What prevents us from reading faster and how to deal with it

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

There are only five factors that slow down reading speed. And it is quite possible to defeat them.

Remember the famous parable of the lion and the gazelle: when the sun rises, each of them must run to survive. Oddly enough, but the situation is similar to life in a modern civilization, oversaturated with information. In this savannah, the one who learns more and faster than others wins / survives. The presence of millions of texts on the Web has made the skill of fast reading one of the conditions for survival. No other skill compares to speed reading in terms of importance and versatility.

How fast can you read? The average reading speed of a Russian-language text by an educated adult is 180 (± 30) words per minute. At this rate, more than half (or rather 52%) of the information read is assimilated. Speed reading 3-4 times faster than average: 600-800 words per minute. It could be even faster, but the researchers argue that then the assimilation will be completely bad.

What prevents you from accelerating? It turns out that the problem is in the brain, eyes and tongue. In the brain, rapid reading is constrained by lack of strategy and scattered attention, in the eyes - a small field of view and regression, in language - articulation. There are only five factors, and it is more than realistic to defeat them one by one.

1. Lack of strategy

The fast reading strategy consists of a clear understanding of the goal (why read) and understanding the logic of the text (how it works). It is worth starting reading with setting a goal, on which everything else will depend.

There are four strategies for different purposes: scan, scan, skim, and deep reading. Each next one assumes deeper reading and more time consumption.

Scanning - the fastest reading strategy to find specific facts in the text. These can be dates, names, numbers, percentages, or keywords. We limit the search and slide our eyes over the text. Immersion in the text is minimal, the eye catches only the most necessary (single portions of information).

View - study of the table of contents of the book (outline of the article), important provisions (they are most often highlighted in a different color or taken out into the fields) and conclusions. The purpose of reading-viewing is to understand whether the text is worth reading at length (value) and whether it contains new information (usefulness).

Skimming involves a little deeper immersion in the content of the text and more time consumption. We focus on the keywords, after seeing which we stop and read the text before and after the keywords. Thus, we accept only information that is directly included in the area of interest, and ignore the secondary.

In-depth - Thoughtful reading based on existing knowledge, with attention to detail. In this way, we learn, understand and remember new information. Strategy refers to speed reading, but it can also be "pumped" and accelerated.

Knowing the logic and structure of the text, you can quickly find the information you need. For example, in scientific articles, the essence is described in the annotation, the logic of presentation is fixed in the article itself: goal, objectives, history of the issue, experiment, results, conclusions. In popular texts, we look at the heading, subtitle and last paragraph. In all texts, "salt" is in the first sentences of paragraphs; in the paragraphs themselves - details of the main thoughts, in the last sentence - conclusions on the first.

Fighting the following four constraints is literally a matter of technology. They relate to rather commonplace physiological reasons.

2. Scattered attention

You read the text, but do not understand anything, because you think about which cafe to go to in the evening, listen to music (or street noise) or feel that your hand is numb. Sound familiar? If you are not in the mood for reading, do not grab it. All speed reading experts unanimously advise throwing a book out the window if you are not interested in reading it or you do not feel an urgent need for information from this book.

To combat distracted attention, define a goal and create an environment in which nothing will distract from reading. Turn off the phone, turn on the desk lamp, read not only while sitting, but also while standing, periodically do push-ups or do bends. Turn off your phone anyway.

3. Small field of view

The ordinary reader sees 1-2 words, so his eyes scan horizontally line by line. The speed reader sees the entire line, so he reads the page from top to bottom or diagonally.

You can expand your field of vision with the help of special exercises (simple, but regular). They can be found, for example, on this site.

4. Regression

A big problem is the involuntary return of the gaze to the just read word, sentence or phrase - regression. It occurs when there is distraction, insufficient concentration of attention, misunderstanding of the reading. Solving the problem with concentration partially solves the problem with regression. In addition, finger or pencil tracking helps a lot. The gaze will not return, and the acceleration of the tracking will accelerate the movement of the eyes.

5. Articulation

"Say a letter, now a syllable, now put the syllables into a word" - this is how we were taught to read. It all started with reading out loud, so 90% of adults have this habit. And it slows us down: pronouncing does not allow starting to read the next word until the previous one has been pronounced.

Articulation is external and internal.

External - movements of the lips, tongue and larynx. Everything is like in childhood, only soundless. You can break this habit by pinching a piece of paper or a pencil with your lips while reading. In advanced cases, keep the very tip of your tongue between your teeth. You don't need to squeeze, just fix it.

Internal articulation is the mental pronunciation of word by word while reading. It is rarely possible to completely defeat this bad habit, but you can weaken it. To do this, you can, reading with your eyes, count the words mentally instead of pronouncing. Or choose a pace at which understanding will be maintained, but the inner voice will not have time to pronounce what it has read. It is worth practicing here: everyone will have their own pace.

So there are two pieces of news, and both are good. First, the factors limiting the reading speed can be overcome. Even on their own - without coaches and expensive courses.

Second, you've already started working on reading problems. You saw in yourself what prevents you from accelerating: wrong strategy, defocusing of attention, small field of vision and regression, speaking. This means that you are already changing for the better.