It has rightly been said that books are our best friend. If you develop the habit of reading, you will seldom feel lonely or bored. Books can be truly intoxicating but only if you develop a good pace at reading. If you think, people who can speed read are sharper or smarter than you then you are mistaken. It is a skill that anyone can acquire with little effort. Here are 3 simple techniques to help you speed up your reading skills.
Finger Guide
Allowing your finger to guide you through the words and sentences is the best way to keep a track of where you are. While just reading through the text, you may lose track and end up lowering your reading speed. Using your finger to guide you just as you did in your primary classes helps you remain focused and thus improves speed. The technique is often referred to as guiding the eye.
Focus on the Meaning
As you sit to read, you must first calm the various voices running in your head to concentrate completely on your reading. You must have noticed that while reading your focus is majorly on the sound of the words you read rather than on understanding the meaning of the text. This urges you to re-read the text thereby wasting a lot of your time. In order to develop a good pace at reading, you must focus on the meaning of the words instead. So the next time you read, don’t imagine the sound of the words rather focus on comprehending their meaning.
Avoid Re-Reading
You may have noticed that you often tend to re-read the text in an attempt to understand it better. This is one way you are lowering your reading speed. As stated in the aforementioned point, focus on comprehending the meaning of the words and sentences as you read. This way you will not have to re-read.