Kamis, 26 Februari 2009

Speed Reading Is An Important Skill

By Jon Kelly Platinum Quality Author

Almost everyone has seen someone speed read, they appear to skim the text and still have read and absorbed the content. It is normal for everyone to read at different speeds, even before some people have mastered the skills of reading fast.

The people who have studied speed reading techniques will still read at different speeds; however they will undoubtedly beat those without experience.

The point of reading fast is to understand and absorb the material using specifically learned strategies. Skimming a page and then rapidly turning onto the next page is not really of use if the brain is not absorbing the information at an equivalent speed.

The best and most efficient way to learn to read fast is to enroll in classes, where speed reading skills will be explained clearly.

The advantage of courses is that students will be shown several different strategies allowing them to choose the ones they find easiest to understand the material they are reading.

Students should try to learn all the strategies presented during their courses as, once these are mastered, they will see a dramatic improvement in their reading rate, after which they can hone and choose their preferred style. Students will see the benefits of speed reading as soon as the techniques are applied to their main field of study.

The time taken for reading assignments and research for written assignments will be greatly reduced. (Allowing more time for sports and other lessons of life also learnt through college living).

Equally, once in the world of business and industry, speed reading will reduce the length of time needed for reports, research papers and newspapers.

Speed Reading Strategies Encourage Comprehension

Reading fast does not take the lessons applied when learning to read at primary school and speed them up - this would not work and would not increase the speed of absorption of the information.

Reading at speed is about learning whole new strategies of reading, ensuring that material content is not missed or misunderstood.

Primary school teaches reading in a linear form, building each word through the letters which form the syllables, the syllables forming the words and the words forming the sentences. Courses teach students to read looking for different patterns and not to read each word individually.

A traditional education builds habits in reading which a good speed reading course will push aside, replacing with new techniques. A comprehensive course will also advise students how to become more efficient readers; hopefully this will also encourage the desire for self improvement as well as the desire to read.

Students often work with distractions (usually noise) around them; lecturers in speed reading will normally discourage this as research shows that by reducing the distractions the level of comprehension are increased.

Lecturers in speed reading will usually take the time to teach students the importance of preparing the environment they work in before they read a single work - remember reading at speed is all about increasing the speed of comprehension not just the speed of reading!

The satisfaction of reading faster and with better comprehension skills cannot be underestimated; the techniques of speed reading increase the enjoyment of reading. Speed reading is a skill to be encouraged in each and every generation of new readers.

Jon Kelly is a published author who writes articles, that includes ideas about studying techniques and speed reading. To get more ideas about speed reading. Please visit:Speed Reading Specialist.com

Speed Reading Course - Unbelievable Power at Your Fingertips

By Peter Sturo

Speed reading course has been gained great popularity recently. The idea is simple: you can read at a speed several times faster therefore saving you a lot of time. Not only saving a lot of time but also speed reading skill can help you getting a better comprehension upon the content of the material that you read.

1. Students and Executives
Students and executives especially can get a great deal of benefits from speed reading course. Students can get a better comprehension and retention to prepare for the next exam. Also, executives can get a great benefit. Imagine if you have to read through hundreds of documents and articles, would it be a great saving if you as a busy executive can read all of those readings in minutes?

2. Not Only Students and Executives
In actuality, the ability to read and understand fast is something that all people should have not only limited to students or executives. Today, we have experienced what so-called information overload. Even household mother needs to digest hundreds of information every day in a matter of minutes. Therefore, every people should learn this skill because it will help you a lot no matter who you are.

3. How to Read Fast
There are two alternatives where you can master speed reading, you can take online course or attend class. During this internet age, you can take online course and get the same result just like when you are attending class because all materials and exercises you will need all can be accessed online.

It is a good idea to urge your children to attend speed reading course early. There is no restriction whatsoever about the age. Young or old all can learn how to become a speed reader.

There are some good online courses that can help you to master the skill to read and understand fast. You should check carefully if the online courses that you want to take can be trusted. Do your homework, and compare different courses first.

To save your time you can visit website such as Speed Reader X that have independent review on some online speed reading courses. You can also try a reading speed test which can be finish in 2 minutes and gives you suggestion according to your test result.

Speed Reading Benefits

By Kathy Glee Platinum Quality Author

Who can benefit from speed reading? Anyone from executives in the corporate world to students can benefit from it Take for instance a scenario where a CEO has to go through loads of reading matter to decide on a merger and acquisition. How much time does he have to assimilate this information overload? Real life situations like this have very less time to offer.

Speed reading helps you read faster, absorbing and perceiving more information in the short term memory. Let us continue with the scenario of a company CEO. He needs to retain the information only in the short term memory to enable him decide. He does not have to read through all documents but need to cull out the information required for analysis and decision making. Speed reading enables him to skim and scan the information in less than half the time that would have normally taken.

For students who have various topics and textbooks to be covered, it is again information overload. It will be next to impossible to cover up all reading material in the course time available with the normal reading speed.

This is just a technique of reading to improve speed. This involves improving reading comprehension as well as memory retention. Hence, reading becomes less stressful. Since you can cover more of reading material in less of time, the stress on your eyes is considerably reduced.

It helps you read at least three times faster. This helps you read more of what you want. The more you read, the more you improve your personality.

The fundamental of speed reading technique is to look for information that you need from the reading materials. This basically means you already know what you want. As you improve your speed reading skills, you also improve your analytical abilities by knowing what you are looking for in the information maze.

As you read more, you improve your writing and communication skills. Better exposure to vocabulary through improved reading helps you improve your written language as well as your oral language.

How many times do we sit down with our favorite book and are able to complete it without getting disturbed? How many times are we able to finish reading a newspaper column in the first attempt? More often than not our focus gets shifted from reading to other happenings around us. The speed reading tool helps you improve concentration allowing you to focus on the reading material.

To summarize, the benefits of speed reading are

  1. Increased memory retention
  2. Increased reading comprehension
  3. Reduced stress on eyes
  4. Improved personality
  5. Improved communication skills

The best way to master this tool is to start right away. Help yourself with an interesting book and start off on the exploration trail of this new way of life. Alternatively you can take help of a software program that will teach you the fundamentals of speed reading.

Whenever you start and whichever method you adopt to master speed reading, bear in mind that the mastery comes with time and a lot of practice.

If you're interested in learning more about speed reading, and reading comprehension, then sign up for my free Speed Reading Newsletter. Super-useful time-saving tips will be emailed directly to your inbox 3x a week. It's quick and easy to sign up, and it's absolutely free! Click here: http://www.speedreadingisreal.com/

An Introduction to Speed Reading

By Kathy Glee Platinum Quality Author

Ever heard of speed reading and wondered what it was? We have all been taught to read and learn since we were kids. How did we all begin the journey? We read out aloud our favorite stories, read out aloud our text books so that the listener, be it a parent or a teacher could correct our pronunciations. Over the years, as we had better wisdom, we have been reading to ourselves with that tiny inner voice acting as medium to convert the text into audio.

Speed reading is not about skimming or scanning information while you read, but its reading through and between words, culling out the information that you need. It is just a myth that speed readers can not really assimilate the information that they read. Speed readers look for the information that they need while reading and that helps them read faster.

When we read, we are not reading word by word but actually read words by blocks. A speed reader picks the words that are required to make sense of the whole sentence and moves on unlike a slow reader who tries to understand the meaning of all words to make sense of the sentence. Also, a speed reader seldom needs to go back to words that he has already passed to comprehend the sentence. This creates a flow of reading and helps the reader to read faster.

