Running fast isn’t
just a matter of going at it full speed. The fastest human beings in the world combine both power and technique
for without technique, power can’t be maximized and without power,
technique can’t be exploited.
In this chapter, we’ll look at speed-reading techniques that will help you become more efficient and raise your reading pace significantly for the same effort.
Reading The Table Of Contents
Did you know that there is an enormous speed increase when reading if one knows the general
gist of what’s being talked about? Did you know that in addition to reading faster, one could also comprehend much more as well through this method?
How can somebody have a
grip of the whole book within a few minutes? That’s right, you’ve guessed it, it’s as simple as reading the table of contents. Almost all books have been outlined in this section and if you read them and form an idea of what the book is about, it’ll make it that much faster in reading and comprehending.
Let’s use Shakespearean plays as an example. To the average person, reading Shakespeare plays can be difficult because the English used differs from modern English in many respects which we won’t go into detail here. If before reading the play, one were to have a minor grasp of the outline of the play, the characters, plot, story, etc.…
it’ll be much faster and easier in both reading and comprehending because you won’t stop at trivial parts and also, complex parts will come to you easier. The same thing happens when reading books in general, the more understanding you have of what’s going to be talked about, the faster you’ll read it.
Note – Don’t use this technique for books that you desire to appreciate like great fiction books, otherwise you’d be spoiling yourself of a brilliant story.
Asking Questions
Another method at your
disposal to escalate your reading speed considerably is through asking yourself
well-defined questions about the book; this will aid your mind in getting a firm grasp of the ideas about to be presented. The trick to this approach is to grab a sheet of paper and pencil and
jot questions regarding the book. Go over carefully all the topics and subtopics then write questions on your paper such as…
- What is the main idea in this chapter about?
- What does the author wish to convey in this particular sub-topic?
- What is this book about?
- What is the author wishing to convey through this book?
- How can I benefit from this book?
You get the idea. When asking yourself these questions, it’s recommended to shut the book and keep your mind locked onto the written questions then jot down your answers.
When done, read the chapter. You’ll find that your mind will be thoroughly locked onto the information at hand and you’ll burn through the text that much faster.
You’ll also become adept in skipping entirely the fluff in books because generally speaking, there are TONS of filler texts in books. By knowing what’s essential and what’s not, you can easily ignore material that don’t contribute much to the main idea and thus, spend less time reading.
