Clever Brain

Reading is one of the most basic ways on how we gather information. Reading, and in particular speed reading, is also one of the ways to improve your brain power. Through reading we are able to obtain adequate knowledge about almost anything and everything. However, some people read faster than their average peers, and this gives them greater advantage when it comes to performing various activities.

Having a faster reading speed doesn’t only mean that you read the lines fast – it also indicates that you have understood a particular statement as quickly as you have read it, and through this, it would be much easier for you to do your tasks and responsibilities as you won’t have to spend as much time interpreting the instructions.

If you want to increase your reading speed and be more capable of gathering information faster and better, then here are some helpful speed reading tips you can do:

1. Read Just About Everything You See

Whether it is a table of ingredients found on a soda can or directions written on a billboard, make it a point to read. The words, lines and phrases are stored immediately on your head and become of good use once you encounter similar statements in other reading materials. Your brain will no longer spend much time interpreting information as it already has the previous lines stored in its archives.

2. Read in the Morning

While eating breakfast, make it a point to read. Most people who read newspapers and books in the morning have better memory throughout the day, and it becomes easier for them to process information particularly when given new reading materials.

3. Look for the Main Idea

Each paragraph in a given reading material has a main idea. To boost your reading performance, skim for the main ideas in every paragraph. You then need not read the whole chapter or essay since you have already understood its gist via the main points found in the paragraphs involved.

4. Avoid Highlighting Lines

Indeed highlighting certain thoughts or statements in a reading material can be of great help for those who are reviewing for exams, but you can actually avoid this effort by taking time to read the whole material. You don’t actually save time highlighting ideas as you will still spend almost as much time viewing the reference and reviewing it. Also, highlighting only encourages you to memorize the phrases regardless if you have understood it or not.

5. Ask Questions

In most reading text, you would find subheadings which focus on a particular subtopic. Use these subheadings by forming them into questions, then find the answers by means of reading the corresponding text. This way it would not be difficult for you to understand what you are reading, and even have fun learning more about the given topic.

6. Practice!

Of course, practice makes it perfect, and that includes increasing your reading speed. Read a lot of materials, ranging from books to newspapers and even graphic novels. Also, read in a quiet, comfortable place in which you can concentrate on your reading and not be distracted by other things. Best place for reading: the library.

7. Read with Sense

There are certain documents which have to be read with proper care and attention, and you will really have to spend time on them. These include medical records, legal documents and mathematical theorems, as the brain needs more time and space to interpret and understand what they mean. Be allowing yourself to read them more than once, you will be able to make sound decisions and avoid further mistakes due to carelessness. There are other types of reading materials that could be read faster, such as books, newspapers and short Internet articles.

Practice each of these seven speed reading tips each day and always when you’re reading and you will find that the speed with which you read will increase. Happy reading!