Having read about speed reading, the reader may be wondering how to differentiate one from a normal reader. By accepted standards, a normal reader reads at a pace of 250 words a minute while a speed reader would read anywhere between 1000 to 14000 words a minute. Now if you could master reading at 14000 words a minute without compromising on comprehension, you could finish off a normal ebook in less than a minute!

Speed reading is not about tradeoff between faster reading and better comprehension, but in the long run as you master this tool you will be able to hold more information in your short term memory. There are various ways to get started to master this technique. The best way is to self start, probably with the emails that you receive. You could also take help from speed reading software. The software would guide you through the initial stages when you feel you cannot be on your own feet.

As in mastering any technique, there is no shortcut to become a good speed reader. The best and the time tested way is to practice the technique once you are introduced to it. It is not a miracle that will happen overnight to many of us, but we can be good speed readers with diligence and hard work.

In a nutshell, speed reading is a collation of techniques which helps you read faster yet comprehend the information available. It can be fun learning and sustaining speed reading especially when you have millions of word materials, be it books or magazines or newspapers, to be read in just one lifetime!

If you're interested in learning more about speed reading, and reading comprehension, then sign up for my free Speed Reading Newsletter. Super-useful time-saving tips will be emailed directly to your inbox 3x a week. It's quick and easy to sign up, and it's absolutely free! Click here: http://www.speedreadingisreal.com/

An Overview of Speed Reading

By Kathy Glee Platinum Quality Author

In this fast paced information age, the emphasis to become a proficient reader cannot be over stated. Anyone from a top notch executive to a kinder garden child can benefit from speed reading. In this fast paced world where every task is a race against time any tool that would help achieve our task faster is a boon. Speed reading is one such tool. So what about it?

Speed reading helps one read faster without compromising on assimilating the information. The idea is to convert reading to less of reading and more of visualizing. Eventually reading becomes like watching a movie. It then becomes more fun to read as well as takes less time to finish your favorite author's latest work.

Generally reading consumes time since we tend to read out aloud to ourselves, a phenomenon called sub-vocalization. Secondly, we tend to go back to the words that we have read to understand the complete meaning of a sentence or paragraph, which is called re-reading. If we are able to do away with these two factors, we will be in a position to improve our reading speed considerably.

How do we begin? We need to first break the above two habits - sub-vocalization and re-reading. This necessarily means practice. The more we read being conscious of what we do while reading will enable us get over it with time. It will take some amount of hard work and diligence in the initial stages to come out of an old habit and get into a new one. But it is worth the effort.

Speed reading most appropriately goes with such material where you only need to perceive the emotions and not actually go through the emotions. Speed reading benefits those who are into reading business materials, non-fiction, magazines and newspapers. Written material like fiction, where the pleasure of reading is actually going through the emotions, you may have to keep aside speed reading and be happy with your normal reading skills.

Speed readers generally know what they are looking for in an information race, and this is what helps them find what they want quicker. They read words by blocks and the blocks get larger and larger as they get better at the skill. This helps them to reduce the time spent on reading paragraphs. The words are read closer to the pace closer to real life happenings. Hence when you speed read a book set against the backdrop of say India; you can actually smell the Indian cuisine, walk through the sands of beaches of Goa or feel the freshness of the country.

As a beginner to speed reading, you should try using the help of software that will guide you through the principles of speed reading. It will also help you establish yourself as a speed reader by helping you sustain the technique that you have learned. But ultimately the onus is on you to perpetually use this tool through diligence and practice.

If you're interested in learning more about speed reading, and reading comprehension, then sign up for my free Speed Reading Newsletter. Super-useful time-saving tips will be emailed directly to your inbox 3x a week. It's quick and easy to sign up, and it's absolutely free! Click here: http://www.speedreadingisreal.com/

Preparing For Speed Reading

By Kathy Glee Platinum Quality Author

What is your reading speed? When you read at a pace faster than what average people read, which is about 200-400 words per minute, you can classify as a speed reader. You can master this self improvement tool with some practice and self discipline. But before you start, here are some preparatory steps that you need to know.

  1. Have a diary ready where you can mark off the period of time that you will practice speed reading. You need to take at least two sessions a week to help you improve your reading speed. You can time your sessions. If you will take only two sessions a week, each session should be at least 90 minutes. You can also practice daily in slots of 30 minutes each.
  2. Collect lot of interesting material to read. Check out your favorite books and magazines and have them ready when you start. Though not a must, it is recommended to have reading material with larger font size. This helps you to navigate between words easily and hence improve reading speed. You can switch to ordinary print size once you are a little into the habit.
  3. Have a watch handy or better a stop watch. This is required first to check your current reading speed and later to measure progress.
  4. Try to find like minded people and form a group. Group forming will motivate you to reach the goal faster. Someone in the group is sure to catch the speed reading faster than others and will act as a role model to help you reach the required reading speed. You yourself could be the fastest reading person in the group!
  5. Do not leave the habit of speed reading once you have started. It is important to know that it takes practice to make it a way of life. If it is a month that you have marked in your diary to learn the technique of speed reading, then be sure to follow up the same routine and practice for the next two months as well.
  6. A reading comprehension test is mandatory while you embark on learning to speed read. Many people think that reading speed is inversely proportional to reading comprehension. This is, however, not true. By improving your reading speed, you also improve your comprehension and memory retention. Therefore it is equally important to measure your reading comprehension as well. You may not be able to recall everything that you have read in the initial stages but let that not bog you down. Over a period of time your comprehension will also improve with improvement in reading speed.
  7. Once the initial couple of weeks are done, you can set an alarm clock and keep a target for yourself. The target can be that you finish 10 pages in 1 minute.

Whenever you start remember that you already have a pattern of reading. It is necessary to break away from this reading habit to acquire a new one. By constant practice and self discipline you can become a speed reader.

If you're interested in learning more about speed reading, and reading comprehension, then sign up for my free Speed Reading Newsletter. Super-useful time-saving tips will be emailed directly to your inbox 3x a week. It's quick and easy to sign up, and it's absolutely free! Click here: http://www.speedreadingisreal.com/

Rabu, 25 Februari 2009

Beginner's Guide to Speed Reading

By Kathy Glee Platinum Quality Author

Speed reading is a combination of methods one can adopt to increase the reading speed and in the process improve reading comprehension as well. The methods one adopts helps break the normal habit of reading and introduces to a faster reading pace. The normal reading habit is to read aloud or sub-vocalization and re-reading. Any method that helps one do away with these two habits will help improve the reading speed.

There is as such no clear distinction between the methods used for normal reading and speed reading. Speed reading mainly focuses on doing away with sub-vocalization, understanding the sentence merely by reading one or two key words and by skimming some information.

How to speed read

There are various ways of getting started. Some are described below:

  1. Self start - Getting on to the platform of speed readers by starting to read at a faster pace than usual and then improving by constant practice
  2. Self help material - Course material or tapes which will guide through the entire process
  3. Seminars or classes - Speed reading courses help you understand your current reading speed and then trains you to improve it
  4. Software - The easiest way to get started is to take help of a software program that will help you get established as a speed reader

Any method you adopt to get started should have some basic features.

  1. Understand your reading speed and then gradually migrating to a higher speed
  2. Conduct reading comprehension tests at frequent intervals to measure progress
  3. A good mix of reading materials to help you read at a constant pace through all types of reading matter
  4. Incorporate some methods to improve memory and information retention
  5. Perform Speed tests to track progress

If you are planning to get started on your own, the simplest way is to have a book mark to guide you. Keep moving the book mark down at a pace greater than your reading speed. The book mark will move down faster than your eyes and focus on moving your eyes at the pace of the book mark.

