Speed reading, should be an essential tool for nowadays hectic lifestyle. With special reading ability, we benefit from soaking up information much faster and there is just so much to learn. It is not difficult to master speed reading but first, we need to identify and isolate the problems we have in a normal reading session.The single most difficult obstacle has to be the part of 'Vocabulary and Comprehension', especially when the learner is not a native speaker of the English language.

Trying to understand certain words in a sentence will most definitely slows, the reading process and we must not pass on the words, otherwise the whole text would turn meaningless. To overcome this problem, after completing (speed read) the page, you need to double back to comprehend the words.The point here is to get up to speed (familiarize with the speed) without sacrificing time by stopping to understand the words concerned. The more common habits of normal reading that needs to be look into are:

* reading out the text as we read
* reading backwards to confirm a word

The majority of us tends to read by forming the phonetic of words continuously as we go through a sentence.It is a habit ingrained into us since primary school days and by doing this, we inhibits our visual intake of the words in the sentence. Visually, we can take in more information than reading word for word, therefore we need to stop 'vocalizing' every word in order to quicken our speed format. ( By vocalizing, it is actually speaking out the words but it also refers to our habit of 'saying' the words in our mind.) For those fast readers, they are able to # 'read ahead' because they have a good command of vocabulary and just a glance of the word would be enough for them to know the meaning of it instantly, allowing them to move forward to the next word. In essence, this is one of the condition we are striving to be efficient, in speed reading.
# 'read ahead'-- focusing on a single word and then having our focus shifting automatically to the next word.
Reading backwards to confirm words in the sentence usually means we are temporary confused by the meaning of the words or sentence, perhaps due to a foreign word or scientific terminology.However, the more common factor seems to be nervousness. When reading important documents, we tend to be cautious in absorbing the information concerned, hence the habitual 'look back to make sure' gesture.

The Finger Technique A simple and effective tool, to aid us in speed reading is our index finger! Yes, just point to the word in focus, "absorb the meaning of the word" and move to the next one. By this, it simply means to comprehend the word as quickly as possible on your own scale ( your own timing ). Initially,you should be comfortable with your own speed of reading using your finger as a guide. Next, you force it to move faster than your normal speed, across the sentence. Subsequently, this will force you to play catch-up in reading the words and over time with lots of practice, it will accustom you to read at a much faster pace. A speed conditioning technique that is workable with diligent practice.Newspaper columns would be perfect for training, where the sentences are short and easily taken in visually.The break in line should give you ample time to 'reflect' upon the meaning of the short sentence or part of it, and inadvertently enhances your comprehension as you speed along.

All you need to invest is a bit of your time and you can do it at leisure hours of your day.This approach to speed reading may be slow and outdated but it really works. Of course if you are in a hurry to master the technique of speed reading, there are more up-to-date solutions.You can get almost instantaneous results ( few hours into the special course ) with the help of audio technology. Their confidence is such, that they can give you money-back guarantees!

William Kon
Best of luck