One of the issues that you might experience when learning to speed read, is thinking it takes a lot of time each day to get good.

Well if you do 15 minutes practice a day for 30 days you will start to see good results. To help you get the most out of those 15 mints if that’s all you can do a day, there is a basic one-minute speed reading exercise that you can perform a number of times in those 15 minutes of practice each day.

Ok, here are the basic steps of this one- minute speed reading stretching exercise:

Read for one minute and then count how many lines you have read.

Next read for another minute, this time reading two lines more than you did the first time.

Continue doing this adding 2 lines more each time, (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc).

Continue doing this until you are unable to comprehend what you are reading or unable to recall what you have just read.

Then Stick at this level until your comprehension and recall improve. And then speed up again.

One important point about speed reading is this. Speed reading is called speed reading so people seem to think is all about reading as fast as you possibly can, but if you are reading so fast that you are unable to comprehend what you read you are wasting your time. Speed comes in time so just remind yourself of this key principle of speed reading:

“Always read for good comprehension and recall.”

You need to concentrate to speed read well, if you are unable to understand and remember what you read you will find that your concentration will drift and as a result you will become board and want to stop reading.

As you do this exercise regularly over time your concentration ability will improve as it does you can extend this exercise to 2 minutes, then 4, then 6 and so on for as long as you are able and comfortable to do.

Another big piece that is important to work on in order to become a fast speed reader, is to boost your speed reading stamina, your speed reading stamina is the amount of time you are able to read at speed for with good comprehension and recall. Boosting your speed reading stamina will help you to train and recondition your brain to reading at faster speeds and so will allow you to get all of the benefits of speed reading faster.

Readers are leaders and in this article you will learn several simple to implement Speed Reading Secrets that will assist you in efficiently absorbing all that information out there.

First Speed Reading Secret!

Before we begin, here’s a concept that you MUST understand about speed reading: shaving just a fraction-of-a-second off every page that your read will create a HUGE difference in your reading rate.

Even if you were able to shave just 1 second off the time it takes you to read a page that would still be FIVE minutes off a normal 300-page book!

So, it’s not always necessary to aim for the spectacular – just a little growth here and there will make a world of difference.

Even when it comes to something as basic as paging and pacing techniques…

When it comes to speed reading, learning to use your hands correctly and efficiently will require that you train yourself to accomplish the following 3 tasks:

1. Use your hands to guide and pace your eye movements through the text

2. Use your hands to force your eye to constantly scan through new information

3. Use your hands to prevent your eyes from repeatedly reading the same words

The Speed Reading Hand Motion:

Although it may seem uncomfortable at first, the ideal use of the hands of a right-handed person would be to use your left hand to pace your reading and your right hand to turn the pages.

To begin reading, place your hand at the start of a line. Move your hand towards the right hand margin. Make sure to focus your eyes upon the text that your hand is pointing towards.

When you reach the end of the current line, move your hand to the start of the next line. Repeat this method to the end of the page. To make paging faster, make sure that your right hand is always positioned at the top right hand corner of the book.

Go ahead and practice this movement. You don’t need to worry about reading any of the text, just practice the hand motion and paging techniques for now. Make sure that you are able to rapidly move through the pages of your book.

Believe it or not, you can reach the place where your reading speed explodes to the point that your paging and pacing hands will have a hard time just trying to keep up!

In the next part of this article, I will show you how you can begin improving your comprehension of text so that when you begin reading at the higher speed you will actually have a BETTER understanding of the text that you did at your lower reading speeds!

Your Second Speed Reading Secret!

Here’s something that you don’t hear everyday…

You CAN comprehend details better at higher speeds!

This is not a prank. In fact, if you will spend the next few moments reading through this email I’ll teach you some valuable insights into how you can begin improving your comprehension by leaps and bounds within just minutes.

The key to instantly increasing your comprehension of any book and any topic is to get familiar with the following universal publication tips. (Yes, these tips apply to almost every publication and can be applied immediately)

1. The first and last chapters of a book introduce and summarize its contents.

2. The first and last paragraph in a chapter introduce and summarize the contents of that particular chapter

3. Some books (such as text books and even most translations of the Bible) contain topic and summary sentences within their structure with introduce and summarize its contents

4. The VERBS and NOUNS of a sentence offer the *most important* information.

5. Be aware and ’sensitize’ yourself (through practice) to the use of negative words. Negative words (such as ‘not’, ‘no’, ‘can’t'…etc) can reverse the meanings of large groups of words – so keep a lookout for them.

6. By the same token, you also need to keep an eye out for the conditional tense. Conditional tense words (such as ‘could’, ‘if’, ’should’…etc) can also affect or change the meanings of a large body of words.

