SPEED READING COMPREHENSIVELY
Reading has become one of the must-to-do in this information era. It helps you stay on top of your competition. Reading alone means nothing without understanding. You want to double your reading speed, increase your comprehension at the same time and manage your reading time more effectively. This article shows you five simple professional strategies to achieve those. With practice, you can extend the strategies to all your professional reading and make today’s information overload work for you. We shall begin.
1. SET YOUR GOALS
Most of us have developed the so called recreational reading skills. For example, when reading a novel, we start at the beginning and read every word straight through to the end. Reading for information, however, needs a more goal-oriented approach. The most important element of effective business reading is knowing what you want to get from what you read. Here are some questions to ask yourself to help you set your reading goals:
=Does this article mention your industry?
=Is it relevant to your job? How?
=Is there information about the competition?
=Does it tell you anything about your customers?
=Does it affect your personal business?
Once you have the questions ready, turn them into goals. For example :
=Check this article for future trends in your industry.
=Read this one carefully. It’s directly related to questions the CEO has been asking lately.
=This one reveals how our competition sees the marketplace. Read in depth.
=Scan this story for a general impression of customer attitudes.
=Better read this article thoroughly. There might be a gap in my investment portfolio.
You don’t need to read everything. You just want to make your reading work for you. So once you have got what you want from your reading, move on. You need to start thinking as soon as you look at the cover of any business publication you intend to read. The cover illustration usually helps you predict the content and thrust of the lead story. Ask yourself :
=What do you already know about the subject?
=What’s been happening lately in the industry?
=What does the illustration suggest?
Keep the cover illustration in your mind when you read the article. It helps you recall the story long after you have finished reading it.
2. THINK AHEAD
Structure your reading by looking at the table of contents. It gives you a mental road map of the entire publication. It also helps you select your articles of interest. Select the articles important to you and ask yourself what you want to learn from each one of them. See if there are stories that you can just skim or read parts of. At this point you should have decided the articles you will read and what you want from each one.
3. LOOK BEFORE YOU READ
Let’s take a magazine feature story as an example of how you can use some simple yet effective tricks to read an individual article. Don’t start by reading it, but take a few seconds to preview instead. Get a mental map of the story to help you find the ideas and details you are after. Here are things to look for :
=Headings that alert you to upcoming ideas.
=Graphs and charts to help you visualize and predict the data you will find in the body of the story.
=Pictures and captions that emphasize key people and ideas.
=First and last paragraphs that summarize and evaluate the topic for you.
=Sidebars, small articles set off in a box or shaded in a different colour that relate to the story.
Sometimes there won’t be a heading to help you find what you are looking for. You can thus scan for important details, the way you look for a name in the phone book or a word in the dictionary. Names and dates are easy to find this way. Now that you have a complete mental map of the article, here is how it can help you :
=Look for a quick summary of the article, which may be all you need.
=Be flexible to choose what to skip, what to scan and what to read through.
=Scan for details so you can save time by reading purposefully.
=Improve your memory. The major ideas and the details of the article will be easier to recall later on if you remember them as landmarks on your mental map.
4. PICTURE THE IDEAS
Illustrations and captions can quickly add to your grasp of an article’s message. Focus your attention by asking questions like :
=Who are these people and what are they interested in?
=What’s the point of this photo?
=What can I predict from it?
Keep the pictures in your mind as you read the article, and use them to enhance your understanding. Graphics help you visualize data. Use them to get an overview of the material before you start reading. They will add detail and help you gain a better understanding of what you read.
5. MAKE YOUR EYES MOVE FASTER
The previous strategies so far help focus your attention by giving you a framework for reading. Now to the reading itself. You need to concentrate. The biggest problem most people have is lack of concentration. How many times have you found yourself reading the same passage over and over and still not remembering what you read? The solution is just right at the end of your arm. Your hand is a great tool to help you focus your attention and make your eyes move faster. In many cases this strategy alone can help you double your reading speed.
Here is how it’s done. Turn the magazine article upside down. It sounds silly, but do it anyway. The purpose is to prevent you from letting the words distract you from learning the technique. Use your finger to underline the first line. Underline a few lines, line by line, and then start to underline as fast as you can. Complete the page. Now try it with the article right side up. Remembering your mental map and the ideas you are looking for, start reading. Underline every line with your hand, and follow your hand with your eyes. Force yourself to go faster and faster. Make your mind work as fast as your eyes can go. Push yourself to read twice your normal speed. Finally, check your comprehension. How well do you remember what you have read? Did you achieve your goals?
