SPEED READING, ANYONE? #WRITEAPAGEADAY #BLOGCHATTER
I cannot imagine a time when I did not read. I have ancestors
who read, grandparents and parents who read and wrote, and sisters who devour
books by the dozen. Reading was what got me married as well. My future husband impressed
me when he walked into our home library, where I was a stern librarian when I
was not at college. He borrowed two or three books a day, and returned them the
next, only to grab a few more after.
School and college days were when we had no other
worries. All we had to do was study well, play games and improve on our
hobbies. No cooking, cleaning, ironing, only maybe running an errand or two,
and then we were free to pursue our other interests.
In my case, my top ‘other interest’ was reading. We
already had a library with over a thousand books. My mother loved browsing in
bookshops, a habit that was contagious as all three of us, her daughters, promptly
followed suit. Most of the next generation also loved reading, but by that time,
physical books had almost been replaced by e-books which took up no space at
all, but could be carried around with ease. Kindles, e-readers, tablets and the Kindle app on devices – all these were created to make life easier for voracious
readers.
Unfortunately, now that we had books at our fingertips,
there was another element that seemed to have vanished from our lives – Time. Life
came in the way and with the numerous balls we were all juggling in the air,
the one area that suffered, sadly, was the reading habit. There was a time when
I was working in school all day, attending family welfare meets and official
parties till late in the night. That was when I realised that if I wanted to carry
on reading, I would have to make changes in the way I managed grand old Father
Time.
Which finally brings me to the topic I am writing on
today. Speed reading, anyone?
What is speed reading?
“Speed reading is the process of rapidly recognizing and absorbing phrases or sentences on a page all at once, rather than identifying individual words.”
How does one speed read and yet, comprehend what one is
reading? A few tips that I read somewhere seemed to provide the answer.
a.
Stop Subvocalizing. Do not read the words in
your head. That is how we all learn to read at the Kindergarten level, but in
the meantime, we slow down to less than 300 words a minute, which is a snail’s
pace. Instead, stop that voice in your head, and let your eyes skim through the
text. Your brain will comprehend and the words will make sense.
b.
Take in chunks of words and phrases instead
of one laborious word at a time. The eye span is recorded as 1.5 inches long,
which makes it possible for you to read around nine words at a time.
Interesting, right? Skimming through and landing on every fifth word may be a
good idea.
c.
Sometimes, you tend to read, and then go back
to re-read portions. This slows down the reading process immensely. One way to
avoid this is to take in the sense of a complete passage without regressing or
back-tracking. The enjoyment is in the whole story, not getting stuck in places
and not moving on. Veteran readers suggest three methods to avoid getting mired
in the literary morass.
The Pointer Method: Evelyn Neilsen Wood,
an Utah school teacher, was a pioneer who used her pointer finger to sweep along
the lines she read. It is claimed that she could read 2700 words per minute.
This is referred to as the Pointer method, and sometimes ‘hand pacing’ and ‘meta
guiding’. You could also use a card under each line and keep going down the
page so that you are not tempted to go back.
The Tracker and Pacer Method: Another
effective method is to hold a pen with its cap on, and trace or track the lines
you read, keeping the words above the tip of the pen. It is vital that you move
along the lines and increase your speed as you traverse the pages. The brain
soon gets used to the idea and begins to comprehend faster.
The Preview or the Scanning Method: This
is when you move your eyes down the page, concentrating on the key items,
identifying specific words and phrases as you go down. Expanding your peripheral
vision can help in this, and you will be able to take in all that is relevant
enough to comprehend the basic idea.
What are the disadvantages of Speed Reading?
Why do you read? Is it for enjoyment and comprehension?
Then speed reading may not be the ideal method. Are you a student or a learner
trying to comprehend a text? Again, speed reading can hamper your progress as
you may miss out on key ideas. The same is the case when you are perusing a
legal or technical document or a business agreement where the fine print matters
more than the actual text. The faster you read, the more details you miss out. Hence,
it is all dependent on the matter you are reading.
However, in general, if you can increase the speed of your
reading, you will be able to cover more books and widen your horizon. In case
you are up to a few more quick tips, here you go:
1.
Find a quiet spot and avoid distraction.
2.
Begin with an uncomplicated book to see how
effective the process is. Set a timer so that you know how many words per
minute you are covering.
3.
Get familiar with the text by skimming across
paragraphs, and concentrate on the significant parts.
4.
Do not go back or regress. Cover the lines
you have already finished.
5.
Practice makes perfect. Train your mind to
speed read till it becomes a natural process.
chttps://www.mindtools.com/aokg6bn/speed-reading
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https://bookriot.com/5-tips-read-faster-without-losing-comprehension/
Speed read may be useful when you're just skimming. Otherwise one has to go the usual way.
ReplyDeleteThat's true, and that's why I specified as much in my post. However, one can speed up the process with practice!
ReplyDelete