Keys to Speed Reading Success
Knowing the "how" of speed reading is only the first step. You have to practice it to get good at it. Here are some tips that will help you break poor reading habits and master the speed reading skills discussed above.
Practice, practice, practice – you have to use your skills on a regular basis. It took you several years to learn to read, and it will take time to improve your reading skills.
Choose easy material to start with – when you begin speed reading, don't use a challenging textbook. Read something like a novel or travel writing, which you can understand and enjoy with a quick once-over.
Speed read appropriately – not everything you read lends itself to speed reading.
Legal documents, the draft annual report, or even the letter you receive from a loved one in the mail – these are better read in their entirety, sub-vocalizations and all.
If you need to understand the message completely, memorize the information, discuss it in detail, analyze it thoroughly, or simply enjoy the prose the way the author intended, then speed reading is the wrong approach. (Here, it helps to choose an appropriate reading strategy before you start.)
Use a pointer or other device to help push your reading speed – when you quickly draw a card down the page, or run your finger back and forth, you force your eyes and brain to keep pace.
Take a step back and use the material's structure – this includes skimming information to get a feel for the organization and layout of the text, looking for bolded words and headings, and looking for the ways in which the author transitions from one topic to the next.
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