Speed Reading Strategies: The 3 Biggest Time Sucking Mistakes
Error n. # 1: read word by word – This first old habit of ineffective reading usually comes from childhood, when the child follows the text carefully with his finger, word after word.
You have to know that during reading, the eye movement is not continuous and rectilinear along the lines of the text. It is a false belief. Actually, the eye moves along the line of the text by successive jumps, because the eye can only see when it is immobile.
Thus, reading word for word forces the eye to have a large number of fixation points per line, as many as the number of words per line. For example, if a line contains 16 words, the eye will stop and fix each word, and make 16 fixes.
What to do instead – Make as few anchor points as possible per line of text. This way, instead of seeing just one word at a time, you’ll see several (but this shouldn’t affect your reading comprehension). A slow reader perceives 1 or 2 words per fixation point, an average reader of 3 to 4 words and a fast reader of 5 and more.
Mistake # 2 – Vocalization and subvocalization – Vocalization is another habit that arises from childhood, when children are learning to read and pronounce words out loud.
Many readers have maintained this bad habit, or have transformed it into subvocalization (when you speak words mentally but no more out loud). Vocalization and subvocalization constantly slow down reading speed because pronouncing a word is about four times as long as simply reading it.
What to do instead – To find out if you subvocalize, place a piece of paper between your lips and read the following sentence:
“In the Christian tradition, there is a particularly applicable country brewery on the Marlboro Reservoir.”
If the paper has moved, it means that you are subvocalizing. Therefore, correct this bad habit as soon as possible by monitoring it while you read.
Error n. # 3: frequent checks – This habit consists of jumping back through the text to reread a word, name or sentence in order to verify and make sure that you understood correctly.
The main reason is anxiety and fear of misinterpreting something. It is often due to a lack of self-confidence (unconscious).
No matter the reason, keep in mind that regressions are found in 90% of cases useless and are one of the main obstacles to speed reading.
What to do instead – If you are in this case, the simple fact of being aware of it could help you repress this bad habit. So, regain your self-confidence in your reading comprehension skills. You will see that you will still understand everything, even if you do not do any regression. Naturally, it is normal to do some verification when the text is difficult to understand, but it should remain exceptional.
Following these simple steps will definitely put you on the right track to becoming a successful speed reader.
