Tips for Reading Faster

Set aside time each day:
Most of us can find 20 minutes or an hour each day for one specific regular activity. It may be a free period or a regular wait — in the queue for a bus or a meal, or even while eating breakfast. One famous surgeon always read for at least 20 minutes before he went to sleep each night. It made no difference whether he went to bed at 11 p.m. or 3.00 a.m. Even if you cannot keep to this kind of discipline, it is a good idea to always have a general interest book in your pocket. Remember: it should be a book that entertains you, and the English must not be too difficult.

Check your progress through pacing:
Nearly all 'speed reading' courses have a 'pacing' element — a timing device that tells the student how many words a minute he is reading. You can do this yourself by looking at your watch every 4 or 8 minutes and noting the page number you have reached. Check the average number of words per page in the book you are reading. But how do you notice 4 minutes passing while you are busy reading? This is difficult at first. A friend can help by timing you over a set period, or you can read near a public clock that strikes the quarter hours. Pace yourself every two or three days, always with the same kind of easy, general interest book. You should soon notice your usual w.p.m. rate creeping up.

Check comprehension:
There is little point in increasing your w.p.m. rate if you do not understand what you are reading. When you are consciously trying to increase your reading speed, stop and ask yourself a few questions about what you have read. Stop after every chapter in a novel, or after every section or eight to ten pages in a textbook. If you have lost the thread of the story, or cannot clearly remember the details, re-read the section or chapter.

'Lightning speed' exercise:
Try this now and then. Take three or four pages of the general interest book you are reading. Read them as fast as you can, without worrying about whether you understand. Now go back and read them at your 'normal' w.p.m. rate — the rate at which you can comfortably understand. After a 'lightning speed' read-through (probably around 700 w.p.m.), you will usually find your 'normal' speed has increased — perhaps by as much as 40-80 w.p.m. Athletes use the same technique: they run further in training than they will have to on the day of the big race.