With the volumes of information we have to digest every day, from the newspaper in the morning, from college newsletter, and all the reports, proposals, periodicals, and letters we are sent, reading is one of the most used skills we possess.
This is the most granted skill that demands most. Like other skills, reading is one that people don't think about as much as they should. Given the time that reading consumes in our daily lives, it is the skill that we must have to improve.
Breaking Poor Reading Habits
Habit: Reading word by word
This is how children are taught to read, if you read word by word it just lost the complete concept of the sentence. People who read each word as a distinct unit comprehend less than those who read faster by "chunking" words together in blocks.
Solution: Speed reading involves reading blocks of words at one time and comprehending the meaning of the word group. There are millions of pixels that only make sense when they are seen together.
Only practice is the way to learn this skill. You may also find that you can increase the number of words read by holding the text a little further from your eyes. There are so many words that you can learn at faster and perfect way.
Habit: Sub-vocalization
Utteration or sub-vocalization is the habit of pronouncing words in your head. Many people use this technique. When you utter the word, it is only here by you.
Solution: To turn off the voice in your head you have to first acknowledge that you do it (how did you read the first part of this article?) and then you have to practice not doing it. When you sit down to read, tell yourself that you will not sub-vocalize. Have to do practice and practice to minimize this bad habit. Reading blocks of words also helps as you can't "say" a block of words.
Habit: inefficient eye motion
Slow readers tend to focus on each word and work their way across each line. There actual eye span is about to 1.5 inches, for an average page, encompasses four or five words. Related to this is the fact that most readers don't use their peripheral vision to see words at the ends of the line.
Solution: Just soft your gaze when you read. By relaxing your face and expanding your gaze, you will begin to see blocks of words instead of each word as distinct unit. When your eye movement is improved then you will surely become good reader. When you get close to the end of the line, let your peripheral vision take over to see the last set of words. This way you can quickly scan across and down to the next line.
Habit: Retrogression
This is unneeded re-reading of corporeal. Sometimes people get in the habit of skipping back to words they barely interpret and other times they jump back a few sentences barely to attain sure that they interpret something right. When you "skip back" like this you lose the flow and structure of the text and your complete understanding of the subject become less.
Solution: Be very conscious of regression and do not allow yourself to re-read material. To reduce the number of times that your eyes skip back to a previous sentence, run a pointer along the line as you read. This could be a finger, or a pen or pencil. Your eyes will follow the tip of your pointer, smoothing the flow of your reading. The speed at which you read using this method will largely depend on the speed at which you move the pointer.
Habit: Inadequate Concentration
If you've tried to read while the TV is on, or when there is lots of activity around you, you know how hard it is to concentrate on one word, let alone on many sentences strung together. Reading has to be done in environment where external distractions are at a minimum.
Solution: Stop multitasking while reading. If you are attempting to speed interpret, this is particularly crucial because when you apply the speed reading techniques of unitization blocks of speech and ceasing to sub-vocalize, you may have "read" one or two pages before you realize you haven't silent something properly. Pay attention to internal distractions as well. If you are rehashing a heated discussion you had earlier, or wondering what to make for dinner, this will also limit your ability to process more selective information.
Habit: Approaching reading linearly
We are taught to read across and down, taking in every word, sentence, paragraph, page, and chapter in order. When you do this, though, you pay the like attention to supplemental and superfluous material as you do to the critical portions. There is usually far more selective information written than you actually need to understand.
Solution: Stop meter reading a book like you would listen to a speech. Scan the page for headings and look for the bullet points or things in bold. There is no rule saying you have to read in the order the author presents the information. Do a quick scan of the page and decide quickly what is necessary and what isn't. Skim over the fluff and pay attention to the key material.
As you learn, look for the short extras that authors add to make their writing interesting and engaging. If you get the point, there is no need to read the example, anecdote, or metaphor. Similarly, decide what you need to re-read as well. It is far better to read the one critical paragraph twice than to read all eight paragraphs describing that same concept.
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