Posted by Andrew Jackson on Fri, May 14, 2010 @ 09:45 AM
In the last of his introductory blog posts giving speed reading tips, Alex our Speed Reading Coach, explains how to measure your reading speed and what the results mean. Over to you, Alex...
Time to read this email:
Slow reader:.........5 minutes 8 seconds
Average reader:..2 minutes 34 seconds
Fast reader:.........1 minute 36 seconds
Speed reader:.....................48 seconds
Today I am going to show you something very interesting. I will teach you how to measure your reading speed so you can see the amazing improvement every time you learn a new speed reading tip! You will understand where you are now and can take this opportunity to start learning how to speed read today!
So to get started you will need to get a book to read and a timer to time yourself for exactly one minute (most mobile phones have one). Making a note of where you start, read for one minute. If you prefer, ask a friend to measure the time for you.
At the end of the minute, note where you finish - you can always mark the text with a pencil. Now count the words you've just read. The number of words you read translates into words per minute (WPM) so for example if you read 240 words your reading speed is actually 240 words per minute or 240 WPM.
Below is a guide to show you where you are now.
If your reading speed is
below 150 WPM you're a slow reader
between 150 to 250 WPM you're an average reader
between 250 to 400 WPM you're a fast reader.
Reading between 400 to 1000 WPM or above and you are a speed reader.
It's important to keep records of your development, so jot down your reading speed and also rate your comprehension level from 1 to 10.
If your comprehension was
poor: give yourself a 3 or 4
good: give yourself a 5 or 6
excellent: give yourself a 7 or 8
outstanding: give yourself 9 or 10
Did you know that by reading slowly your mind can get bored? It can drift away from the text and you forget what you've just been reading. You have to skip back and read it again to have good comprehension.
Lets say you're reading a book that mentions the word "travelling". If you read slowly your mind can stop concentrating on the text and you start thinking about travelling - maybe your last holiday or perhaps you'll imagine a place that you want to go....the sunshine, sandy beaches, the parties, the people you will meet...it goes on and on and on.
The mind works with associations. The actual words in the text trigger you to think about other things. So if the mind processes information very fast and you don't give it something interesting to pay attention to it will drift away and think about something else.
The brain loves speed. As you learn to go faster you'll start using your mind's eye to create the images described in the text. Your imagination will be activated, you'll become more motivated and it is then that memory is created. It's not the words in the text but the ideas that you create in your mind that you will remember.
Now tell me, are you more focused when you drive a car at 10 miles an hour or at 100 miles an hour? Of course, it's at 100 miles an hour. You can see the landscape but you are very focused on the road.
Another example of the brain working at speed would be playing a video game. The game has many levels and the higher you get, the faster your brain has to think and the more exciting it gets.
Posted by Andrew Jackson on Fri, Apr 30, 2010 @ 09:45 AM
In the second of his posts introducing speed reading tips, Alex Garcez our Speed Reading Coach explains the differences between using the left side of the brain and the right side when you are reading. Alex, over to you...
Time to read this post:
Slow reader:.........3 minutes 12 seconds
Average reader:.....1 minute 36 seconds
Fast reader:..........................59 seconds
Speed reader:.......................29 seconds
Today I want to explain to you how speed reading works. We use the left side of the brain to read. While reading silently to ourselves, we hear our own voice repeating the words inside our head. If you pay attention to this as you read this email, you will hear your own voice inside your head saying the words back to yourself.
So what you are doing is looking at the words, pretending to say them and pretending to hear them just to understand the text. A lot of time pretending to do something that is not necessary. No wonder it's easy for you to end up distracted and have your mind drift away!
We talk at a speed of around 100 to 250 words per minute. When I say that you can read faster, you might be concerned this just means the little voice inside your head will be saying the words faster, like an excited football commentator.
Well, don't worry, that's not the case. Let me tell you that, in fact, you'll learn how to use the right side of your brain to read faster and silence the voice inside your head.
You'll learn to look at the words and understand them straight away without pretending to say them to yourself in your mind. So, by learning to speed read you'll start to enjoy reading much more and will save time reading your documents, books - emails, too.
