Do you want to become a faster and better reader than you are? To read faster
is not only about the speed to read and glace through the words of the book but
the speed in comprehending what you’ve read; it's about learning to pick up the
speed and still take in the information in an enjoyable way. Here are ways to
improve in your way of reading to a better one.
Preview the material to be read.
One of the most efficient ways of improving your reading speed is to preview
the material before you read it. This can help you to get a sense of what the
text is about and allow you decide if it's even worth reading in full.
- To preview the material, try reading the entire first paragraph, the first sentence of each successive paragraph and the entire last paragraph.
- In between these items, look at headings, bullet points and highlighted words. This won't give you all the details, but it will help you to identify the most important parts to go back to and what you can simply skim over.
- This is a good technique for long, unfamiliar or difficult texts which you are trying to get an initial grasp of.
Search for the most important aspects.
Another technique is to simply scan the material and pick out any key words. By
using this method, you can develop a basic understanding of the material
without wasting time.
Skip over the parts you already know.
If you're trying to improve your reading speed, you should get used to the idea
of skipping over information you already know or understand, as reading these
sections will provide you with little additional value.
- You can decide which sections are worth reading by skimming the text for key words or reading the first sentence of each paragraph. This will give you a pretty good idea of what the text contains and allow you to decide whether its worth the time investment.
- This also goes for things that you're not interested in. If you're reading something like a memoir or historical account, it's fine to skip over the parts you're not interested in reading about. This may go against your nature as a reader, but it will save you time while also helping you to maintain interest in what you're ready.
- Related to this, you should not feel bad about abandoning a book that you're not enjoying or learning anything from. Many books are poorly written or don't do a good job of explaining advanced concepts. Try to read about 10% of every book you pick up and if you find it's not working for you put it down and move on to a different book. This will save you time and be more beneficial in the long run.
Retain the most important information.
One of the major issues people have when they begin to read faster is that they
have difficulty absorbing and retaining the information they come across. While
the major solution to this problem is to become a more active and engaged
reader, there are several more specific techniques you can try.
- Link concepts in the book to things you already know. Linking complex ideas to a personal experience, memory or emotion will help you to access the information more easily. As a simple example, linking the French word heureux (which means happy) to a pleasant memory where you experienced feelings of happiness might help you to remember the word more easily.
- Highlight important information and write summaries. Use a highlighter while you're reading (or just dog-ear entire pages) to highlight important concepts or ideas. Then once you've finished the book, go back to these highlighted sections and use them to make a 200-300 word summary of the book. Doing this will provide you with a database of references that you can use in the future, which also helping you to commit the ideas to memory.