If you’ve been following with me then you’ll have already learned some valuable reading techniques that you can use to trim your reading time down AND improve your comprehension.

I’m going to give you just a few more tips on how you can use a book’s format to further increase your comprehension.

1. Don’t skip over reading the front and rear jackets of a book. These can really give anyone valuable insights into why the book was written and thus give you some insight into what you can expect.

2. By the same token, always check out the book’s forward and introduction. Oftentimes these overlooked segments can remove a lot of the confusion that arises when you have no idea about the authors intended direction BEFORE you begin reading

3. ALWAYS read the table of contents. It’s the author’s outline and will ‘prime your brain’ to his writing style and thus improve your understanding of his book’s structure.

4. Don’t just let the words ramble on in your mind. Make an effort to *actively read” the book. This means that you should continuously be asking yourself questions about what you’ve just read. Attempt to summarize the information you’ve just read at frequent intervals. By doing this you will soon discover your current level of comprehension and recall.

5. Devour charts and diagrams. If your book contains these features make sure that you stop and take time to actually understand the drawings and diagrams. Spending a few extra moments contemplating these features will ultimately increase your overall reading speed because you will have a clear visual representation of the information you’ve just read.

6. Make use of the glossary and index usually found at the end of most books.

Your Fourth Speed Reading Secret!

Now I’m going to show you an *exciting* part of any speed reading program.

It’s called skimming. Although it doesn’t actually involve ‘reading’ in the traditional sense of the word, it DOES allow you to experience some of the thrill of rapidly devouring vast amounts of information at blistering speeds.

If you are able to, it is always best to ’skim’ any book before you read it. (Whether you will be reading it at high speed or normal speed)

When you are skimming, what you are really looking for is the format of the book you will be reading.

It helps to give you visual clues to what you can expect and it allows you to compensate for some of those challenges.

At this point, let me take a moment to define what my definition is of skimming.

The process of skimming is nothing but the exercise of going through the ENTIRE book you plan to read (or speed read) at a rate of about TWO to THREE SECOND PER PAGE – MAXIMUM!

When you skim, here are some of the details that you are looking for…

Font and type sizes used

The presence or absence of chapters

The presence or absence of columns

The presence or absence of headings/sub-headings

Parts of the book

Diagrams and pictures

Any unusual or helpful features

Armed with the information that you acquire from skimming, you will be amazed at how DRAMATICALLY it influences your reading speed – even without using some of the other speed reading technology out there.

Your Fifth Speed Reading Secret!

How would you like to know the secret techniques to master different types of reading?

Well, that’s EXACTLY what I’m here to show you right now!

Are you just reading for pleasure? Do you need to study? Are you reading to develop a new skill?

Here is a quick reference guide to how YOU can get the most out of your reading experience by using a few simple guidelines.

PLEASURE READING

Do not skim or review the materials. Simply read at a comfortable rate.

HOBBY AND SPECIAL INTEREST

Perform a short skim, and review. Spend the majority of the time reading.

STUDYING

Spend about half the time reading and half the time skimming and reviewing materials Do NOT over-read. Read once though a chapter at your best comprehension speed, (highlight areas of confusion by placing a light pencil mark next to them – but do NOT stop at this point) then skim and review the materials. Lastly, return to the areas that require a more in depth analysis and work through them.

MAXIMUM POTENTIAL READING

Spend 70% of your time reviewing materials, and 10% skimming. Only read 20% of the time. Use the reading skills that you’ve learnt during this email course to locate key information. Place your emphasis on taking notes and studying.

Your Final Speed Reading Secret!

CONGRATULATIONS!

You’ve made it through the Speed Reading Simplified Article.

Now, I’m just going to recap on what we have already covered, and the best way to benefit from what you’ve learned!

Thus far, I’ve shown you:

* How to using your hands to correctly and efficiently shave a second or more off each page that you read.

* How to use your hands to guide and pace your eye movements through the text

* How to use your hands to force your eye to constantly scan through new information

* How to use your hands to prevent your eyes from repeatedly reading the same words

* That you CAN comprehend details better at higher speeds

* Keys to how you can begin improving your comprehension by leaps and bounds within just minutes.

* The secrets to instantly increasing your comprehension by making effective use of a book’s, first and last chapters, its topic and summary sentences, its negative words and its conditional tense.

* How you can use a books format to further increase your comprehension

* How to experience some of the thrill of rapidly devouring vast amounts of information at blistering speeds by using skimming..

* How to use skimming to receive visual clues to what you can expect when speed reading

* What my definition of skimming is.

* What the details are that you must look for when you are skimming

* The secret techniques to master different types of reading.

