Speed reading is not magic

The human mind has almost infinite potential

Science has suggested that the human mind has an almost infinite potential for learning and processing information. The problem has always been how to access this incredible power.

95 - 5

Research shows that reading is 95% thinking and only 5% eye movement. Most of today's reading programs focus only on rapid eye movement techniques.

 

250 words per minute

The average reading speed is around 230 words per minute. Most people are capable of reading at least as fast as 500 words per minute however they are "held back" by bad reading habits. Faster readers enjoy better grades at school and advance higher in their careers.

The average college student reads between 250 and 350 words per minute on fiction and non-technical materials. A "good" reading speed is around 500 to 700 words per minute, but some people can read a thousand words per minute or even faster on these materials. What makes the difference? There are three main factors involved in improving reading speed.

 

John F. Kennedy

One of the fastest readers in the American society was John F. Kennedy and this could be related to the speed in which he presented his speeches. He delivered his speeches faster than most can even try to talk.

 

1,000,000 words per week

Is essential information your enemy or ally? A recent Xerox study determined that you must read at least 1,000,000 words per week just to stay abreast of new information. Think about that, 1,000,000 words a week! Yet, the average reading speed is only about 200 words per minute. Since the decisions you make each day are only as good as the information you base them upon, your information glut is a serious detriment to your professional performance. As the author of Mega Speed Reading, and the world's fastest reader I will share some of my accelerated learning strategies with you for staying on top of essential information.

 

1,000,000,000,000 brain cells.

Human minds have 1,000,000,000,000 brain cells. In fact, the inner connections, the synapses, in our mind are virtually infinite. It has been estimated by a scientist that the number of synapses we have would be a 1 followed by 10 million zeros. Our physical capacity for reading is beyond our comprehension.

Our visual unit has the capability to take in a full page of text in 1/20 of a second. If we could turn the pages fast enough, our brain could process it faster than our eyes can see it. If we could turn those pages fast enough, our eyes have the capacity to read a standard book in six to twenty-five seconds depending on the length of the book. We could take in the entire Encyclopedia Britannica in one hour. So reading 700 - 1,000 words a minute is easily within our reach.

 

4 million words per month

The average business person today is required to read 4 million words per month. That's close to 50 million words per year. It would take the average reader (reading 200 words per minute) 3,333 hours of reading each year in order to read that much! Who has the time for that much reading? Do you?

 

Who reads slowly?


Lawyers and executives read the slowest based on testing two-million people. They are afraid they will miss something, causing these intelligent folks to stop and caress each word like it was the Hope diamond. They regress twice on every page, and have a comprehension of only 70% as they "snail" along.

Synonyms

"photo reading" is different from "regular reading" and different from "speed reading." It is more a way to "process" and "understand" information than it is to "read" information. Because photo reading uses more of your mind, you can go through information more easily and with greater understanding.

 

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