Free Online Speed Reading and Its Impact on Understanding

Many claims abound as to the way speed reading can impact your life. On the one hand, it is heralded as the key to burning through pages faster and digesting information on the fly. It is often cited as a skill coveted by employers. While this increased speed in reading will benefit many, for some it is the matter of improving reading comprehension. In many cases, the speed reading techniques can make a reader’s comprehension improve and thus create more value in the workplace as well as in one's personal life.

In general, most people are capable of reading two or at most three words per second with a good level of comprehension. After completing a speed reading course, the same person will average between four and six words per second without compromising understanding. Some speed reading demons are looking for rates of up to ten words per second. This figure is also possible, with a slight dip in comprehension.

Speed reading courses typically show readers how to choose between important words and less useful words, and how to decide immediately which is which. Speed reading classes also teach readers how to ignore as many words as possible in order to get to the real meat of a written text.

More Speed, Same Quality

The greatest challenge in speed reading is something called subvocalization. Taught to beginning readers in primary school, it is the technique of sounding out each word as you are reading. During speed reading, the opposite is practiced and only essential words are read at all, without paying attention to the word's sound. The time saved in this facet alone is incredible. Comprehension is not compromised, as the keywords have been retained.

There are a variety of techniques available to someone interested in speed reading, with varying success rates and varying impacts from person to person. Remember, you don't have to be a genius, but certain skills will help some people more than others. Unlike physical exercise in which repetition creates ease and fluidity, speed reading tries to alert the brain to what's important and tells it to not pronounce the word, to merely connect it to an important previous word and another one following.

You will not be able to go beyond a certain level when employing speed reading techniques, but you can greatly increase your productivity. Likewise, you can train your mind to stay focused and help with overall retention. The more you try it, the more you will succeed.