* How to make the most of PLEASURE READING, HOBBY & SPECIAL INTEREST READING, STUDYING and MAXIMUM POTENTIAL READING.

The average person typically reads between 200 to 400 words per minute (wpm) when we are reading for comprehension – that is, when we want to learn and retain the knowledge from what we are reading – and this speeds up to about 400 – 700 wpm when we are simply ’skimming’ or ’scanning’ which is to get an idea of the text or just to pick out the important bits. These techniques are things that we all naturally use in the course of reading; skimming and scanning consist of moving your eyes down a page, but not reading every word. You get the general idea of what a passage is saying.

Speed reading means reading at a rate that is significantly faster than that of normal skimming and scanning but with more comprehension. With speed reading techniques, most people are able to read up to 1000 wpm or even more. some of the fastest speed readers in the world can read up to as much as ten times that rate, with very good comprehension. Obviously, speed reading can be useful in many ways. So many of us – students and professionals – are inundated with a great volume of reading material every day. If we can get through this material at a significantly higher speed (and without sacrificing comprehension), the benefits are would be great meaning more study in less time. We are able to acheive more and learn more with less effort than we ever thought possible.

The best speed readers are capable of reading at speeds you might find amazing. For example, some can finish a novel or reference book at the bookstore or newsstand, and remember exactly what they have just read afterwards – imagine the money you’d save, as well as time! Reaching these speeds is not out of the question for you, if you find speed reading techniques that work for you. But if you increase your reading speed even by half (which is common and easily achievable) the benefits will be great, particularly if you have to do a lot of reading for school or work. It’s also especially useful for students who have an exam the next day, where you can quickly go over all your notes on the bus or in the morning.

Speed reading techniques vary greatly; in fact, they are based on different principles. Many of the techniques are really just accelerated versions of skimming. You are taught to read only part of each word or phrase, which is all you really need much of the time to get the information you really need and your mind will automaticaly fill in the rest. Sometimes this is achieved by using peripheral vision.

Other speed reading techniques, which boast much faster speeds and greater comprehension, work on a different principle. For example, one method (sometimes known as photo reading) engages the sub-conscious or para-conscious mind to mentally ‘photograph’ whole passages, enabling you to ‘read’ them without actually reading individual words or phrases at all. Though this claim sounds incredible, many testimonies and tests done on subjects indicate that it’s possible and that it works.

As adults we have great demands put upon our time. There is work, families and social activities that take out huge portions of our waking hours. It is no surprise that many adults, outside of an academic situation, find that they do not have any time to read.

Many adults would list reading as a frivolous activity in which they have no inclination due to the amount of time it takes them to get through a single book. Even students feel the pressure of time as they are faced with tons of homework and required reading. How can there be enough time to study, work and live? Some people have found the answer through speed reading.

If you are lucky enough to be gifted with this amazing talent, then it is certain other people have commented on how quickly you are able to consume reading material. If you are unfamiliar with this technique, this article is for you. It will answer some of the common questions about speed reading and hopefully set you on the path to picking up a good book to read.

How do people speed read?

There are a few different methods that some speed readers use in order to increase their reading speed. It is important to note that most speed readers use a variety of methods. Some simply skim the words and the information is simple there.

You can think of it in terms of a computer scanner. You lay the book or sheet of paper on the scanner. The image is then sent via a connection to your computer where you process the information.

How is speed reading measured?

Speed reading is measured by timing the reader as he or she reads through a selection of material. After the time is up the reader will be tested on his or her overall comprehension of the material. If they make less than 50% of the questions then that test is considered a failure.

Speed reading is difficult to test because a large part of the comprehension depends on the reader’s interest. A text book may be difficult to quickly read as there is strange terminology or a lack of interest on the participants’ behalf.

Are there any records for speed reading?

The World Championship Speed Reading competition says that its top competitors average around 1000 to 2000 words a minute. The comprehension level must be at least fifty percent in order to qualify. Though a contestant may read through the material at a rate of 5000 words a minute, if they are not able to comprehend the material or recall pertinent facts, the test is considered a failure.

Is there a way to learn how to speed read?

Not everyone can speed read. There are no tried and true methods that work for everyone. The best way to learn how to speed read is to practice and study the different methods that speed readers employ.

You may be able to learn how to skim through the material for key words and phrases. You can also try to learn how to read the material without silently pronouncing each word in your mind.

How do the software programs work?

Some software programs boast that their methodologies can double a person’s rate of reading and comprehension. Most programs utilize different methods of reading such as chunking or skimming the text. It teaches the reader how to identify key words and to skip unimportant words such as “and” in order to increase their reading speed.

