To become a speed reader, you should train your eyes, train your brain, train your attention.

1. How to become a
speed reader
Step 1. Train your eyes Step
Step 2. Train your brain
Step 3. Train your attention

2. Step 1. Train your eyes
Tips:
1) Pick up a book with a text that
isn’t interrupted by pictures.
2) Depending on how fast you already
read, it can be:
• hard mode – smaller text
• easy mode – larger text.

3. Step 1. Train your eyes
3) Pick a book that you haven’t read. So you won’t “cheat” by practicing
speed reading on what you already know. Pick a book that you wanted to
read in a long time but haven’t read before.
4) Establish your baseline. The usual page of the book has 250-500 words.
See how fast you can read 3 pages now, and check your progress
later (it’s not necessary, do it only if you want to).
5) Use your peripheral vision.

4. How you use your peripheral vision
1) Look straight at one mark on the screen. Focus on it.
2) Can you see things to the left of the screen without moving your eyes? Can you see words around the place you
focused on? Probably, yes, because you’re using your peripheral vision.
3) Pick a book, open random page and look at the 1st
word focusing on it. Now you’re using your central vision. Go to the
end of the line looking at every word. That’s how we usually read, using only central vision, skipping from the beginning
of the line to the end, looking straight at every word and not taking advantage of our peripheral vision. central vision

5. How you use your peripheral vision
4) What we want to do is, instead of skipping our eyes from the start of the line to the end, we want to skip it
throughout the middle. Flicking through the center of the text with focused central vision, and using our peripheral
vision to read the sides.
5) Draw 2 lines in the middle of the page or do it naturally with your eyes, and try to flick between the middle of the
page as much as possible, using your peripheral vision to read the rest on the sides.
peripheral vision

6. Step 2. Train your brain
It’s fine if you don’t understand the whole text in the beginning. You have to
practice your eyes and brain to get used to speed reading. Being slow or not
remembering/understanding what you’ve read after focusing only on the
middle of the page is normal. Use big text at the start!
Tips:
1) Use a text or a book that you’re not studying (like a practice text) and try to
read it at 70-80% comprehension. Meaning, that while practicing speed
reading you will be able to understand only 70-80% of it.

7. Step 2. Train your brain
2) How to start understanding more?
Visualization. Visualize what you’re
reading.
You’re not looking at the text, you’re not
scanning it, you’re interpreting it as a
mental image in your mind and you’re
constantly building this image as you’re
reading.

8. Step 2. Train your brain
3) Be comfortable with comprehension loss but challenge it very harshly at every stage of speed
read learning.
4) Train your focus. Get in a comfortable quiet position so you can focus 100% on what you’re
reading.

9. Step 3. Train your attention
It is very tiring if you’re speed reading for an hour or more. It takes lots of
energy and lots of focus, and leaves you drained. That’s why using this
technic is, maybe, useful only when you’re in a rush and need to learn
something in a very short period of time (like, for an exam or an interview
or any other test).

10. Step 3. Train your attention
Tips:
1) Don’t try to do this using books with
small text. Better find a text size
comfortable for you, or use any eBook
reader (Kindle, iPad or computer)
where you can adjust the brightness
and the size of the text. The bigger the
text – the easier it is to speed read.

11. Step 3. Train your attention
2) Spread the attention across many of your senses. Do this by listening to
the book you’re speed reading. So you would have a physical book/text in
front of you and you would also be listening to the audiobook. It helps to
maintain your focus. If you get a bit tired and want to take a break, you can
pause the audiobook for a few minutes without closing the book and just
leaving it. You can come back and continue speed reading because it’s easier
to press play and continue.

12. Step 3. Train your attention
3) Do take breaks. Don’t speed read books
back to back. Usually an hour or two of
speed reading is the best timeframe after
which your brain needs some rest.
4) Start with 15 minutes of speed reading
practice a day. And increase the time when
your brain is ready and you’re comfortable
with comprehension.

13. Thank you!
And good luck!
Helena Shook
My jigsawpuzzlecraft:
https://jigsawpuzzlecraft.com/@17635220187a/
Images: pixabay.com and unsplash.com
Presentation is based on Become a Speed Reader in 15 Minutes by
Elizabeth Filips