You now know why it is easier to speed read rather than read in the traditional way? Because you won't waste time talking to yourself so you'll get more focused. As a result, your comprehension will be enhanced automatically.
You may think that you already read quickly but how do you know? Who would you compare yourself with? There are no set standards. You probably learnt to read as a child in the traditional way and sometimes you get bored and distracted, read a few paragraphs and then skip back to re-read a paragraph that you can't remember or didn't understand. Does that sound familiar?
In my next post I will show you how to measure your reading speed. I will guide you through the process so that you can see the difference before and after applying my methods.
Posted by Andrew Jackson on Fri, Apr 16, 2010 @ 09:45 AM
Today, we're delighted to introduce you to our guest blogger Alex Garcez, aka The Speed Reading Coach. Over to you Alex...
Time to read this blog post:
- Slow reader:.........2 minutes 17 seconds
- Average reader:.......1 minute 8 seconds
- Fast reader:........................42 seconds
- Speed reader:.....................21 seconds
So... let me introduce myself, I am Alex Garcez, The Speed Reading Coach and today I'm going to start sharing some information with you about reading and some practical speed reading tips to get you reading faster.
Everyone knows that information is power and time is money... but how much information will make you more money? Well, you could start making more money by learning to speed read. A US Department of Labor and Yahoo study shows that people who read at least 7 business books a year earn 2.3 times more than those who read just one book.
Now think about this: If you read from 30 to 50 books in a particular subject you become an international specialist in that area of knowledge.
Can you imagine yourself choosing a book and reading it like you were choosing a DVD and watching it?
I can show you how to read a book of 200 pages in about 2 hours. You'll be able to read 1 or 2 books a week by reading only 30 minutes per day, so in about 6 months you can read around 35 books in one particular subject and become a specialist in that area.
When you apply this knowledge to your profession you will be ahead of the masses that don't read and you'll have the potential to generate more business... and make more money!
Our attention span is very short and reading in the traditional way can be frustrating. People become lazy when it comes to reading just because they read slowly. The brain loves speed and you will feel the difference by learning some easy steps to improve your reading speed.
In my next post, I'll explain about the voice in your head that distracts you and slows your reading speed.
Posted by Andrew Jackson on Fri, Apr 09, 2010 @ 09:45 AM
You know already that when I'm banging on about better business writing, I focus relentlessly on the needs of the audience. I do this because I know that clearly written, well-structured content improves comprehension and enables audiences to read content more quickly and efficiently. In my ideal world, all content would be clearly written and well-structured. In the real world, of course, it rarely is.
So one of the things frequently on my mind is what to do when you are a reader (rather than a writer) and you are faced with a mass of poorly written unstructured content (or indeed a mass of well-written but poorly structured content) and you have no choice but to wade through it.
Speed reading is a solution that's been floating around on the edge of my universe for some time, but if I'm honest I've always been a little sceptical. Could it really work? Anyway, a few months ago, I finally decided to take the plunge and give it go - and I'm now convinced it does work.
My guide on this recent journey has been Alex Garcez, also known as the Speed Reading Coach.
Here at Pacific Blue, we've decided to team up with Alex and over the next few weeks he will be a guest blogger, bringing us some background information about speed reading and providing a series of speed reading tips to introduce you to his proven techniques.
When you stop to think about it, the benefits of being able to read faster are blindingly obvious. You can look at it two ways. Either you could take the view that reading faster lets you get your reading done more efficiently and frees you up to do more of the things you want to do. Or you could take the view that reading faster enables you to absorb more knowledge and expertise than you are currently able to.
Interestingly, Alex tells me that a joint study by the US Department of Labor and Yahoo has identified a link between the number of business books people read and their relative earning power. The study concluded that people who read a minimum of 7 business books a year earn around 2.3 times more than those who just read one.
Whatever your motivation for wanting to read faster, it seems to me it's a bit of a no-brainer. So watch out as Alex reveals some of his speed reading tips over the coming weeks.
And if you can't wait, we are now running speed reading courses with Alex.