Another way is to use your finger to guide you through the words in a similar way as the book mark. Yet another technique is to cover the words read with a paper at a pace slightly greater than your reading speed. The idea is to read the words before it gets covered up.

Whatever be the method, speed reading can be mastered and improved only by practice. You will not improve your reading speed dramatically in the first attempt. These simple methods can help you improve your reading speed considerably in about four to five sessions.

Before you get started with any technique, be sure to check your eye sight and lay hands on some good reading material. It is a good idea to get started in a serene place so that your focus is on reading and nothing else. Be sure to have patience and remember Rome was not built in a day.

If you're interested in learning more about speed reading, and reading comprehension, then sign up for my free Speed Reading Newsletter. Super-useful time-saving tips will be emailed directly to your inbox 3x a week. It's quick and easy to sign up, and it's absolutely free! Click here: http://www.speedreadingisreal.com/

Speed Reading Tactics - The Double Bind of Subvocalization and How to Best Overcome It

By Ed Caldwell

Learning to speed read can be a daunting challenge for those who want to master the skills in the very beginning. One of the biggest limiting factors of traditional reading is that as adults we read with a see-say-hear-know method known as subvocalization. It limits the speed you read to the speed of your voice. But when starting out to learn speed reading, too much attention is given to this habit, and not on learning how to replace it.

Subvocalization means you see the words on the page, then you say them in your mind, then you hear them in your mind, and then you finally understand them. This habit was ingrained from early reading development and is deeply ingrained in your behavior. When reading with this approach, you can only go as fast as you can say the words. The average speaking rate is between 150-250 words per minute. That's not very fast. Your mind wants to go faster, so one of the by products of subvocal reading is mind wandering. We get bored. The mind goes elsewhere.

When learning to speed read, we always start out explaining the old habits that interfere with your natural ability to read very fast. Subvocalization is the one that all people can easily relate too. Then in the early stages of learning, they go on a warpath against subvocalization. Often I've observed beginners shaking their heads during an exercise. When I ask them what's wrong, they will respond, "I'm still subvocalizing! I can't seem to stop it!" and voiced with consternation and disappointment with themselves.

Then I will tell them, don't worry about subvocalization. Follow the technique you are working on. Eventually the subvocal process will be replaced.

In fact, an effective speed reader's mind does not go silent! If your mind goes silent, then you do not comprehend the material. (I get so many emails and messages from people who say they bought a software program and they are now going at 2500 words per minute, but they don't understand anything!) Reading with comprehension means your mind is responding to the print in a meaningful way. If your mind goes quiet, then you are in a double bind.

How do you get out of this double bind?

First, get your eyes moving over the print at speeds well in excess of what you can understand the spoken word. This occurs at over 600 words per minute, but is most effective if done over 1200 words per minute. In fact there is great benefit to go even faster, perhaps 5000-10,000 words per minute initially.

"But I won't understand it at those speeds!" you say. That is correct, and not correct simultaneously. You will not understand the material the way you are used to comprehending reading in your linear, grammatically sequenced approach to which you are habituated. However, if you pay attention to the print as a whole piece, and not interrupt your mind by saying, "I'm not getting anything," you may find that you begin to discover some very interesting observations about the material. With continued intense practice sessions, you will re-train your mind to perceive the material in a new way. Combining this approach with effective comprehension strategies will make the double bind slip away.

This new perceptual patterning will then lead you into understanding comprehension in a new way that is very exciting, and very well focused. Additionally, you need to wake up your mind to start responding! The traditional linear and subvocal approach has been demonstrated through brain imaging scans, to put half of our brain to sleep. It is a left-brain dominant activity. However, when you learn to wake up your mind with effective comprehension strategies, and move your eyes more efficiently with this new dynamic approach, both the right and left hemispheres of the brain become engaged.

Imagine that! You not only become an effective speed reader, you can become a whole brained reader! I must caution though, without external support in your training, you will probably give in to your old ineffective habits. I have not met anyone who is truly a speed reader, who read a book and mastered the skills. I won't say that can't be done, but the chances are really slim. You know yourself best. How often have you learned a very complex set of behaviors required to master a new skill by merely reading a book?

Ed Caldwell is the creator and publisher of the "Masters Online Program: Dynamic Reading, Memory, and Recall" and other live and web-based learning programs. As former National Director of Instruction and Certification for the world famous Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics program, Ed has 30 years experience teaching and testing new strategies to help people from all walks of life learn to read faster and more efficiently. You can learn more at http://speedreadingtactics.com/speed_reading_newsletter.html, and http://www.productivelearn.com

What to Look For in Speed Reading Software

By Kathy Glee Platinum Quality Author

Speed reading is a tool to improve your overall personality. It is a combination of techniques which will make you read faster. There are numerous methods to learn and practice speed reading technique, computer programs being one of them. Having weighed all the various ways in which you can learn to speed read, and having narrowed down to software, what are the parameters that you should look before finalizing the software to be used?

Efficient software helps you eliminate your current reading style or habit. Mostly, we read by sub-vocalizing the texts we read. We need to hear the words aloud to understand what we are reading. Software should have techniques to completely eliminate this habit of reading.

Reading speed does not improve with one session. Ideal software should check your current reading speed and pace the reading in such a manner that the increase in speed is gradual. A rhythm needs to be developed and in the process re-reading be completely prevented.

It should have an in built speed testing program. As you begin the test should calculate your reading speed. As you progress, tests should be conducted at frequent intervals to measure your improvement.

Training should be based on the individual and software should have the capability to customize training to suit individual needs. If you have the potential to read faster, software should be able to challenge your skills and push you further up.

Reading the same content can be boring and monotonous. Software should provide varied reading material to keep the interest on. Also it should have ample material so that the same texts do not keep popping up on the screen.

A speed reading training program is meaningless without a reading comprehension test. Tracking comprehension levels at every stage is equally important. Speed reading is not about compromising comprehension for speed. Ideally, the comprehension tests should be done along with the reading speed test.

Some software also come with the advantage of letting the user use the material that he wants to use. This is beneficial since while learning to speed read, you can finish reading the material that you wanted to as well as get trained to read faster.

An option to change the visible look and feel of the program will help in focusing on the training. You can create what you like so that you do not lose interest with time.

It will be an advantage to plot your progress in graphs and charts. You can evaluate the trend of learning as well as be able to correct if anything is amiss.

A good sales and technical support team is a must. When you get started, there will be umpteen unanswered questions and it is important that a good technical team is available to address those questions. You can get bogged down if you start learning with lot of questions in your mind and no answers. In case of any other issues with software functioning, the team should be able to fix quickly so that your training regime is not adversely affected.

If you're interested in learning more about how to speed read, and reading how to maximize your reading comprehension, then sign up for my free Speed Reading Newsletter. Super-useful time-saving tips will be emailed directly to your inbox 3x a week. It's quick and easy to sign up, and it's absolutely free! Click here: http://www.speedreadingisreal.com/

How Can Speed Reading Be Used?

By Kathy Glee Platinum Quality Author

Are you in the corporate world or still a student in college? Whoever you are and whatever profession you are into, you can be benefited from speed reading. It is a self improvement tool which helps in building up your personality. The first step towards speed reading is undoing how you have learned to read. Stop reading aloud to yourself and stop going back to what you have read. This will save time considerably.

