Creative Information Work MODULE 4 Speed reading
Speed reading
Dear students, the following module will give you basic information on the technique of
effective reading and speed reading. Speed reading is a technique which can help you
read the same or a larger amount of information faster without reducing comprehension.
However, the mere reading of this module is not enough. You will have to practise and, if
possible, borrow a book. The time you invest in practice will pay off though!
Key concepts
Speed reading, turbo reading... - selective reading during which you read at least 240
words/minute with a minimum of 60% comprehension.
Effective reading - an ability to reach a set goal via reading, while being able to switch
between various options.
Contents
1. Speed reading
1.1. Definition
2. Speed reading and comprehension
3. Difference between normal and speed reading
4. Good and bad reading habits
5. Ways of reading
6. Basic habits for speed reading
7. Summary
Creative Information Work MODULE 4 Speed reading
1. Speed reading
You surely know this. A new semester begins and you have tons
of compulsory literature. How does it end? Towards the end of
the semester, you try to read everything, everything is messed
up and you know nothing in the end, since you focus on many
other duties while reading and do not relax.
In this module we would like to show you that it is possible to
read effectively and also faster. No more sleepless nights; all
you have to do is adopt a few simple pieces of advice and
practise reading. In fact, we will sort of return to the first grade, in which you learned to
read. It was there that everything began, and it was also there that everything might have
gone wrong. You learned to read one letter after another, and therefore you read slowly
now. You have adopted a bad habit.
In order for your reading to be effective as well as fast, we will give you advice on how to
get the most out of the tons of books your teachers usually assign you to read.
Remember effective time management (see module Time management); if you plan your
reading for the whole course of the semester, you will manage it much better. And now
let us begin.
A tip for a start! Before you start studying, try a small test.
Before you read the materials, try what your reading is like. You can do so by means of
two online tests. Unless you try the tests, do not proceed with reading!
Examples:
http://www.freereadingtest.com/
http://readerssoft.com/speed_reading_test_outline.php
http://www.speedreaderxreview.com/free-online-reading-speed-test
http://www.execuread.com/online-reading-comprehension-tests.htm
And now is the high time you learned how you can improve your reading skills. Untrained
people read with a speed between 125 and 225 words per minute (in the case of easy
texts). When they start applying the techniques of speed reading, they may achieve an
average speed of 500 words per minute. After a mere few days of practice, you may read
twice or three times as fast.
In order to find various speed reading techniques, search with keywords such as speed
reading, turbo reading, supersonic reading, photoReading, quantum reading...
Creative Information Work MODULE 4 Speed reading
1.1. Definition
David Gruber says on his Czech website (http://www.gruber.cz):
Speed reading is a narrower concept than rational reading (see below). It is a perfected kind
of perception and mental processing of a text in a situation when the text’s difficulty is
medium at most (common administration, common e-mails, popularizing magazine articles),
and the reading objective is medium as well (to express the main idea, the main
opportunities and threats, important details). Speed reading is selective reading with a
capacity equal to or above 240 units (that is, for example, with a speed of 400 words per
minute and a rate of comprehension of 60 % and above).
We then distinguish rational reading = speed search + speed reading + speed study. It is a
set of abilities comprising the text, your eyes and your brain.
2. Speed reading and comprehension
The good news is that a higher speed does not mean a lower level of comprehension; on
the contrary, it has been proven that people memorize more during speed reading. The
average rate of memorizing is 60%.
David Gruber mentions 33 weapons of the skilled reader on his website. He divides them
into three main categories:
a. brain (B), i.e. focused on the mental processing of a text,
b. optic-technical (OT), i.e. focused on the reading technique, mainly on a different eye
function,
c. mixed (M).
We will mention a select few (taken from http://www.gruber.cz)
I. An ability to concentrate on a professional level - every read text is highly
interesting.
II. Determining the objective of reading during preparation.
III. Mental activity during reading.
IV. Systematic confrontation of the read text with the objective of reading.
V. Abandoning reading after having reached its objective. (Trivial, yet frequently not
observed.)
VI. An adequate variety of opinions - an equality of the reader and the author.
VII. A silent inner dialogue with the author.
VIII. Optimum working-psychological conditions for reading.
IX. A right distance between the eyes and the text.
X. A right angle of the read text.
XI. A right position of the body (right sitting posture).
Creative Information Work MODULE 4 Speed reading
XII. Reading without body movements.
XIII. Reading without articulations.
XIV. A wide angle of vision.
XV. The eyes are less fixed on the line, hidden regressions are reduced.
XVI. The eyes are set on after the beginning of the line, and set off before the end of
the line.
