By Trevor John
Speed reading claims that it is possible for you to increase your reading speed from the sedate speed that it's probably at now, up to scarcely believable speeds of 1,000 words a minute and upwards.
Academic research doesn't confirm the results claimed by some of the speed reading programs that are on the market. But then academic tests don't always reflect real world conditions. There are certainly plenty of people in the world who claim that speed reading works for them.
Part of the trouble with our normal reading pattern is that we will actually "read out loud" inside our head. Reading out loud slows us down dramatically. If the speed reading course that you choose stops the amount of reading out loud that you do inside your head, then your reading speed will increase. Whether it gets as high as 1,000 words a minute will depend on how much you practice, but even if you only increase your reading speed by 50% then you'll be able to take in a lot more information than you do at the moment. Which, with today's information rich society, can only be a good thing.
The various speed reading courses on the market vary from a simple, cheap book right the way through to a full seminar. There are also self-teach courses that form a kind of half way house between these two extremes.
If you're considering speed reading for the first time, it may be best to start with a simple book and then, when you experience the results for yourself, progress to a full course to take your reading speed even higher.
Take your reading speed to it's highest possible level with photoreading. You can read at the speed you can turn the pages of a book and comprehend the majority of what you photoread.