Speed reading makes you a proficient reader meaning you will be able to read more in less time. This also means you become a proficient learner. Techniques that improve your reading speed also improves you reading comprehension and memory retention. Lot more information is stored in the short term memory.

Students are greatly benefited by speed reading. In a time crunched world, it enables you to finish off your lessons in much less time giving you more time for other activities. You can pursue your hobbies or play your favorite game in the time gained.

Reading more than what is taught at school and covering more than the school syllabus simply translates to better grades. Children are better learners and can master speed reading in no time with little encouragement and supervision.

For corporate citizens, who need to seep through information daily, speed reading can be a lot beneficial. These techniques help you cull out the information that you want from a mace of reading matter. Generally mailboxes are cluttered with emails and a proficient reader can clear his mail box in no time. Lot of time is spent in searching for information required to make decisions in the corporate world leaving no time for other activities. As an ace reader you can read in less than one third of the time that you take now, giving you ample time to develop your other skills.

An average person spends very less time reading since he feels lot of time is wasted. If you can just double your reading speed, you can read a lot more in the same time that you spend for reading now. By reading more you also improve your vocabulary. You knowledge also increases by reading more information which will ultimately transform you into a better person.

All your favorite fiction can be read in no time which gives you the freedom to read anything that you want. Speed reading techniques also help you read in such a manner that stress on your eyes is minimal. This principle of reading can be applied to any reading matter-law, philosophy, medicine, literature or management. By adopting speed reading techniques, not only does you reading speed improve but also your concentration and reading comprehension will also improve

Anyone can learn speed reading techniques. The sooner you start the better you stand to benefit. Since children learn faster than adults, it is advisable to expose children to speed reading techniques at a young age. With practice this becomes a habit and a life long asset.

If you're interested in learning more about speed reading, and reading comprehension, then sign up for my free Speed Reading Newsletter. Super-useful time-saving tips will be emailed directly to your inbox 3x a week. It's quick and easy to sign up, and it's absolutely free! Click here: http://www.speedreadingisreal.com/

Speed Reading Software

By Kathy Glee Platinum Quality Author

Speeding read can be improved by many methods. It can be improved by self practice by following certain simple steps or by enrolling oneself in a classroom coaching session. Of all the learning techniques available, the speed reading software is the most popular. There are many speed reading computer applications available in the market today. Any one of them can be used as a guide to get started and then use it to sustain speed reading habits.

The first speed reading computer program was Vortex. However since the developer, Vallier did not update it after the frequently enough it did not run on Windows XP. Lot of other programs are available today which work on the same technique as Vortex and most of them are equally or better effective.

Most of the conventional speed reading techniques teaches the reader to group words into blocks and read the word blocks. The computer programs, however adopt a different strategy. The most common method adopted by computer applications is to display each word at a time. The words are displayed in the same position so that the reader does not have to move his eyes.

As we read, the data or information is processed in our brain by breaking the text into serial streams. Speed reading software uses this principle and presents the text in a serial fashion thereby saving the brain from having to break the texts. The information is fed to the brain in a pre-processed and serialized manner. Punctuation marks in sentences are presented as breaks.

Some programs also train the eye by making it focus an object at the center of the screen. Several shapes keep moving around the object and the object itself moves up, down and sideways. The user is required to keep focusing on the object. However this method is greatly debated on its usefulness. Researchers say that to improve the reading speed, the eyes need to be trained to read texts and not focus objects. Not much study has been done to prove or disapprove this training technique.

The latest computer applications come with advanced features. It makes the user read a book online at some preset speed. The speed can be selected by the user. Highlighting of the texts is possible so that the user does not lose focus. It is highly discouraged to read the texts aloud. The eye is trained to read by viewing text as images. This technique is very effective in eliminating sub-vocalization which ultimately leads to improved reading speed.

Speed reading is a habit. Once you are trained to speed read, it becomes a part of life. Learning to speed read is like learning an alien language. The earlier you are exposed to it, the faster you can learn it. Children pick up the speed reading technique in no time and faster than adults. Also adults have a tendency to give it up before it becomes a habit. speed reading helps in self improvement and can be acquired with constant practice!

If you're interested in learning more about speed reading, and reading comprehension, then sign up for my free Speed Reading Newsletter. Super-useful time-saving tips will be emailed directly to your inbox 3x a week. It's quick and easy to sign up, and it's absolutely free! Click here: http://www.speedreadingisreal.com/

Senin, 23 Februari 2009

Two Extremely Effective Speed Reading Exercises

By Rin K Otori

Speed reading is all about breaking out of the old habits we have become accustomed to when we were children and just starting out to learn how to read. Over the years, we have become use to reading word by word and while this was good when we were first starting out to learn how to pronounce and comprehend each word in it's written form, it is by all means not the most efficient way to read. In this article, I am going to provide you with two speed reading exercises that have helped me learn how to speed read.

1. For this first exercise, you will be focusing on improving your speed. Find some sort of timer or stopwatch and a book that is easy to read. Either use your index finger or a pen, and point to the words as you read them. Try and move your finger faster, establishing a smooth rhythm to your reading. While you are doing this, make an effort to take in more than one word at a time. After you have finished the first page stop and check the timer and see how long it took you to read it. Keep practicing this and see if you can improve your timing.

2. This next exercise will help improve your comprehension as well as speed. By practicing to read larger blocks of words at a time. Take an index card and practice reading three lines at a time for five minutes.

There you have it folks, these are two time-tested exercises for speed reading. If you keep practicing this, you will find that you can read through pages much quicker and also remember and comprehend what you just read as well.

Everyone would like to be able to read faster, reading is something that we all have to do everyday for the rest of our lives. Whether it be our favorite novels, studying text books for school, or even the morning newspaper. Considering all this, it is only natural we would want to become better at it. Learning how to speed read, is a valuable skill asset well worth taking the time to pursue. The good new is, it doesn't have to take much time at all! In only nine days spending about ten minutes each day I was able to start reading at 1,000 words per minute using the simple but effective techniques at UltimateBrainPower.Net. Check out their website for more details. If your trying to learn how to speed read, don't make it harder than it has to be!

For more speed reading exercises, visit Speed Reading: How To Triple Your Reading Speed

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Tips For Beginners to Speed Reading

By Kathy Glee Platinum Quality Author

All of us desire to be speed readers. How many of us have reached our goal? Speed reading is a self improvement tool that can be mastered by anyone with little patience and hard work. Let us first understand the difference between normal reading and speed reading.

An average reader can read about 200-400 words in a minute while a speed reader can read three times that in the same time. How do we get started and become speed readers? Here are some simple tips to help you achieve your goal.

  1. Keep thinking about improving your reading speed. The more you think about it the more conscious you will be of your current speed and the faster you will learn to speed read
  2. Try to mentally make a list of information that you are looking for in the matter you are about to read. This will help you focus on looking for the information and not waste time finding what you want.
  3. Point at the text using a finger or pencil as you read. Keep moving the pointer at a pace faster than you read. Try to read faster than the pace of the pointer. With time you will be able to achieve a faster reading speed. Using a pointer also helps you from getting distracted and holds your focus.
  4. Keep a dictionary handy. You will lose time looking at the word meaning in the dictionary but this will improve your vocabulary and will dissuade you from re-reading. Over a period of time you can do away with the dictionary and continue with the flow of reading without being unsure of the meaning.
  5. Use a book mark to hide the text as you read. This will ensure that you do not read the same text again and again to capture the meaning.
  6. Look out for words that you can avoid yet not lose the context of reading. Some words like if, however, why, what can be avoided in a reading matter wherein you are looking for opinion. Eliminating such words from your eye span can reduce considerable amount of time.
  7. Skimming words can save a lot of time. Some words repeat or are used again to convey the same meaning. Skimming such words will not reduce comprehension but will improve your reading speed.
  8. Be conscious of how you read. Do you have to read aloud to understand word meanings? Practice reading with eyes and avoid reading by hearing. Lot of time is spent on vocalizing each word, hearing them and then understanding the meaning. Once you break this habit, you reading speed can be improved up to three times
  9. Get yourself a solitary space to start practicing this technique. Distraction in the form of sound or sight can lower your reading speed and decrease concentration.
  10. Be sure to start practicing with simple and interesting reading material. Serious and boring reading matter can bog your spirits down in the beginning.