Try to sort these weapons into the three above-mentioned categories: brain, optictechnical
and mixed. If you do not know, write an e-mail.
3. Difference between normal and speed reading
Speed reading helps you concentrate because you are fully focused on the text and do
not have time to think of anything else and jump between thoughts. The ability to
concentrate significantly increases with practice.
Try the following simple exercise every day:
Focus your eyes on two objects (e.g. a cup and a
pencil) and repeatedly look from one to the other
and back again. Ignore everything else, just focus on
the chosen object.
After a week, work with more objects. Find out
where your limitations are. After another week,
picture the chosen object only in your mind. Shift
between both objects again. And change the
sequence of your images. Learn to evoke any image
at any time according to your wishes, and to replace
it anytime with another image.
Combine your images then. E.g. the image of a piece of paper and a trash basket will be
combined as follows - you will imagine crumpling the paper and throwing it into the trash
basket. Then you will imagine dumping the trash and the paper falling into a dustbin.
This is not a primitive and far-fetched exercise; try to avoid such thoughts. They would
only hinder your imagination. Remember the first module dealing with creativity blocks.
Forget all thoughts hindering your imagination. In time you will learn to work with
abstract images and crazy combinations. An example may be e.g. an angry boss and
undisturbed peace.
Creative Information Work MODULE 4 Speed reading
4. Good and bad reading habits
Let us now have a look at bad and good reading habits. Try to say for yourselves what
kind of habits you have. And adopt the good ones.
Good habits Bad habits
Active reading - a good reader is one who
reads any text actively. Even a text the
content of which does not interest them
much. Active readers put questions to the
author and quickly find answers to them in
the text. They agree enthusiastically, or
argue in case their opinions do not match the
author’s. If they do not get any answer, they
quickly realize they should find another book
instead.
Passive reading - a bad reader does not
concentrate much. They expect the text to
become more interesting and that they will
find something important in it in time. Such
readers do not make full use of their mental
capacity, they are not motivated, and the
effort made finally outweighs the benefit
they get. Avoid this way of reading, as it is
very time-consuming and demotivating.
Using various reading techniques - a good
reader uses both speed and slower reading
according to the situation.
Using only one reading technique - one
technique slows reading down and may
cause an insufficient comprehension of the
text. Adopt various reading techniques and
use them.
General orientation in the text - a good
reader is able to notice connections fast due
to their perception of the text as a whole.
Reading word by word - a bad reader reads
word by word, does not perceive broader
connections. This may cause them to miss
the general message of the text, and it may
take them long to understand the context.
Do not read word by word; learn to fixate
more words at once and later even whole
sentences - see the supplementary study
material.
Reading without regressions - a good reader
fully concentrates on their work, does not
unnecessarily think of anything else.
Constant going back in the text - this occurs
if the reader does not fully concentrate or
find the target they are searching for. Try to
avoid moving your eyes back to words and
sentences you have already read. Even if you
do not really understand what you are
reading for the first time, read on. When you
finish reading, you will understand the text
better after a lapse of time via its general
context.
Reading without unnecessary movements a
good reader is relaxed and moves only
their eyes. The body posture and the work
environment arrangement are in accordance
with the rules of ergonomics.
Bad body posture and unnecessary
movements - the muscles are stressed and
the reader experiences fatigue too early.
Among such bad habits are also slow
pointing in the text with one’s finger,
moving one’s lips etc.
The eyes are the only body part which should
move during reading.
Creative Information Work MODULE 4 Speed reading
Reading in silence - a good reader reads in
silence and does not make any sounds.
Reading aloud - a bad reader whispers while
reading or reads aloud.
Try to get rid of such audible bad habits; they
slow you down and hinder your
concentration on a given activity.
Objectives of reading determined - a good
reader confronts what they have read with
their objective on a regular basis. As soon as
they reach their objective, they stop reading.
Objectives of reading unknown - a bad
reader has no objective, does not know what
to look for. They lose their motivation soon
and waste their mental capacity. Always
determine your objective and accomplish it.
5. Ways of reading
Overview
When you take up a book to read (not fiction), get an overview of the book in 5-8
minutes. Notice its graphic layout, print, paper quality etc., among others. You may thus
find out what is important to you and what is not (e.g. what you already know and do not
need to read). You will also get a picture about the book’s credibility.
Notice the following parts: introduction, foreword, table of contents, chapter titles,
headlines, passages highlighted by the author, figure and diagram descriptions, end-ofchapter
summaries, conclusion, afterword, appendices, index, book-jacket summary.
