Speed Reading

[Jes]

I've recently become interested in learning this skill, as it will probably help me develop a ton of other skills at least a bit faster. Has anyone here tried this? How did you learn? Were you able to maintain your new pace? And most importantly, will I impair my comprehension level by reading faster? Currently, I intentionally read slower to assure myself nearly total comprehension of the material (thanks, OCD!).

[rene_stpierre]

Hi,

Have a look at Photo Reading. I purchased it a few months ago and it's a great course.

They claim it can tripple your reading speed. I did not really measure the improvement I have seen but, it is significant.

The key difference is that you rely on your subconscious mind (which can store a lot more information than the conscious mind) to retain the information you read.

The result is ... faster reading and more information retained.

René

[Trustme]

Maybe it's not necessary to comprehend everything. Maybe it's better to grasp the most important 20% of concepts of various books on the subject than 100% of one book only. Just a provoking thought... Open for discussion

[searstower]

I'll second the PhotoReading recommendation. I've always been a bit faster, but now I'm able to read AND comprehend a full textbook in a week or so due to Photoreading.

Were you able to maintain your new pace?

Yes, though it takes lots of practice to make it a consistent habit. But the practice is fun and very relaxing, so I didn't mind!

How did you learn?

I first read the book and used their instructions about how to read it. I read it very fast and was intrigued. I bought the PhotoReading deluxe course with the 59% off Pavlina discount. I went through the exercises with the CD and workbook, then I used the CD to assist me in Photoreading 10 interesting sounding books from the library.

And most importantly, will I impair my comprehension level by reading faster?

With photoreading, my comprehension actually seems better. My mind doesn't wander like it does when I regular read and I get to connect more dots at once, which helps me understand and remember better.

And you are right, total comprehension of most books is overkill. You want to be able to understand the entire concept, relate to some examples and probably remember important terms/names/dates. But something like 4% of each page in the average book has all the important content, the rest is filler.

I take tests on the material I read, so the comprehension is good enough for a decent score there.

Radiant Rebecca

[poetrythug]

I have a question for those of you who have tried Photo Reading -- how long did it take to learn?

[RT Wolf]

Photoreading

Another great review here.

poetrythug, It depends on who you are. Adrienne seemed to suggest that she rushed through the cds in 2 days (its about 8 hours of cds) and then essentially started PRing immediately. While I've been doing it on and off for about three months and now am starting to get decent results. I want to be a master at photoreading, too.

So, it depends on who you are. For me, I love the process of reading so its harder to let go of it, plus I have some limiting beliefs that say this sort of thing isn't possible or effective enough. I'll start using PR everywhere in my life soon, though. The paraliminal tapes have been really helpful in helping me get past those beliefs.