Once you start, keep the practice on till speed reading becomes a habit.

If you're interested in learning more about speed reading, and reading comprehension, then sign up for my free Speed Reading Newsletter. Super-useful time-saving tips will be emailed directly to your inbox 3x a week. It's quick and easy to sign up, and it's absolutely free! Click here: http://www.speedreadingisreal.com/

Introduction to Speed Reading Software

By Kathy Glee Platinum Quality Author

Speed reading is a reading technique wherein the eyes move across words at a speed that avoid regression, increases the eye horizon, minimize sub-vocalization and enables better concentration. There are many ways and means to get started with speed reading. The best way, however, would be get started with the help of a speed reading software program.

How does a speed reading software help you become and ace reader?

  1. One of the common slowing speed factors is re- reading. This means returning to the text that is already read which consumes time. Speed reading software typically eliminates this and does not allow you to go back to what is read. You tend to be conscious of this and assimilate the meaning in the first reading itself.
  2. The software prompts you to read words in blocks. Over a period of time you master grasping the bigger and bigger blocks of words at the first glance itself.
  3. You can set your speed with the software and it does not allow you to read in haste. Once you get accustomed to a speed, you can slowly increase it based on your comprehension levels.
  4. Sub-vocalization becomes impossible because reading at high speed limits your articulation.

Once you adopt the software to improve your reading speed, do not hurry the process. Let your comprehension levels set your pace of reading. The factors that need to be borne in mind during this journey are:

  1. Understand how the eyes work and how texts are read. You can improve the reading speed once you are aware of manner in which words are read.
  2. Be sure to access the reading speed by taking frequent test. Also be sure to accompany each speed test with a comprehension test to ensure that your reading comprehension does not fall with increase in reading speed.
  3. Keep setting higher benchmarks and work hard to achieve it.

Do not lose focus by expecting results too soon. The improvement will be gradual and should happen at its own pace else it will not sustain.

Reading speed will not improve overnight. Constant practice is required to break away from the old reading pace and make speed reading a habit. If you keep focusing on what you know before you start reading and keep looking for the information that you want while reading, the improvement in reading speed will be faster.

Speed reading can offer you a gamut of benefits. It helps you read more and more information. By improving reading comprehension in the process, it helps you assimilate more information in shorter span of time. When you read faster you are also able to retain information into the short term memory.

Practicing speed reading constantly can turn you into an ace reader with time. You will also be able to read a book in less than an hour. As you master this tool and start reading everything that you can lay your hands on in much less time, it transforms you into a better person.

If you're interested in learning more about speed reading, and reading comprehension, then sign up for my free Speed Reading Newsletter. Super-useful time-saving tips will be emailed directly to your inbox 3x a week. It's quick and easy to sign up, and it's absolutely free! Click here: http://www.speedreadingisreal.com/

An Insight Into Speed Reading

By Kathy Glee Platinum Quality Author

Most people read the way children do. They read either letter by letter or word by word. Have you ever concentrated on the way you read? How are your eyes reading this article? You will probably be grouping words into a block and reading. Reading words by blocks improves your reading speed and that is how adults read faster than children.

Have you noticed that you also return to words that you have already read? Even if you read words by blocks many a times you go back to read again to understand the meaning or if you are unsure of what you have read.

An ace reader reads faster than an average person. He or she will understand the meaning of a sentence by just a glance at the block of words. Also, their blocks of words will be larger. A speed reader will rarely have to go back to words already read. This reduces the time of reading considerably because the amount of work that eyes do is less.

On the other hand an average reader reads words in blocks that are much smaller in size. Also, lot of time gets wasted in skipping back often. Skipping back often breaks the flow of reading and also the overall structure of the text is lost. When the word blocks are small, reading stresses the eye. The skipping back often makes reading a tiring process. This also brings down the memory retention.

Speed reading not only enables a reader to read faster but also improves the memory retention. While you are able to grasp lot more information in a shorter span of time, it also improves the short term memory.

Speed reading targets at the following to improve your reading speed

1. Increase the length of the word blocks

Once you are aware of how you read the words and what the length of the word block is, you can consciously increase the length. If you are keeping the text too close to your eyes, try keeping it a little farther. This can help increase the word block length.

2. Reduce the time spent in reading each word block

Try to understand the time spent at each word block. Studies show that the time required reading each word block is about quarter of a second. Try to benchmark this and improve it by practice.

3. Eliminate the skipping back habit

The best way to get over this habit is to hide the text as you read. Make it a point not to go back to the text that you have already read. As your vocabulary increases with time, the need to go back will also come down.

You can improve your reading speed considerably by these steps for beginners. The most important factor is to understand your reading style and your current reading speed. Once you start with the self help methods, you can improve your reading speed further by enrolling for a speed reading course or taking assistance from a speed reading software program.

If you're interested in learning more about speed reading, and reading comprehension, then sign up for my free Speed Reading Newsletter. Super-useful time-saving tips will be emailed directly to your inbox 3x a week. It's quick and easy to sign up, and it's absolutely free! Click here: http://www.speedreadingisreal.com/

History of Speed Reading

By Kathy Glee Platinum Quality Author

It all began with an experiment conducted by educational specialists researching a topic called visual acuity. These specialists designed a machine which could flash images at varying speeds on a screen. The experiment involved flashing pictures of air planes on the screen displayed for participants. The pictures flashed were large in size at the beginning of the experiment. As the experiment progressed, the size was gradually reduced and speed of display increased. The participants were trained and at the end of the training the participants could identify minute pictures of different air planes displayed only for one-five-hundredth of a second. The results of the experiment gave birth to speed reading techniques.

The US Air force was the first to tap the results of this experiment. They redid the experiment with words and found that an average human could read about four words flashed for one-five-hundredth of a second. This led to the conclusion that training could improve reading speeds and also that reading gives way to skimming words with advanced training.

The improvement in reading speed is because of the improvement in visual processing. The training to improve reading speed involved techniques to train the eye to move in a paced manner. However, initial experiments in a classroom like environment showed that once out of the created environment readers slid back to their original reading speed.

The early experiments conducted did prove that by improving visual processing, reading speed improves considerably but it did not have lasting effect. It took another ten years for a school teacher to unravel the mystery behind retaining the reading speed gained. While forcing herself to read faster, she is said to have brushed off the pages of the book in desperation. It was then that she notices that the sweeping motion of her hand made her actually read smoother. Later she started using her hand as a pacer to read and this method was christened Wood Method after her. This was later called Reading Dynamics. It was this school teacher who coined the name Speed Reading.

There are lot of courses and books designed to enhance the reading speed of a reader. Some even claim to help you attain reading speed of 10,000 words per minute. Such courses not only promise to increase the reading speed but also increase the reading comprehension.

