How Fast Can You Read and Does it Matter?

Reading is a primary means of absorbing new information and knowledge.  Improving your ability to read – faster, better comprehension and in novel ways – enhances learning capacity and creativity and so it will be a frequent topic on the Next Brain Blog.

Increasing your reading speed without losing comprehension means saving time or read more in the same amount of time.   If you normally read for an hour a day increasing your reading speed from 250 words per minute (international average) to 6oo means you can read approximately 150,000 words more per week. This is the equivalent of a meaty non-fiction book every week or 52 every year.

How fast do you read? Take this quick free test from RocketReader and find out.

There are proven techniques for increasing reading speed.  For example, guiding, skimming and grouping are all proven to work. Other less proven techniques include minimizing subvocalization (talking aloud to yourself while reading) and widening your visual span (number/lengths of words you can taken in at a glance). You can learn to speed read from programs, books, workshops or software.  We will discuss all these techniques and options on the Next Brain Blog. Let’s  start with software as it affords easy experimentation as well as a good way to be systematic.

There are many software packages on the market that promise to improve your reading skills.  Check out TopTenReviews of Speed Reading Software to get a quick overview of what is available. Prices range from $12 to $80 and the more fully features packages are likely worth the extra cost.

I plan on taking the Reader’s Edge (top-rated speed reading software) 30-day challenge and will blog on the results.   In the meantime, if you have used speed reading software please post a comment and share your experiences and results.