Below we set out some of the circumstances under which it may be beneficial to be able to speed read and other circumstances where it may not be so beneficial to be able to speed read:
When it is beneficial to speed read
.Essentially, the great joy of being able to speed read is the ability to take in large volumes of data over as short a period as possible.  Consequently, those of us who find ourselves in circumstances where we need to read excessive amount of information in a short period of time; and, importantly, to comprehend that material at the same time, will benefit from this skill.  Such persons include:

School students:

School students are ideal candidates for speed reading skills because they are at an age where they can still absorb new concepts and ideas, whilst also having the need to have advanced reading skills in order to be able to read lots of school texts;

College students:

As with school students, college students need to be able to read lots of textbook material in a short space of time.  Therefore, the ability to be able to speed read is an important and useful skill.

Work employees:

Those of us who are working “white-collar” clerical jobs certainly need to have the ability to speed read as this will cut-down on an otherwise very long day.  With almost all of the world’s reading material being generated in offices, as faxes, memos, letters, reports, etc. being able to speed read becomes more important as time progresses, not less!

English language students:

As speed reading skills enable you to comprehend what you are reading better, English language students are an often quoted group of people who benefit from the ability to be able to speed read.

Pleasure:

With the amount of advertising in modern magazines, the ability to speed read is vital if you want to read this month’s magazine before next month’s issue!  And, that’s nothing compared to Sunday’s edition of the newspaper.  Can you image trying to read Sunday’s paper without speed reading skills? – Well, it simply cannot be done these days!
In short, it doesn’t really matter what stage of your life you are at, the ability to be able to speed read is an essential one.
Occasions when speed reading may not be beneficial
Having said that speed reading is an essential element no matter what stage you are at in your life, there are a number of circumstances under which it may not be overly beneficial to be able to speed read.  These include:

If you have a reading problem:

Speed reading techniques use cluster methods.  This is to say, the reader needs to group whole paragraphs together and skim read them.  However, if a person has a reading disability that doesn’t allow them to be able to process the clustering of paragraphs easily, then this may result in a feeling of embarrassment, discomfort, or even slowness.  In such circumstances, it is far better for the confidence of the reader if they resort to traditional methods of reading each word on the page word-by-word.

Age:

Care needs to be taken at what age a student starts to learn to speed read as certain clinical studies have shown that students who try to learn to speed read too early can be left with counterproductive problems – such as dyslexia.  As such, it is not recommended that children below 10 learn to speed read.

Comprehension:

In certain circumstances some readers who speed read are left with a loss of comprehension of the reading material, rather than more.  If this is the case, then invoking speed reading skill may be counterproductive.
To sum it up, like most things in life, the ability to speed read is something most of us should try to conquer, which is not to say that it is necessarily beneficial to all of us, nor that we should invoke it at all times.

Reading fluency is the ability to read quickly and accurately. A person with good reading fluency is able to comprehend more because they instantly group and recognize words. Doing this instantly frees up the brain for comprehending what is actually being read. Good reading fluency will help people learn more and excel at school or on the job. It is common for people to struggle with this. There are, however, specific training programs that allow an individual to strengthen their reading fluency.
An individual struggling with fluency can be extremely frustrated with learning because they have to spend extra time trying to understand what they are reading. This can negatively impact people in a school or professional work setting. When a person struggling with fluency reads out loud their reading will typically be slow, choppy, and without natural expression.
Besides having difficulty reading aloud an individual who struggles with reading fluency may also notice that they identify words in a list well, but they can’t read the same words fluently in a phrase. It is vital that you help students move from word recognition in isolation to reading fluency in context. This can be accomplished with the proper testing, training, and practice.
The National Institute for Literacy said on their website that, “Repeated and monitored oral reading improves fluency and overall reading achievement.” This is one of the two steps researched by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The second step they found for improved fluency is silent reading done independently by the students. Practice is one of the key factors to an improvement in reading fluency.
The NAEP has also laid out their definition of reading fluency. They define it as: “the ease or ‘naturalness’ of reading.”
In 1995 the NAEP found that 44% of United States fourth graders were on the lower end of the fluency scale. The study also confirmed that reading fluency and reading comprehension are directly related to each other. It has been proven that many American classrooms neglect to teach or train students to become more fluent readers. This in turn affects student’s reading comprehension in the present and carries over later in life.
To help your child or a loved one become a more fluent reader it is important to have them take a simple reading fluency test at a quality learning training center. This test will help you understand their strengths and weaknesses on the fluency scale. After the test the learning training center can put together a plan of action for helping to improve the reading fluency. This includes having your child receive professional feedback on their reading. This training process has proven to help improve reading fluency for a lifetime.