Your boss walks in, slaps down a pile of papers on your desk, and tells you to get it read by the end of the week. You feel yourself start to sweat. How will you ever get it done on time?
Does this happen to you on the regular?
Reading is one of the most important skills you have, and 20% of Americans don’t read well enough to earn a living wage. If you can read well, you’re already ahead.
If you read well but you’re interested in reading faster, don’t give up. In this brief guide, you’ll learn some ways to make reading faster a simple process!
Stop Talking Aloud in Your Head
Remember when you first learned to read? You began by saying words aloud as you sounded them out. As you got better, the teacher instructed you to say the words in your head – not aloud.
You learned to speak every word in your head as you read. This is great for emergent readers. It helps them learn the skill of sounding out words and being able to hear them in their mind.
Talking takes time, and hearing the words in your head means you’re reading at about the same speed or a little slower than you speak. The average reading speed for most adults is between 238-260 words per minute.
To up your reading skills and read faster, stop saying each word in your head. It may feel hard at first, but you can do it!
Stop Backtracking
Most people don’t realize how often they backtrack when they’re reading. A fast reader doesn’t look back at words she already read.
It may seem childish at first but try putting your finger on the words and moving your finger across the page. Make your eyes follow your finger and don’t go back and re-read. You can recall what you read without backtracking all the time.
Word Chunks
You’ve stopped the inner monologue so now start reading word chunks. To increase your reading speed, start reading several words at one time. Your brain processes a few words at a time, so once you stop hearing every word in your head, this is much easier.
At first, try reading three words at a glance. The more you practice, the better you’ll get and soon you’ll be a book nerd, reading a few books a week!
Use Your Peripheral Vision
You can use your peripheral vision to build on word chunks that include an entire line of text. Focus in the center of the line of text and use your peripheral vision to read the left and right sides of the sentence. You’ll soon find you can read entire sentences much faster than when you were reading word by word.
Practice These Steps for Reading Faster
Reading faster doesn’t happen overnight. Practice these steps daily and you’ll soon find you can read documents much faster than you used to. It’s going to help your career!
Looking for other great tips and advice for reading, writing, and education? Find more on the blog!