In Praise of Speed Reading
I have been flying a lot lately so have read lots. I am way behind in my book reports here.As a constant learner, I think reading is about the best way to learn. And as an efficiency person, of course I want to read more and more quickly. A friend asked me how to speed read and this is my email reply:
I would suggest you get Evelyn Woods book from the library. Some ideas that increase the amount you can read and absorb without even speeding up are:
1 - know your purpose. What are you trying to learn?
2 - pre-read. That is read the table of contents, the slip cover, leaf through the book. You will find you retain more and know more of what interests you. Also, sometimes you will find the book is virtually summarized for you in the sub titles, insert boxes etc.
3 - don’t read it if it is not good. Some people figure if they get a book - they need to read it. Variant on this - don’t read it all. I only read completely half the books I get.
4 -high focus and concentration
5 - simply pushing forward works. The more you do it, the more easy it becomes.
6 - use your finger (or a business card). 20% of the wasted time in reading is re-reading the same thing
7 - if you speak or mouth the words, you are slowing yourself down. Read in your head.
8 - sometimes only read the first and last paragraph of the chapter, the article etc.
9 - audio books are great.
10 - I do not like book abstracts or summaries but some people do. If I read a good abstract, I like to get the book. A good source of summaries is Getabstract.
Look at studying reading like eating right. I know how to eat right but each article I read inspires me to eat a bit better and I get better and better at it the more I read about it. If you want to learn something study it. How else would you learn it? And you learn different ways -so listen to an audio book on it, read a book, ask an expert, attend a seminar etc.
And the quote for the day:
"Success comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it"
---Henry David Thoreau
posted by Jim Estill @ 9:09 AM 
3 Comments:
Hello Jim,
Permit me a some rambling on your "Speed Reading" comments. Regrettably, in my view at least, there are fewer and fewer "readers" in our society. It seems there is simply no time to read any more. Speed reading might help some to "catch up", but I'm afraid speed reading = speed forgetting.
Real reading requires processing, digesting, and reflection of the ingested material. That, in turn, requires time, which we don't have or don't take.
Even reading of emails would require the above process. Yes, people speed-read the emails and then...speed react. Stop, understand and think went out of style. Just observe the old saying ring true, anywhere you look: "Haste makes waste".
As for your quote of the day "Success comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it": it reminds me that most people are (or will say that they are) busy. Yet, why so few successful people? Being busy in executing a well conceived plan and focusing on it, yes, that kind of busy might lead to success.
Great tips on a favorite topic of mine. Perhaps the most important point of all: Be selective in what you read. We can't read everything, and not everything is of the same value, so you can *effectively* read much faster by being choosier, based on your goals... ?
FYI here are a few reading-related posts of mine:
How To Read A Lot Of Books In A Short Time
http://matthewcornell.org/blog/2006/02/how-to-read-lot-of-books-in-short-time.html
A Reading Workflow Based On Leveen's "Little Guide"
http://matthewcornell.org/blog/2007/03/reading-workflow-based-on-leveens.html
Double Your Income In A Year ... By Reading!? An Update On Reading For Learning, Plus A Current List With Brief Comments
http://matthewcornell.org/blog/2006/04/double-your-income-in-year-by-reading.html
Reading Gone Wild! How To Read Five Books A Week (or Why Scott Ginsberg Is My Hero)
http://matthewcornell.org/blog/2007/10/reading-gone-wild-how-to-read-five.html
Hi Jim
Great posts as always. Really got me wondering about whether speed reading to objectives runs the risk of perpetuating beliefs. Do we limit our opportunity to discover new thinking? I've put some more thoughts down here: http://justseventhings.com/2008/07/05/the-objective-of-reading/#more-96 and linked back to your post. Be great to hear the thoughts of others on this....
Have a great day
Si
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