The Fast reading Is a technique used to improve the ability to read quickly, including understanding the text and the ability to remember it when needed.
In the world in which we live fast reading is presented as a necessary aspect. Every day a lot of new information is generated and people have less and less time to analyze it.
It is possible that on many occasions you have thought that you would like to read faster by understanding everything that you read but nevertheless, you do not have much time to dedicate to the learning of the fast reading.
If you are able to read and work with your mind more quickly and effectively, you can devote the free time you have in what you like the most. In addition, you can get closer to the world of reading, so that reading is easier and enjoyable.
In this article I will show you what fast reading is, what benefits it brings and what you need to know and put into practice to increase your reading effectiveness. In this way, I want you to finish reading faster, to understand better and remember what you read.
What is fast reading?
Reading quickly is not just speed reading. Rapid reading includes knowing how to read intelligently, so to speak.
It implies knowing how to read as efficiently as possible, being able to remember the information read when you need it and of course, knowing how to determine what you want from any reading material.
It does not refer to browsing, to"reading diagonally"or reading above. We are referring to reading completely understanding what is read.
We could define rapid reading as the result of a quick and easy application of the photographic technique of reading, where there are no problems in understanding or assimilation.
Many people consider themselves good readers because they have gone to school, learned to read and understand what they read. However, the truth is that most of us read below our possibilities.
Has reading been always relevant?
Actually fast reading is something recent, since there was traditionally not as much information as there is today and it was quite unknown, little studied and did not apply.
In learning, preference was given to memorizing knowledge and a person was intelligent or did well in the academic world to the extent that he was able to retain knowledge.
Nowadays the world has changed, science is going very fast and every day great amounts of information are generated, new discoveries... and the human being must change his way of reading to do it faster, without neglecting the comprehensive reading. And this is where the importance of fast reading is born.
Why is it important to learn to read faster? The Benefits of Rapid Reading
It is important to learn to read faster by increasing or maintaining comprehension. There are many people who read very slowly and this is due, in many cases, to Lack of attention And of purpose that they put in the reading.
When a person learns techniques to read faster, he is able to absorb more information in less time, which speeds up work and saves time.
In this way, the person spends less time reading because he manages information faster. There is no doubt that the most relevant and striking is the time savings it entails.
Therefore, if a person can read faster, if he needed 4 hours to read a certain amount of information, he can do it in 2 hours, so he can spend the remaining time on other activities.
Another advantage of fast reading is the speed of mental processing, which is increased. The processing speed grows the same as the reading speed.
You can possess a more agile mind in any activity that you realize since you have trained your mental capacity. To read, process information and retain it faster, it is necessary that the processing speed has increased.
Another advantage we find in reading fast is understanding. When a person reads quickly, he is able to understand and understand the idea to be transmitted globally.
The slow reader, understands the idea by adding parts of the information or even can see them disconnected, which makes it difficult to understand.
It will also be easier To concentrate . When you learn to read fast, concentration is much easier to achieve and stays for longer.
Reading faster also produces an increase in your self-confidence , Motivation towards reading and the self-esteem .
Anyone can perfect their reading and get to triple their speed. The ideal would be to be able to get to read as fast as the thought goes, which is usually faster than visual processing.
People who read slowly tend to have more difficulty understanding and maintaining concentration.
A slow reader usually reads between 150 and 200 words per minute, while a faster reader can reach 350 words per minute without any training. It is important to note that any of them can improve.
For what can I apply the fast reading?
You can apply the quick reading in any facet of your life in which you need to read. Many people may think that fast reading is a study technique that will only serve those students who want to read faster to make better use of study time.
However, in many tasks of the day to day it can serve the fast reading, also for the students and for the work scope. For example, rapid reading techniques may be used to:
- Read faster in the studio
- Read books
- Read the emails
- Read any type of paper in the workplace or personal
- Read magazines
- Read the daily press
The advantage of all this is that you will be able to read everything in a much smaller amount of time, so you will end up saving a lot of time that you can devote to other things.
Some keys to quick reading
There are some keys that it is important to know in order to understand and become familiar with fast reading.
For example, we must take into account that everything we see written we read, we can not avoid it, as well as memorize it. If I tell you now that you look at the next number but do not read it: 87, you will see that it is impossible not to do it and not to memorize it.
On the other hand, it is important to know also that we need to use the peripheral field of vision to visualize different words at the same time. Reading by syllables is expensive and time consuming.
In reading there are two processes, one more physical, of visual perception, and another more mental or intellectual.
To be quick to read, it is important to simultaneously develop both aspects through practice and training, thus achieving maximum performance.
Steps to read faster and better understand
It is important to know that fast reading requires practice; However, learning the techniques and practicing them does not require much time per day. What is desirable is to be able to include the techniques in the routine of the day to day and thus be aware of what is read and how it is read.
The important thing in reading fast is to achieve in the end to highlight what deserves more attention and eliminate what is not needed.
Get prepared
The first is to prepare, which has to do with the amount of distractors and lack of concentration to what the readers face.
To tackle this first step, it is imperative to ask why it is being read and what is expected of such reading.