Speed reading is not a mystery as it may sound. It is a combination of various reading techniques integrated in an impeccable manner to improve the reading speed and reading comprehension. With higher speed of reading memory retention also improves.

The techniques that lead one to become a speed reader are easy to follow and mainly tame the movement of the eyes. You should be interested in reading and should have a determination to become an ace reader. You can use any of the courses available or enroll yourself for a classroom session. However if you want to start off from the comfort of your home check out the speed reading software.

If you're interested in learning more about speed reading, and reading comprehension, then sign up for my free Speed Reading Newsletter. Super-useful time-saving tips will be emailed directly to your inbox 3x a week. It's quick and easy to sign up, and it's absolutely free! Click here: http://www.speedreadingisreal.com/

Rabu, 18 Februari 2009

How Speed Reading Can Help You in School and How to Take Advantage of It

By Karn Patel

Do you want to be able to dramatically improve your performance in school? There is one easy way of doing just that. The answer is learning the skill of speed reading.

Thought Speed Reading Was Fake?

Don't worry most people do. The only problem with this fact is that because of people thinking that speed reading is fake, they automatically dismiss it. If they dismiss it, then they will never learn it. That will mean that they will always be at a disadvantage to those who do know how to speed read.

As a quick note to those reading this, make sure that from now on if you hear someone say that speed reading is fake, tell them that they don't know what they are talking about. You can do this because after reading this article you will learn how to speed read.

How Speed Reading Can Help You In School

1. You can finish reading assignments much faster - This is obvious to those who think about it

2. You can learn new skills much faster - Many new skills can be learned from the reading of books and articles. If you can read faster, you will be more inclined to learn more through reading. These skills can later help you in school.

3. Finish school assigned books ahead of time - In school, especially high school you are given books to read. While the rest of the class is reading these books day after day, you will be finished within just two.

4. You can read ahead in your text books - When you are able to look at a page of text and within ten seconds are able to pull out the most important words from it, you will be more inclined to read ahead. This applies to your text books as well.

Speed reading can be of great benefit to you because there are just so many implications for it. You can learn anything you want fast, you can do school assignments fast, you can even go through an entire book fast. If you want to learn more about how you can speed read then take a look at this page: How To Speed Read.

Tips to Help Increase Speed Reading Skills

By Gillian Reynolds Platinum Quality Author

Virtually everyone wants to know how to increase speed reading skills. The idea of being able to whiz through a book in record time, while still remembering everything you just read is a dream come true to every college student and business person alive. Imagine if there was a way for you to cut down the time it takes you to read anything. There are simple things you can do right now that will decrease the time it takes you to read everything from the daily newspaper to a textbook.

One simple and effective way to increase speed reading skills is to read whatever you need to read as early in the day as possible. Your brain is most alert soon after waking so this is something you need to be taking advantage of. Unfortunately many of us leave our reading until late in the evening when we are already mentally exhausted. You'll actually be able to read at a quicker rate and retain more of the information if you get in the habit of reading earlier.

You should also sit up straight when you are reading and have the book directly in front of you. Reading while in bed is not going to help increase speed reading rates for you. You are too relaxed in this position. It's much more productive if you sit in front of a table or desk with the book lying in front of you. Some people find they can scan the pages of the material they are reading faster if the book is held at a 45 degree angle. This really is a matter of personal preference so experiment with it a bit.

The average adult reads at a rate of just 250 words per minute. This can dramatically impact your success in both school and career environments. You have a distinct advantage once you learn how to increase your reading speed. For more helpful tips on how to become a fast reader visit this helpful site.

It's possible for anyone to learn to read at a rate of 25,000 words per minute while retaining that information in your long term memory. You owe it to yourself to learn this skill. It will change your life.


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Speed Reading Course - Three Incredible Ways to Improve Reading Speed

By Peter Sturo

Speed reading course is becoming more popular nowadays. Reading can actually be a fun activity, but it can be time consuming if your reading speed is the same as the speed at which you talk. A range of 200-350 words per minute is considered to be an average speed for an individual. But remember, it entirely depends on your reading material and experience. In case your material contains difficult words, then your speed is likely to be slower than usual.

Reading doesn't just mean merely pronouncing several words one after another, it is very important to understand what you read as well and this factor is also taken into consideration while determining your reading speed.

The best way to learn to read faster is through a speed reading course. In case you don't want to join a course, here are a few quick tips that will help you improve your speed:

  • Preview your material before you start reading. That way you have an idea what you will be reading about and will also help you read faster.
  • Do not rush through your material. Doing so, you will leave room for reading incorrectly. Incorrect reading will require you to repeat reading a particular sentence, which in turn will decrease your reading speed.
  • Use your finger while reading. This will help you keep a constant track of which paragraph or line you are at and help you improve your speed.
  • Last but most importantly, practice. Read more! The more you read the better you get. As they say, practice makes perfect.

Slow reading is annoying and embarrassing at times. So, in case you are not happy with your reading speed then you may consider taking up a speed reading course and you'll be surprised to see your speed getting better in no time.
Try this online reading speed test; it can be finished in a few minutes. You can earn a free speed reading mini-course there too!

Learn Speed Reading - By Forgetting What You Currently Know About Reading!

By Trevor Johnson Platinum Quality Author

To effectively learn speed reading you have to unlearn the techniques often taught in schools that force you to read slowly. Understanding your vision and how you perceive a page will help you to learn to read faster. In a normal reading technique the eye has a field of vision, and that varies from a few letters to a few words.

As this field of vision is limited the eye jumps about backwards and forwards following the text. If that field of vision is widened it follows that the eyes move less and if that happens they focus on the written text. This alone will automatically increase the speed at which you read. To widen tour filed of vision you need to read by moving downwards and not move your eyes across a page, because moving the eye from the end of a line to the beginning of the next line effectively slows down your reading speed.

Start with a newspaper column and read downwards, utilise the "Wood" method of speed reading, pull your index finger down the centre of the column. This assists you to focus your field of vision downwards, but forces a wider field of vision to take in the whole line. If you read slowly you are often actually reading the text twice, although you do not realise this. The movement of your eyes pulls your attention back over text that you have already read. Skipping back over the text does not increase your comprehension; educational psychologists have found that your comprehension and memory is improved by skim reading. In actual fact when you have killed the techniques that have always stopped you from reading fast it takes less time to skim read something than it does to read it slowly once? Which means that you have increased your memory potential, your recall and comprehension have improved and you have saved time as well?

Also the slow reader is not fully focused so there attention wanders all over the place and because they are less than interested in the text, other sensory images and thoughts are claiming their attention. We all have limited processing capabilities and our attention wandering is a big factor in slowing down reading. Once you read mechanically your comprehension is reduced because your brain is forced to prioritise, it cannot process everything at once, and it has the capacity to store unlimited amounts of information but at a slower rate.

When we first learnt to read we learned the letters first, and said the letters out loud, and then we repeated the sounds of a syllable, and then read the whole word. This process of vocalisation often carries onto adulthood even though it is often subconscious, the connection between the words of the text and the sounds is strong. This is especially so when one reads technical or difficult text, we tend to read them accompanied by sound. In fact this vocalisation involves not only the lips, it is a latent movement of the eye, which will read faster if reading down and not vocalising.

The five senses send information to the brain to be processed and memorised. When the brain has to interpret a visual and an audio signal it takes longer to process that information than it would if it was merely a visual image of the letters. All of these techniques are in essence unlearning rather than learning and they therefore take practise.

