How To Read Fast

Learning how to read fast is probably one of the most helpful things I can think of for any student, but of course, not only for them. Getting thru a big report in half the time can make the difference between a good CEO and a great CEO. I have found during some intensive searches on the subject ways of improving your wpm (words per minute) ratio. Some studies suggest that you can even reach three thousand words per minute if you learn certain techniques, which is a lot considering that the average wpm ratio is three hundred in the U.S. This sort of improvement is extremely hard to accomplish and takes a lot of effort. What I propose in this article are some easy techniques that may improve your wpm ratio considerably while not seeming like that much work. So here are my tips for learning how to read fast.

1. Read a few pages every day. It doesn’t seem like much but it is much more effective to read every day 20 pages rather than a hundred pages every five days. Getting your brain used to the activity and making it part of your daily routine will help you learn how to read fast, because some techniques are very personal and can only be discovered thru constant reading.

2. Reduce the number of fixations. One of the most important steps in understanding how to read fast is to get to grips with the process your brain goes through when reading. You do not read in a continuous stream. The process of reading involves jumps that happen inside the text. At the end of each of these jumps your brain takes a snapshot and makes sense of the text. The key is to try to make these jumps longer. It seems hard but it is an easy exercise you can try.

3. Try to increase your horizontal peripheral vision. There are some exercise you could try to obtain this, but it is mostly down to concentration. If you manage to increase your horizontal peripheral vision you will be able to read and understand more words per fixation. It is one of the key processes you need to master in order to learn how to read fast.

4. Don’t backtrack. A recent study suggests that 30% of our reading time we backtrack and re-read some paragraphs. This costs a lot of time in the end seeing that you will wind up reading the same thing twice. If you concentrate on reading you will find that there usually is no need for backtracking. So if you want to learn how to read fast this is a real time saver.

5. Try to eliminate the vocalization of words as you read. This is one of the most time consuming things you can do while reading. Trying to vocalize every word takes a lot of time because your lips require time to sound every word. This is one of the easiest things you can correct if your goal is learning how to read fast.

6. Skim the text. Of course, skimming any text will most likely result in a lesser understanding of it. This is why I propose that you first try to read a few words per line and only after that try to lightly skim the whole text, in order to get the general meaning as well. This technique can prove useful for some, but may also seem very annoying for others, so maybe it’s not for you, but you should at least try it.

7. Use the hand method. This is one of the easiest methods that help you improve your reading speed. One of the key factors in answering the question how to read fast is pace. You need to have a steady pace, so that you remain focused and understand the text. You can use your hand to slowly move down the page as you read. This will create the rhythm you need to read fast.

There are many other techniques that have been proven to work. These are just a few that I have found work for me. One of the most important things that you need to keep in mind, even more so than any of the tips I have mentioned above, is that reading is all about concentration. You need a strong will in order to remain focused for a long time, but it will pay off in the end, when you discover that your reading twice the amount you usually read in that period of time.