilities,
namely where you are right now and what might be keeping you
from progressing. For example, if you are a slow reader,
factors that hold you back may include, but are not limited to,
moving your lips or reading out loud or holding the text too
close to your eyes.

If you are in the practice of moving your lips, or speaking or
whispering while you read, you're slowing yourself down
dramatically. Your lips can only move so fast. You should be
able to read at least two or three times faster than you can
speak. In effect, you're keeping yourself at that word-by-word
stage that children generally grow out of in elementary school.


Having the ability to speed read can make a significant
difference in your life, especially if reading is a strong
component of your work. Implementing some simple techniques can
get you reading faster and more efficiently in no time at all.


About The Author: For a complete 16 minute course on speed
reading visit (http://findprofit.16speed.hop.clickbank.net). If
you want articles and information on speed reading and speed
reading techniques visit (http://www.myspeedreading.com).