| people & lifestyle [5 cone are reading less and less ~/ and there are many who have 1 notread even a single book over the last year - the statistics are alarm- ing. One of the reasons for this is that we have great demands put upon our time and digesting even a singje book ‘seems to be a great challenge. The av erage reader can read approximately wo words per second. If we could double or triple our reading speed, this would most probably inerease the total number of readers, books would be devoured and libraries would be fre- uented places once again, The crea: tors of speed reading techniques have met such needs halfway. The World Championship Speed Reading compe- tition says that its top competitors av- erage around 1000 to 2000 words per minute. It is not magic. Reading is a skill we can learn, and which we can improve throughout our lives. We just need to know how Wwe can become better and better and develop it as a habit. The first step is to get rid of poor reading habits. What are the most common mistakes read: ers make, according to speed reading, experts? Most people read with a little voice in their brain just like speaking. Pro- fnouncing each word aloud in our heads as we read slows down the Whole reading process. It takes time for the information to make @ com plete circuit in your brain before being Pronounced even if itis done silently. AS @ result, you are limited to read:ing at the same pace as talking which is about 250-350 words per minute. Therefore, itis recommended that we ‘avoid sub-vocalizing and turn off the voice in our head. Hard as it may seem, itis possible if you train and practise. ‘Try scanning words without thinking of their pronunciation. Reading blocks of words instead every single word can also help to eliminate sub-vocalization. If you erase this habit, you can reach a speed of 400500 words per minute, Reading word by word Ithas been demonstrated that people who read every word as a distine unit comarahend less than those who read words 28 chunks oF blocks. Unfortu nately, this isthe way we were taught to read as children. Yet, our brain can comprehend ideas better when it takes ina group of words at one time. Therefore, we need to practise ex: ‘nding the number of words we read ata time. Holding the text further from your eyes can help. You need to gradu: ally widen your eye-span to be able to encompass not only single words, nhrases, but also sentences and para. graphs. Most readers do not use theit Daxinheral vision to see the words at the end ofthe line. itis recommended that wien we get closer to the end of line, we need to let our peripheral vi sion to take over te last set of words. There Is a technique called Tachisto scopie Scroll Presentation (TSP) which basicaly is widening your eye span or cavering aS many words in one sweep as s possible withthe human eye. Acigogoiney RBoevaie [At school we were often advised to go back to what we have already read and 0 through it carefully again. According to speed readers, skipping back is an easy way to regression as we lose the flowand structure ofthe text. Our overall understanding of the subject decreases 2s well. Every time you are tempted to jump back a few sentences to make sure you understand what you have read, do not allow yoursetf to do so, in- stead - run a pointer or finger along the people & lifestyle i line. Your eyes will foiow the pointer and will help make the reading smooth. Be sefectiv. We are often taught to read linearly line by line. However, there is no rule stint ~ ot saying we need to read things in the order the author put the materia Before we start we can scan a page Quickly and decide what is necessary. Look for headings and bullet points as well as any parts in bold. f you get the point there is no need to reada people & lifestyle everything, including examples, anec- dotes or metaphors. There is no need to go through the text paragraph by paragraph. Iwill suffice to read only the first sentence of every paragraph, known as a topic sentence, as the first sentence usually carries the main idea behind every paragraph. This method is often compared to window: shopping. Feware Some software programs can help in acquiring the skill of speed reading, Basically, they teach the reader how to identify key words, and skip unim- portant words such as e.g. ‘and! in oF der to achieve a greater speed. If you are interested in trying these methods out, speed reading courses are av able online. uae « Opponents of speed reading tech: niques highlight the low comprehen: sion rate of the reading material How much can you remember when you just scan the text and eliminate certain parts? The goal of speed reading is not only to read quickly but also to understand the content. The comprehension rate must not be Jower than 50%. Ifitis, then itisa fail: ure. Software programs for speed reading offer reading tests as well to. measure the level of comprehen- sion. In rare one can under- stand the text fully, but this requires long practice. Not every kind of book Or text lands Itself to speed reading. If itis a legal document, text book, dry facts or any reading material that you need to read in its entirety, memorise, or analyse, speed read: ing will not be the best approach. If you start using this technique, it is better to start with easy texts on a subject you are quite familiar with Another question is whether you can enjoy speed reading. Generally, whatever you do, when you focus too much on the technique, this makes the overall experience less. enjoy: able. Measuring reading speed or calculating the number of words you read per minute, may simply kill the joy of reading. Speed reading freaks may not agree with me at this point, but for me, the most fruitful read: ing experience is when | pause after reading a few pages or a chapter and ask myself: what is in it for me? Everyone needs to clarify their own purpose. .