That’s all there is to it, except for sharpening the skills you have learned. The above strategies will help you double your reading speed and build your comprehension. With practice, you will soon be reading on the double.
1. SET YOUR GOALS
Most of us have developed the so called recreational reading skills. For example, when reading a novel, we start at the beginning and read every word straight through to the end. Reading for information, however, needs a more goal-oriented approach. The most important element of effective business reading is knowing what you want to get from what you read. Here are some questions to ask yourself to help you set your reading goals:
=Does this article mention your industry?
=Is it relevant to your job? How?
=Is there information about the competition?
=Does it tell you anything about your customers?
=Does it affect your personal business?
Once you have the questions ready, turn them into goals. For example :
=Check this article for future trends in your industry.
=Read this one carefully. It’s directly related to questions the CEO has been asking lately.
=This one reveals how our competition sees the marketplace. Read in depth.
=Scan this story for a general impression of customer attitudes.
=Better read this article thoroughly. There might be a gap in my investment portfolio.
You don’t need to read everything. You just want to make your reading work for you. So once you have got what you want from your reading, move on. You need to start thinking as soon as you look at the cover of any business publication you intend to read. The cover illustration usually helps you predict the content and thrust of the lead story. Ask yourself :
=What do you already know about the subject?
=What’s been happening lately in the industry?
=What does the illustration suggest?
Keep the cover illustration in your mind when you read the article. It helps you recall the story long after you have finished reading it.
2. THINK AHEAD
Structure your reading by looking at the table of contents. It gives you a mental road map of the entire publication. It also helps you select your articles of interest. Select the articles important to you and ask yourself what you want to learn from each one of them. See if there are stories that you can just skim or read parts of. At this point you should have decided the articles you will read and what you want from each one.
3. LOOK BEFORE YOU READ
Let’s take a magazine feature story as an example of how you can use some simple yet effective tricks to read an individual article. Don’t start by reading it, but take a few seconds to preview instead. Get a mental map of the story to help you find the ideas and details you are after. Here are things to look for :
=Headings that alert you to upcoming ideas.
=Graphs and charts to help you visualize and predict the data you will find in the body of the story.
=Pictures and captions that emphasize key people and ideas.
=First and last paragraphs that summarize and evaluate the topic for you.
=Sidebars, small articles set off in a box or shaded in a different colour that relate to the story.
Sometimes there won’t be a heading to help you find what you are looking for. You can thus scan for important details, the way you look for a name in the phone book or a word in the dictionary. Names and dates are easy to find this way. Now that you have a complete mental map of the article, here is how it can help you :
=Look for a quick summary of the article, which may be all you need.
=Be flexible to choose what to skip, what to scan and what to read through.
=Scan for details so you can save time by reading purposefully.
=Improve your memory. The major ideas and the details of the article will be easier to recall later on if you remember them as landmarks on your mental map.
4. PICTURE THE IDEAS
Illustrations and captions can quickly add to your grasp of an article’s message. Focus your attention by asking questions like :
=Who are these people and what are they interested in?
=What’s the point of this photo?
=What can I predict from it?
Keep the pictures in your mind as you read the article, and use them to enhance your understanding. Graphics help you visualize data. Use them to get an overview of the material before you start reading. They will add detail and help you gain a better understanding of what you read.
5. MAKE YOUR EYES MOVE FASTER
The previous strategies so far help focus your attention by giving you a framework for reading. Now to the reading itself. You need to concentrate. The biggest problem most people have is lack of concentration. How many times have you found yourself reading the same passage over and over and still not remembering what you read? The solution is just right at the end of your arm. Your hand is a great tool to help you focus your attention and make your eyes move faster. In many cases this strategy alone can help you double your reading speed.
Here is how it’s done. Turn the magazine article upside down. It sounds silly, but do it anyway. The purpose is to prevent you from letting the words distract you from learning the technique. Use your finger to underline the first line. Underline a few lines, line by line, and then start to underline as fast as you can. Complete the page. Now try it with the article right side up. Remembering your mental map and the ideas you are looking for, start reading. Underline every line with your hand, and follow your hand with your eyes. Force yourself to go faster and faster. Make your mind work as fast as your eyes can go. Push yourself to read twice your normal speed. Finally, check your comprehension. How well do you remember what you have read? Did you achieve your goals?
That’s all there is to it, except for sharpening the skills you have learned. The above strategies will help you double your reading speed and build your comprehension. With practice, you will soon be reading on the double.
posted by Robin at
9:33 AM
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