Another bad habit that was taught in schools as a matter of course that it is necessary to read every letter to understand. In fact this is not the case but it does take a fair amount of practise to unlearn. If you read the titles, the headings, they will summarise what you are going to read. If you understand the title of the paragraph then skip it, leave it our from your reading. This of course if effective with a first reading of a textbook but not a helpful technique with a novel, because you can quite literally lose the plot.

In conclusion it is helpful to allow your brain to focus out and not concentrate on every word, but focus the eyes. Even if you have misunderstood what you have read do not go back. Regression is the second biggest technique that slows reading down. Go back when you have finished and read again.

To find out more about how you can learn speed reading just click here.


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What Prevents Speed Reading?

By Kathy Glee Platinum Quality Author

Is there any doubt about the benefits of reading? Anyone from any walk of life has to do some reading or the other. If you are a student you have all your lessons to read. If you are a teacher, you need to read to prepare for your classes. If you are a professional, you have all the work related reading matter to be read. Even if you are a housewife, you will have emails to be read or at least the newspaper and some magazines to read.

What prevents you from speed reading? There are certain myths associated with reading which prevents some from adapting to the speed reading techniques. Once you realize that these are just myths and has no truth whatsoever, you can break away from you current reading style and improve reading speed considerably. What are these myths?

Myth number one is that we need to read word by word else we will not be in a position to understand the meaning. This is certainly not true. What you need is to grab the information from the texts. It is not necessary that you read every word if you can understand what the texts intend to convey by just reading one or two words. Reading just the key words and understanding what the matter has to convey will take some practice but it will also save a lot of time spent in reading.

Myth number two is that you need to spend a lot of time reading. Again this is not true. Reading is a fun activity if you can read more in less time. Not all people read at the same speed. There are people who can speed read and finish off volumes of reading material in no time. They do not spend as much time reading the whole works of Shakespeare as an average person will spend reading a newspaper.

Myth number three is that all sessions of the reading matter are equally important. This is not correct. You can skim and scan information if you know what you are looking for. It is important to know what you want from the matter you read else you can get lost in the words. Then you will have to read all sessions or parts to get what you want.

Myth number four presumes that reading comprehension and memory retention are compromised for speed of reading. This is absolutely false. Speed reading is a technique which trains you to read faster. The combination of methods used ensures that the reading comprehension improves with an improvement in speed. Also as you improve you reading speed and reach higher levels of reading comprehension, you short term memory retention also improves.

It takes time to get settled with a new habit. The most important aspect is to be conscious of your current reading style and find ways to break away from it. There are various resources available to help you gain an insight to speed reading as well as led a hand for you to get started.

If you're interested in learning more about speed reading, and reading comprehension, then sign up for my free Speed Reading Newsletter. Super-useful time-saving tips will be emailed directly to your inbox 3x a week. It's quick and easy to sign up, and it's absolutely free! Click here: http://www.speedreadingisreal.com/

Senin, 16 Februari 2009

Speed Reading Course - Are There Better Alternatives to EyeQ?

By Peter Sturo

In current times, where everything seems to happen at the speed of light, it can be advantageous for you to be able to gather a large amount of information in a very short span of time. Speed reading is a skill that shall come extremely handy at your workplace. With a good speed reading course, you can easily increase your reading speed and attain more information. There are many options available to you if you want to learn this beneficial skill.

There are many speed reading courses that can effectively help you improve your reading speed, although EyeQ is well-known, there are other efficient alternatives as well which can provide successful results.

Software such as Speed Reader-X, Reader's Edge, RocketReader, etc., can also help a great deal and are just as effective in increasing reading speed regardless of user's age or reading capability. Readers of all levels can make use of such software; they contain easy and simple exercises that can successfully improve the reading ability of an individual.

It has been seen that the reading speed of an average individual is limited to the rate at which they talk, but with proper training it is possible to improve your reading speed and eliminate any bad reading habits that may have held you back in the first place. Although no course can guarantee that you shall be able to read at the speed of light, good software shall only help you learn a reading method that will last an eternity.

Choose a speed reading course that is simple and easy. Complicated and expensive does not guarantee effective results; read reviews and make your own decisions to get the best deal. Good luck!

Visit this website for review of a good online speed reading course! And try this online reading speed test which can be finished in 5 minutes for measuring your actual reading speed. You can earn a free speed reading mini-course there too!

How Speed Reading Helped Me and How it Can Help You

By Karn Patel

I have been through many rough situations that I have gotten through thanks to being able to speed read.

This one event occurred during my time at high school.

It was mid term week and I had one midterm left to tackle, English. Now I did not have much of a problem with english before but this was different. In this one semester we had a lot of reading assignments that I had not done. If it was anyone else in this situation they would have been paying for it.

I was lucky that a year before I had learned how to speed read through a program I had found online. The program, at this point, is not relevant. What is relevant is that I had read about a days worth of text within eight hours.

I needed to read a couple chapters of The Pigman and Animal Farm. Also, I needed to read about 15 other shorts stories and memorize all of the characters, events, and morals. This was not an easy feat but I had done it.

If you do not already know, speed reading allows you to do exactly what you think, read fast. It is done by changing the way that you normally read. The basic way that most people read is that they look at the word and they make the sound, even silently, then after that, they process the word. Speed reading allows you to skip the slow part of sounding out the word and just process each word as you see it.

Obviously speed reading is way more efficient and helpful compared to the normal standard way of reading.

Speed reading can be of great benefit to you because there are just so many implications for it. You can learn anything you want fast, you can do school assignments fast, you can even go through an entire book, fast. If you want to learn more about how you can speed read then take a look at this page: How To Speed Read The Easy Way

A Review of Speed Reading Products

By Adam Harley Platinum Quality Author

In speed reading, self-training works. It absolutely works 100%. However, for some people it can be difficult, because it can be hard to accurately track your progress. This can end up reducing self-confidence, and lessening the effectiveness if the training.

There are many colleges that offer courses in speed reading. Usually, it's not a full-length course - just a few days. These short courses improve your study skills, reading comprehension, and expand your vocabulary. Courses like these offered through seminars or college programs can be extremely expensive, and are only hosted in specific areas, so they are not usually a viable option for someone who just wants to learn the quick and easy way.

This is where people usually turn to speed reading software. These products can cost anything from $50 to $500 - much cheaper than courses & seminars, but still quite expensive. The main benefit of using software over another kind of speed reading product is that you can usually set it up to fit your own specific needs. Software usually acts as a guide for you and your reading skills that makes sure you stay on the right track while improving.

There are plenty of different software products, like Rocket Reader, Bullet Read, Eye Q, Speed Reading Trainer, etc. However, as I said before, these are still pretty expensive.

The next option is downloading an audio-course. These are cheaper than the seminars, and cheaper than the software (usually), and are convenient if you have the time to sit at your computer and listen. I've seen short ten-minute audio clips, and ten-day series' - and the problem is the same with all of them: they need to try and teach everyone the same lesson, and therefore end up with very poor results overall.

So, what are we left with now? With written resources!

There a ton of free information available on the internet about speed reading. You don't have to pay money to learn how to speed read! Self-training works. You just need the information, so that you can get started.

For more quick tips and techniques for improving your reading speed, join the Speed Reading Newsletter It's totally FREE, and very easy to join. You'll get plenty of powerful speed reading techniques sent straight to your inbox. Learn how to speed read today!

How Speed Reading Helps

By Kathy Glee Platinum Quality Author

The age that we live in has become an age of information overload. Any amount of information seems less. Who will not like to become an ace reader? Speed reading helps you read faster without compromising on reading comprehension. In fact speed reading will help you improve your comprehension. Once you master speed reading, reading becomes more fun since it helps you read like you experience real life happenings. You are able to assimilate so much more of information in a much shorter time span. By improving knowledge and being well informed leads to a better quality of life and makes you a better person.

