How to Read Extremely Fast

Speed-reading is an essential skill for individuals who must decipher large amounts of information quickly. When engaging in speed reading, readers glean information from the text at a rate of up to 1,000 words per minute, according to Reach Out Michigan. Readers learn to choose which words and sentences are most important, thus focusing more intensely on important terms and words while quickly skimming less-important features of a book or article. Effective speed-reading is therefore an important attribute in the workplace and at school.

• 1

  Determine what information you want or need from the text before reading it. This, according to Mindtools, is the most important aspect of speed-reading. Having an outline of the necessary information you hope to gain can be helpful in keeping you on track as you quickly skim the text; using the words of the outline as a reference for the words you may want to focus on within the text can quickly improve the speed of your reading.

• 2

  Read text as strings of words rather than as one word or a single letter at a time. Instead of reading text as one word following another, train your eyes on the first three or four words in a series and read. If you find you've lost the flow of the text or need clarification on a point, don't feel bad about referring to the text you just saw, thus scanning over what you have already read. As you get better at scanning text in large strings of words, you will be able to skim more words simultaneously. Don't get discouraged -- it takes practice to master this reading technique.

• 3

  Work on reducing the amount of time you spend re-reading what you already have read once you master reading in strings of words. Re-reading text that you've already read wastes time and cuts down on speed-reading efficiency. To avoid having to re-read parts of the text you've already skimmed, pay close attention to the text without outside distractions and skim quickly for key words or phrases as provided in your outline. With practice and concentration, you will reduce the amount of time you spend re-reading parts of the text.