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.

This can be a difficult habit to overcome, because you’ll probably want to push your speed, but you have to get connected, and stay connected, to the material before you can read faster.

Wash dishes. Polish silverware. German dishes. Polish silverware.

You don’t want to read faster than your comprehension, but reading fast enough can also help comprehension by maintaining your reading momentum.

two main things to remember are to concentrate on comprehension and be flexible. Speed will be the reward.

Instead of words per minute (WPM), it would be more useful to think in terms of information per minute (IPM). IPM would be the speedometer that tells you how fast you are actually traveling, whereas WPM would be the tachometer that only tells you how fast your engine is spinning.

When measuring pages per minute or standard word length per minute, it would seem that you were reading faster when longer words were used. However, you would really only be pedaling faster, not making any additional progress since your true information speed would be unchanged.

Now, non-fiction. Yes, it’s very true that you must often slow down to read non-fiction. In fact, you often need to come to a complete stop while you consider something fascinating that you’ve never considered before. But this isn’t reading; this is pondering—a very enjoyable activity on its own, but a special side benefit of non-fiction. Stopping to consider something isn’t reading; it’s more like sightseeing.

You almost have to be Zen-like in your reading, letting the information come to you. This doesn’t mean reading words and just seeing what ideas come along. It means consciously redirecting your attention to visualizing and conceptualizing until you more solidly lock onto the information again. Relax and engage your imagination, forgetting about speed for a while and concentrating more on immersing yourself in the information.

The only way to read faster is to stay on track by doing the following: Maintain concentration (pin firmly in the slot). Vary your speed as necessary (track conditions). Avoid mind wandering (flying off the track). Avoid regression (needing to put the car back). Gain speed gradually while you develop context (traction).

Even each time you reread the same text can be different depending on many internal and external factors. In fact, because of these changing factors, you can never really read the “same” book twice.

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!

Each of the lines below represent the words your eyes might initially see at a glance, but the dark text represents the part which your mind might pick out as a separate visual idea.

You must make comprehension your main, no, your only pursuit.

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