• Let your purpose for reading (read medical research, get an update, learn a new skill, read for fun) determine your reading speed and level of comprehension. To remember in depth what you read, aim for 90-100% comprehension; for fun, 50-70%, or just to be aware that the material exists if you might need it again, 30-50% comprehension.
• Learn the vocabulary ahead of time. You might find that when you read and already know the medical terms, concepts, and procedures, you naturally read faster.
• Skim each chapter in a detailed medical book twice before you read it. Skim the first time to identify any negative words; this is because people tend to read negatives as positives (put a pencil check in the margins next to the negative words, such as don’t, can’t, won’t, no, and not). When you just look for the negatives, they’ll tend to jump out at you. Skim a second time to get the gist of the material and to see what the material covers and how the various sections relate to each other.
• After you’ve skimmed twice, read at whatever speed you need to in order to understand the material.

To condition yourself to move faster on a page, set some time limits for yourself and skim large amounts of material—fun stuff—for practice. Then when you return to your important reading, you still might not read at lightning speed, but you’ll probably read a little faster than before, and by following the guidelines above, you’ll be a more effective reader.

If you’re a reading non-fiction book:

• Skim each chapter before you read it; pay special attention to introductions, conclusions, subtitles, and study questions; decide how much of the material you really need to know in order to talk intelligently about it in the group
• After you skim a chapter, read it quickly for comprehension; jot down a few notes as you go—to jog your memory later. Also be sure to note ideas that occur to you as you relate personally to the material. Sharing your own experiences in the book club discussion will add meaning to what you’ve read and help to enliven the conversation.
• If you have time, pretend that you’re talking to the group; that will help you review the most relevant points from the book

If you’re reading a novel:

• You probably wouldn’t skim a novel if you’re just reading for fun, but if you’re in a hurry to finish a book before a meeting, skim through it making some quick notes as you go: who did what, when, where, why, and to whom or what; then read it quickly and answer those questions.
• Think about the characters’ behaviors, motives, joys, sorrows, goals, and dreams.
• Relate to the characters on a personal level: would you have done the same thing, made similar decisions, or would you have done something differently. When you relate on a personal level the book comes alive and the ensuing book discussion will be lively.

Okay now, don’t you have a book to read? Well, get to it!

If you’re a speed reader, you’ll read this entire article and be doing something else by time it takes most people to get less than half-way through it. If you haven’t had speed-reading training, your reading speed is probably under 300 words per minute (wpm). Almost anyone using just a couple speed-reading techniques can easily read twice as fast and have great comprehension.

One of the best techniques for speed reading involves moving your eyes in a rapid, flowing motion down the pages as you read. Most of us, though, are “jerky” readers (our eyes move forward for a short while and then jerk backwards to reread what we already read). Notice if you do this as you read the rest of this article.

Also notice that you probably say each word to yourself as you read. This slows you down to about the speed at which you speak, which for most people is about 225 to 300 wpm. By reading without saying the words, you can read much faster.

Ever have trouble remembering the key ideas as you read? Knowing where the important ideas are located enables you to read faster and more easily remember the key ideas. About 68% of the time, the key idea is in the opening sentence of each paragraph—in news stories and non-fiction chapters—so pay attention to the first sentence in each paragraph; if the key idea is there, make a mental note of what it is and then skim the rest of the paragraph—and you’ll read much faster.

Having a high level of focus also enables you to read faster and remember more of what you read. Two ways to improve your focus and concentration are to 1) have good posture as you read; this communicates to your brain that you mean business and intend to finish your reading in record time, and 2) read as though you have a tight deadline for finishing your reading.

Speed reading techniques commonly taught in the best courses show you how to train yourself to read quickly and smoothly and remember what you read. There are excellent speed-reading techniques to train you how to avoid subvocalizing (saying the words to yourself) and how to read in groups of words instead of reading one word at a time. It takes a little while to get used to using the speed-reading techniques because they’re a new way to read, BUT IT IS WORTH IT. An hour or two practicing the speed-reading techniques will allow you to master speed reading enough so that you can read at “warp speed” whenever you want to.

Speed reading opens up a whole new world for you because you read more in less time. You read more books, read more on the Internet, and keep up with your email. It allows you to be a more interesting person because you have the ability to learn more. Speed reading opens doors to knowledge and saves time.

If you want to start right away, for very little money, I recommend downloading my Speed Reading Strategies eBook.  The eBook has a comprehensive summary of ALL the best techniques taught in very high-dollar professional speed-reading courses. This eBook is an easy way to learn how to speed read on a budget.

The newspaper article covers some of Kathleen’s speed reading tips that she used to save lots of time when she was studying for her Master’s degree.

Click above to view the full sized version

Get a book and read it at your normal pace for exactly one minute.

Stop and mark the place where you stopped.

Then set a timer and read for another minute into the book from where you just left off, but this time, move your hand smoothly and quickly under each line, as fast as you can and still understand what you’re reading.

When you move your hand smoothly and quickly under each line as you read, you’ll probably notice that you’re reading at a faster pace. This technique alone can increase your reading rate 50% or more!

Find out how you can easily and effectively increase your speed reading skills