| Speed reading skills can be acquired by anyone | | | | build upon. |
| with a basic reading ability. Anyone can learn to | | | | Like learning any skill, practice is required. You |
| read at a rate far above the average. This isn't | | | | can't do the exercises one time and think that's all |
| something that's available only to the elite. Anyone | | | | there is to it. Repetition will get you to higher and |
| can dramatically improve their reading and | | | | higher reading speeds. |
| comprehension levels and they can do it without | | | | Most readers regress and that's a definite no-no |
| investing big money on training programs and | | | | for speed readers. You simply cannot go back |
| materials. | | | | and re-read something you've already covered. |
| If you earnestly desire to increase your reading | | | | That one negative habit slows more people down |
| speed - you can. But understand that it does take | | | | than just about anything. Force yourself to move |
| some effort. You can achieve a noticeable | | | | on regardless. Train your brain to consume all it |
| improvement almost immediately with a few | | | | can see because you're never going back. |
| basic techniques. But you'll need to use those | | | | Pace yourself. You can easily increase your |
| techniques over and over again to turn them into | | | | reading speed by using your finger. The simple act |
| speed reading skills that you employ automatically. | | | | of using your pen or finger to move your eyes |
| Measure your current reading speed. If you don't | | | | across the page faster means you'll be reading |
| already know how fast you read, take a moment | | | | faster right away. If you consistently do this -- |
| to get a rough measurement now. You'll need | | | | always moving forward and never regressing -- |
| several pages of text and a timer. Set the timer | | | | you will dramatically boost your reading rate. But |
| for one minute and read at your usual rate. Stop | | | | most of us have to overcome that early |
| as soon as timer sounds and count the number | | | | conditioning taught in school to read with our eyes |
| of lines you just read. Next, take a typical line of | | | | and not with our hands. It's unfortunate. Using |
| text from your reading material and total the | | | | your hands makes a huge improvement. |
| number words on that line. Multiply this figure by | | | | Vary your reading rate. Know what it is you're |
| the number lines read and you'll have an | | | | looking for and focus your attention on finding it. |
| approximate number of the words per minute | | | | This means that irrelevant material can often be |
| (WPM) you normally read. | | | | bypassed entirely or gobbled-up quickly. Then |
| This gives you a starting point. | | | | when you discover those segments that reveal |
| It doesn't matter how close (or distant) you are | | | | the information sought after, slow down a bit and |
| from the average reader who consumes | | | | absorb the significant words and phrases to grasp |
| somewhere around 175 - 225 words per minute. | | | | the meaning of the message. |
| What matters is that you have a foundation to | | | | |