Speed Reading with the Right Brain: Learn to Read Ideas Instead of Just Words

by David Butler

You can never read at a constant static speed and expect your comprehension to also remain constant. Instead you must let comprehension take the lead, and allow your speed to adjust.

You don’t want to read faster than your comprehension, but reading fast enough can also help comprehension by maintaining your reading momentum. It’s a balancing act, and sometimes you’ll still lose your balance, but just be flexible and do your best.

Comprehension speed is more constant than language speed (IPM is more constant than WPM). Comprehension determines speed—not only in reading but even in speech.

Stopping to consider something isn’t reading; it’s more like sightseeing.

If you’re reading to learn something, then you need to do more than just understand it; you need to place it firmly in your memory where you can easily find it again.

For one, non-fiction authors are often trying to convince you of something. This means the author will generally make a special effort to make their case logically and systematically, and this extra effort put into the explanation can make it faster and easier to consume.

The best reading speed is the fastest speed you can understand. There’s no way to go faster and no need to go slower than comprehension speed.

In my experience, this is the hardest part of reading faster—to stop fixating on speed.

The most common question about picking out word-groups is, “How do you know which words to put together?” And the second most popular question is, “How can you select the word-groups fast enough while also concentrating on your reading?” The answer to both is the same, and is similar to the answer on how to reduce subvocalization and regression: by focusing your attention on visuals!

Reading for ideas is the path to better and faster comprehension, and the more you can stay on this path, the smoother it will become.

Real reading only takes place when information is integrated into our existing knowledge.

Reading IS comprehension. That means comprehension is not just a part of reading, it’s all that reading is.

By understanding reading and understanding your brain, you can read ideas instead of words by reading with the right brain.