After you get an overview of the book and what it has to offer, choose your next step:
The book does not contain information which is important to you - do not deal with it
any longer. The book contains interesting information here and there; however, you
know most of it - proceed with cursoric reading. The book contains important and
essential information which you need to study - proceed with stataric reading.
Overview
While reading, we use a system of marks and notes where it is essential. We read with a
great speed and a wide angle of vision. It is necessary to adopt techniques of expanding
the field of vision (see below).
You surely know Pareto’s rule. It may be applied even in this case. Remember!
40 essential pages of a 200-page book will bring you 80% benefit and save 80% of your
time.
Stataric reading
This way is advisable if the reader wants to study the given text in a deeper manner and
embrace it. It is slower than cursoric reading, especially if the text contains new concepts
we have to memorize.
While reading, we make notes and use marks. Even if the text is difficult and essential, we
do not read with a constant speed; we adjust the speed according to the level of
complexity and significance of the given issue. Even in such texts it is enough to go
through some pages quickly.
Creative Information Work MODULE 4 Speed reading
The secret of your success thus lies in learning to switch between reading speeds and
practising this.
6. Basic habits for speed reading
Eye movement: Learn to move your eyes over the top half of the letters. Do a small test.
Cover the top half of the letters in a text and try to read it. Most likely it will be very
difficult. Then cover the bottom half and read. You will probably read nearly fluently. It is
so because most important signs are found in the top half. Learn to direct your eyes
there, then. Have a look at an example.
Expanding the angle of vision
In supplementary materials you will find a scanned text on which you will practise
expanding the angle of vision. Print out the text. Select a group of letters or numbers
which you will gradually uncover, each time for no longer than 0.3 seconds! Practise this
movement beforehand (you have to yank the card a few millimetres down and back, and
you must not leave the letters uncovered for a longer moment). Then you more or less
know what you saw. Write this down on the respective line. Check the results when you
finish the column.
Note: It is not your objective to make no mistakes; that would mean you did something
wrong or had an easy version. An optimum number of mistakes is 3-5 per column. If you
made fewer mistakes, move on to a more difficult exercise; if you made more mistakes, try
an easier version.
Fixation
In order to read better, you have to practise fixation as well. An untrained reader needs 7-
9 fixations per a 10-word line. Fixation means stopping the eye movement (you can
probably guess that your eyes do not move without interruption while reading). If you
practise, you may achieve 3 fixations per line.
Purposely, I will not give you any practical exercise at this point. This exercise is
recommended only after other kinds of practice. If you really want your skills to improve,
look at any books about speed reading, and follow his instructions. The books are
available in many libraries.
7. Summary
In this module we introduced the ways of effective and speed reading.
Effective reading means an ability to orientate in a text and to change the reading
speed. Speed reading measures how many characters we manage to read in a certain
time unit without the loss of comprehension.
You already know that it is good to avoid bad habits while reading. Therefore, do not
read using only one technique, forget passive reading and reading word by word, and try
to settle in a comfortable position before you start to read.
Creative Information Work MODULE 4 Speed reading
Remember stataric and cursoric reading. It is necessary to be able to switch between the
different techniques. Stataric reading is intended for a deeper comprehension of the
text, you change the speed of reading. Cursoric reading rather means perfunctory
reading in order to get a grasp. You should have a basic overview of each book before
you read it. Go through it and see in what way it is divided.
Gradually practise expanding the angle of vision, and in the case of a more profound
practice (which pays off though!) proceed according to one of David Gruber’s books.
It is not the objective of this module to teach you speed reading within a short while. It is
rather a motivation to start practising it. Set an objective and do not be afraid to start.
Nobody is going to check or evaluate your progress. Why read faster, then? Everybody
will find a reason for sure. The main reason will probably be that you will cease to read
unnecessary information, manage to read larger quantities of texts, and therefore save
time.
Top 10 towards better reading :)
I. Decide that you want to read faster and more effectively,
II. Imagine what you may gain by reading faster and more effectively,
III. Use the advantages which speed reading brings - above all, more free time,
IV. Read such books and texts that are significant,
V. Start working on your reading abilities,
VI. Go through selected books which deal with speed and effective reading, and on a
theoretical basis adopt various reading techniques,
VII. Start practising speed reading,
VIII. Do not be afraid to make mistakes - learn from them,
IX. Apply acquired knowledge and experience during each reading session - always
choose the right technique and suitable speed,
X. Try to make progress every day - step by step.