Also ask yourself what is the purpose of reading, what you intend to do with it and decide and distinguish at what times that information will be used.
Often, people are deconcentrated for many reasons: the environment, the amount to read, their own thoughts about other issues... And so, the person can feel tense and pressed.
To cope with all of this, the person must create a framework to integrate all the information that will be learned in the course of reading.
It is a time of"learning"where the person wonders what he knows, before he starts, about what he is going to read. If you already know something, it will serve as a point of support (they will be made), but if you do not know anything, you will begin to ask questions.
It is important to ask questions, because that will lead you to seek answers (questions like what, how, when, who...). The more questions you ask, the more likely you are to find the answers and learn.
Therefore, this first stage may include:
- A) put in writing all that is known about the subject to be read (it is not necessary to write it, it is enough to put some words).
- B) Think and decide what you expect to find from the book and what you want to contribute: ask yourself what you know, what you need, what you want to know, why you have chosen that reading.
Reading glance
It is important to look through the book from beginning to end. Familiarize yourself with the book and what it offers us. For that, look how it is, how it is structured, whether it has illustrations or is all text, if there are parts where information is summarized...
Look also the letter, its size and typography, whether it is divided into short or long chapters, how are paragraphs...
To give you an example, one of the authors, Konstant, indicates that if a book you are going to read has 300 sheets, you should spend at least 10 minutes in this step.
It is a matter of looking carefully at the book, the cover, index and back cover, the sections, its structure, the glossary.
Look at the titles and subtitles, the pictures and then determine which areas are the most important and which ones you can eliminate because you do not need or are less important.
It's a good time to re-ask what you need and want to get out of that book because it will help you define exactly the way it should be read.
This will allow you to make the decision to go ahead with the book or leave it aside because it does not especially cover what you need and it is therefore a better option to look for something else.
Some tips to keep in mind are:
- Do not let yourself go through the cover and go inside the book.
- Look at the back cover, a good book should have a good review. In addition, it can give you ideas of what you can get with the book and the way it will be written.
- Read the introduction, because it is often written by other people and gives information about the person who writes the book.
- Look at the index and contents. This section will help you a lot to distinguish the relevant information that you will not need.
- The drawings will help you remember information.
- The bibliography will give you information about what kind of material the author used to write it.
Beginnings of reading
In this step it is important to focus on the organization of the book.
You must note how it is written: if chronologically, so that you must first read one thing, then another, etc. See if you have examples, if you stress the importance...
For that, see the leaves moving at a rate of ½ seconds per page, highlighting and paying attention to the words that are remarked (either the title, the words in bold, italics, some that you find more complex...).
This more passive reading will allow you to know the language used by the author, to see the main ideas and key of the text.
Active and detailed reading
This is where, linking with the above, it is intended that the person identifies the basic ideas of a text. It is the closest thing so far to what we call"reading."
You should keep in mind that the above steps are very important to be prepared at this stage.
To find the main ideas, it is important to know the material. If it is informative, it is likely to be at the beginning while if it is entertainment is usually at the end.
For this section, you can read the first and last paragraphs of each chapter and the first and last sentences of the paragraphs that stand out. And as you do, try to discover the main ideas.
Here it is important that you go scoring and underlining and do not notice the whole text, otherwise you will not be advancing in learning to read faster.
Analyze everything you have done so far
This is a time when you can stop to reflect and note the difficulties you have encountered, the insecurities, the thoughts you have had.
Think about what you have evoked, if your attitude has changed over the course of reading, if there is a chapter that has interested you the most, what you have learned, if you understand what you have written down...
Until the next step you may think that all the previous steps are useless and that it is a waste of time. It's a mistake.
All these previous steps will help you map the readiness to read quickly. When you know what you are looking for and what you need, the task is easier. All of the above helps you to see where you are and what you need.
At this point you are ready to read.
Deep and selective reading
Now, it is important that you review the notes you have taken in the previous steps. See if with all the homework you've done to this one now, you can solve the questions you asked yourself before starting reading. If so, you do not need to read more deeply.
If in spite of everything, you decide that you do not have exactly what you were looking for, you can return to everything underlined, and if you still need to read it in depth, it is the right time to do so, since you already know how structure the text.
Now you have spent about 50 minutes on all the steps above, but reading the text will be much easier. Again ask yourself, at this point, what you need from reading and act accordingly.
It is also important to note that the more defined the purpose and what you intend to extract from reading, the more useful it will be.
And you, do you want to practice these tips to read faster?
References
- Definitive course of fast reading. Ramón Campayo method.
- Konstant, T. (2009). Quick reading techniques. Editorial Planeta and Amat Editorial.
- Mayo, W.J. (1983). How to read, study and memorize quickly. Editorial Playor.
- Muñoz-Valenzuela, and Schelstraete, M.A. (2008). Decoding and reading comprehension in adulthood: a relationship that persists? Revista Iberoamericana de Educación, 45 (5).
- Solé, I. (1993). Reading Comprehension Strategies. Notebooks of Pedagogy , 216, 25-27.