| A recent visitor to my site inquiring about speed | | | | and brain to focus and understand at accelerated |
| reading asked, "How can I move away from | | | | rates follows a similar principle. |
| actually saying the words, and learn how to | | | | Tip Three: Think about what you are seeing. |
| identify the symbols?" The question demonstrates | | | | After all, reading is a thinking skill. As your eyes |
| a knowledge of one of the difficult habits to | | | | are passing over all the words, think about what |
| overcome in learning to speed read - | | | | the material is about. Do not focus on saying to |
| sub-vocalization. Sub-vocalization is seeing the | | | | yourself, "Stop Sub-vocalizing!" Paying attention to |
| words, then saying the words in your mind, then | | | | your sub-vocalization and telling yourself to stop |
| hearing the words, and finally understanding them. | | | | only interferes with any comprehension. Your |
| It is a four step process. Reading is defined as | | | | mind will be thinking about the sub-vocalization, not |
| getting meaning from printed materials - seeing | | | | the material. |
| them, and creating understanding. Theoretically, | | | | Tip Four: Use multiple rapid exposures to the |
| reading should be only two steps. This article will | | | | material. The brain has an incredible capacity to |
| give 7 tips to overcome and transform this | | | | recognize patterns and relationships of visual |
| process. | | | | symbols at extremely high rates. Seeing |
| Sub-vocalization is heralded by most uninformed | | | | something very fast more than once leads to |
| pundits as the primary block to slow reading. It is | | | | recognition and then comprehension. |
| a difficult habit to overcome. Too often speed | | | | Tip Five: Ask questions of the material as you |
| reading learners get too hung up in the beginning | | | | pass over it. Questions have a powerful impact on |
| because they become so focused on this habit. It | | | | the mind. Questions seek answers. Allow your |
| is a problem for speed reading depending on how | | | | mind to start stringing things together. Use any |
| you define speed reading. If someone currently | | | | clues you get to start forming a mental picture of |
| reads at 250 wpm (words per minute), and then | | | | the material. |
| learns to read at 500 wpm, is that speed reading? | | | | Tip Six: Monitor your thinking. If your mind is not |
| If so, that is still a speed in which the spoken | | | | responding to the material below, or in front of |
| word can still be understood, but it is below the | | | | your eyes, notice what you are thinking about, |
| visual reading threshold which occurs at about 600 | | | | and then bring it back to the material. Constantly |
| wpm. From my experience of using and training | | | | ask yourself, "What is this about?" When you |
| tens of thousands of learners, speedreading | | | | speed up the eyes moving over the material, the |
| occurs much faster than that. | | | | mind will naturally become more engaged until you |
| Tip One - Get physical - learn to move the eyes | | | | get to an overload point. When that happens, |
| more rapidly and fluidly over the print. All speed | | | | combine the above tips. The experienced speed |
| reading programs cover some sort of physical | | | | reader can read in almost any environment with |
| eye training. Unfortunately, most programs stop | | | | precision concentration. He/she has full control of |
| with the physical training, and that is one reason | | | | the mind's focus. |
| why speed reading programs often get negative | | | | Tip Seven: Practice, practice, and practice some |
| reviews. Keep in mind the eyes are the | | | | more. Overcoming sub-vocalization is a tough habit |
| mechanics in reading. Learning to move the eyes | | | | to beat. Your old ways will easily slip back until |
| more fluidly and getting them unstuck from | | | | you remind yourself to behave in new ways. |
| focusing on single words and phrases is very | | | | Don't "practice" in materials that are important for |
| important to getting the mind to respond faster. | | | | you fully understand and retain. Comprehension |
| You do need to see the words faster. But in the | | | | and retention are a separate part of the process. |
| early stages, this can be unsettling. Know that you | | | | Use materials that are interesting to you, but you |
| are making dramatic changes to your perceptual | | | | don't need to master. You can work on |
| processing ofthe material and stay focused and | | | | comprehension and recall after you've reached a |
| disciplined. | | | | level of some comfort with the basic mechanics. |
| Tip Two: Since sub-vocalization occurs below 600 | | | | Overcoming sub-vocalization is only part of the |
| wpm, increase your rates far beyond that. In | | | | process. There are other strategies and tactics in |
| fact, you should consistently move at least twice | | | | learning speed reading, such as the comprehension |
| that speed. Breaking sub-vocalization by fast | | | | process and building memory and recall. All the |
| practice is useful in stimulating the brain's nervous | | | | above tips should be done together. However, the |
| system in a way that is similar to driving a car. | | | | goal of overcoming sub-vocalization is not to quiet |
| You might feel comfortable driving at 30 miles per | | | | the mind. You do not want your mind to go to |
| hour. | | | | sleep. You want to replace sub-vocalization with |
| Then you drive on the freeway. As you | | | | your mind's response to the print. A skilled speed |
| accelerate, you focus on controlling the car as | | | | reader's mind is very active. It's not sounding out |
| you ramp up to 70 mph. After a couple hours | | | | the words verbatim in the order of the printed |
| you exit the freeway and slow back down 30 | | | | sentence, but rather, you are summarizing as you |
| mph. It feels very, very slow. Training your eyes | | | | go. |