Speed reading is a self improvement tool that is used to read faster. You can start learning to use the tool yourself. The two things that you need to remember are that you need to break away from two habits that you are used to while reading - sub-vocalization and re-reading. Sub-vocalization means reading out the words aloud to yourself and re-reading is nothing but reading the matter again to understand the meaning.

In simple terms, speed reading means proficient reading. Over a period of time proficient reading will lead to proficient learning. Once the proficient reader in you is unleashed, the potential to learn quicker is automatically unlocked.

The obvious benefit for students is by securing better grades at school. In an age where every student has a time crunch to finish off reading and learning the school syllabus, speed reading enables faster reading and better learning.

An executive in a job which involves reading and analyzing information, speed reading helps skim and scan relevant information. Reduced reading time implies that time is available for other tasks. This also means you are able to read more matter and search for more information.

Speed reading is also about improving reading comprehension and memory retention. With a simple begin-at-home program, you can improve your reading speed considerably. This will help you attain a reading strategy to keep you on top of your work reading. This will also enhance your leisure reading as well as make it more fun.

Reading speed is many a times slowed down by unknown vocabulary. Unknown words demand re-reading and unsuccessful attempts to understand the sentence meaning. Speed reading helps you read more in less time thereby expanding your vocabulary.

Speed reading is no robot science and anyone can master it. But it will take a lot of practice and self discipline to make it a habit. Sometimes you will have to put yourself through a monotonous reinforcement to replace your old reading habit. Whenever you get started don't get bogged down by number of words that you can read in a specified time. Many a times the reading speed depends on the physiological, psychological and intellectual state of the person.

What you need to focus when getting started is to get the fundamentals right. Make no attempt to skip words but practice to read each word faster. Finally remember to stay focused through constant practice and self discipline.

If you're interested in learning more about speed reading, and reading comprehension, then sign up for my free Speed Reading Newsletter. Super-useful time-saving tips will be emailed directly to your inbox 3x a week. It's quick and easy to sign up, and it's absolutely free! Click here: http://www.speedreadingisreal.com/

Speed Reading Newspapers - Three Tips to Blaze Through Newspapers and Magazines

By Ibraheem Dooba

How to use speed reading to blaze through newspapers or magazines This article will show you three techniques you can use to save more than half of the time you use in reading newspapers. You will not only save time, but also your focus will increase and you’ll have fun reading even the uninteresting reports. Read the first paragraph The reason why journalistic writing is called ‘history in a hurry’ is because of its wont to quickly condense vast information in a very small space. This plays to the advantage of the harassed reader who wants to stay current but has very little time to read. Often all you need to understand a news piece is the first paragraph. Here the reporter will tell you what’s happening, who it’s happing to and where it’s happening.

Sometimes you don’t even need to read the entire paragraph because the first sentence or the first couple of sentences give you all the information. If you still have more time you can move on to step two; otherwise, you can stop reading. Read the last paragraph Some news pieces are follow-ups of events that were earlier reported. In such a situation, the first paragraph may not give you all the information you need. But the last paragraph will do the job. It’s usually in the last paragraph that the user is given the background information that leads to the story. Read the “quotes” After you’ve read the first and last paragraphs and you still feel you need more information or have more time to play with, you can dabble into middle of the piece by reading the direct speech of the sources of the news item. In all forms of writing where quotations are used, the writer leads the reader into the quotes and then leads the reader out. This (leading) takes too much space and therefore, robs the reader out of some precious time.

Fortunately, you’re intelligent enough to understand what the subject or the source is saying without any interpretation from the reporter. So glide directly to the quotation marks and read what’s within them. Conclusion Read the first and the last paragraphs. Then read the quotations. If you follow these steps, it’s possible to get about 80 per cent of a news piece. And it’s rare to find a report that’s compelling to the extent that you want to get more than 80 percent out of it.

Ibraheem Dooba believes in and writes about accelerated, affordable and quality education. For more tips on how you can instantly triple your reading speed, Go to http://ProfBrainy.blogspot.com/

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Kamis, 12 Februari 2009

Speed Reading Course - Facts You Should Know About Online Courses

By Peter Sturo

Speed reading course is one of the top priority self-improvement courses that you may want yourself to enroll in nowadays. In this fast world, where everything happens at the speed of thought, we sometimes have a hard time coping with the demands of our rapid and active lifestyle. With the help of speed reading courses, you would not only be able to gather important and necessary information faster, your newly learned skill can also give you an upper hand.

Speed reading courses offer various benefits that aid in fulfilling the various requirements of our busy and fast lives. The skill learned from the course can come in handy at your work place. Nowadays, none of us have the time to attend a real speed reading class so we have to consider an equally good if not better alternative, which is online speed reading course.

All you need is a computer and an Internet connection to get started. Online courses provide several benefits. One major benefit is that you can take your class even in your bunny flops, right from the comfort of your own home. Additional advantages include interactive comprehension testing, and monitoring your learning speed through tests on a regular basis. With the convenience of Internet, online courses can also be constantly updated with the latest teaching material. Last but not least, the fee for online course is much cheaper (usually several tens of dollars).

Because of all these benefits, more and more people prefer to opt for online speed reading courses instead of regular classes. Different sections of the society can reap the benefits offered by speed reading. High school and pre-college students can gain the many benefits that speed reading courses offered. Children especially become very resourceful and aware when they take in and retain valuable information at a much faster rate. Since they would be entering into the competitive world soon, this skill would definitely give them an edge. Needless to say, adults in work can also benefit by able to go through all the reading materials they need to read every day at a much faster speed.

To save your time, you can visit this website for review of a good online speed reading course. It is an independent review, and found that the course has been standing in the market for a few years, has been tweaked for training result, and has been used in some schools and organizations with good user feedbacks.

Try this online reading speed test which can be finished in 2 minutes for measuring your actual reading speed. You can earn a free speed reading mini-course there too!

Speed Reading - A Proven Method

By Gavin Bloom Platinum Quality Author

Speed Reading has been something of an enigma for many years. People who can read fast are discounted or thought of as liars. People who cannot read fast never want to actually try it for fear that it may not be true. (My opinions)

For people who are curious about whether or not it works, I can only tell you that there is only one way to find out.

In order to help you decide I will share some of the methods that are proven, that I have used and that other people have used.

Speed reading requires reading each word. In order to understand what a person is reading one cannot skip words. It is said that speed reading is just skimming. That is not true. In order to comprehend what you read and gain some sort of use from the information that is being read, one has to read every word. What if you skipped the word "Can't"? It would bring on a totally different meaning than if you were to read it with the word "Can". This is why every word needs to be read and processed.

Process Information Faster. The effective method of speed reading is to read the information faster. Many people are held back due to the fact that they mouth every word that they read as if saying the words helps to process them more effectively. This connection to the mouth while reading has to be broken in order to process the words and thoughts more quickly.

Speed reading is real. It can be done. It does take work. It is very much like a person who can run a 10 minute mile wanting to run a 7 minute mile. The answer is yes. You can run a 7 minute mile. It will take some training and exercise but I would be willing to bet that the majority of people can do it.

There are many different speed reading programs. I recommend the Eye Q program.

It is affordable, proven and uses methods that strengthen your eyes in order to read faster. This site is an extensive review of the software and how it works along with a link to purchase the Eye Q software.