Help, I’m a Slow Reader

I’m guessing there are thousands of posts on how to read faster. If you are old enough, remember those Evelyn Wood speed reading courses? I took one back in the 1990s, but I’m not so sure my reading speed increased significantly. Does that mean we’re all doomed to being slow readers? Not necessarily as there is hope for you.

Fiction

Let’s knock fiction out of the way before we start with non-fiction.

My first thought is don’t worry about speed. Do you enjoy fiction? And are you reading for relaxation and entertainment? Then forget about speed.

If you start reading more frequently, then speed will pick out without you thinking about it. But I will suggest an Evelyn Wood technique–use your finger to guide you as you read.

Non-Fiction

You can increase your reading speed with the following techniques as most non-fiction books are well-structured.

1. Don’t skip the introduction or forward. This content will give you insights into what you are about to read.
2. Don’t forget to read the index.
3. Moving to the chapters, read the first and last paragraphs to each chapter.
4. Starting with chapter 1, read the first sentence of each paragraph including the first and last paragraphs.
5. Now, get reading reaping -4- above with each new chapter.
6. Find a chapter that’s not meaningful? Skim and move on to the next chapter.

The above works well for nearly all non-fiction books, even memoirs, and biographies. Although, I never skip chapters with those.

Will your reading time jump? Yes, but more importantly, your retention will too, especially if you take notes.

Regarding Evelyn Wood

Just in case Evelyn means nothing to you, take a look …