Read Fast With Comprehension

You do not read a word “one letter at a time”. You do not need to “hear each letter” in your head and then put them together. Similarly, you do not need to read “one word at a time”. You do not have to slow down to “hear each word in you head”. But you do need to pause - albeit briefly - and take in the information. Use iSpeedRead to develop the motor skills as you learn to concentrate intensely so as to read faster with comprehension.

1. Most people don’t read over 250 words per minute (wpm), but in fact could read in the 750 to 1000 wpm range with better comprehension. Most people simply need to develop the potential that they already have.

2. Reading fast with comprehension involves training the brain and developing the associated habits to have the “motor skills” commensurate with the brain’s capabilities. Important: Reading slowly actually can hinder comprehension as the brain “gets lost”. As you practice speed-reading, do not be discouraged by an initial lag in comprehension as you are increasing your concentration and reading skills. But you will soon notice that the brain will catch up and you will be reading faster with more comprehension if you work on developing the habits described herein.

3. iSpeedRead is designed to help develop these good habits and aid you in developing the concentration needed for proficient reading. Follow the words as iSpeedRead highlights them across the screen. iSpeedRead provides much flexibility regarding both rate, mode (e.g., semi-line, multi-line, etc.). Any RTF-compatible file (e.g., a word DOC file) can be used for practice. The window can be resized to practice reading with different widths and configurations.

4. Do not “go back” (regress) to better understand what you just read. Regression just causes the brain to confuse itself instead of just grasping what it can and should know. Follow the text in iSpeedRead.

5. Do not let yourself “hear the words”, either in your head or even worse by speaking. When reading fast with comprehension, you will pick up more information with your eyes than you could have ever “heard” at the same rate, even if you are hearing it “in you head”.

6. Rid yourself of all distractions that impede your concentration, such as tapping your foot, etc.

7. Do not fixate on a particular word, but keep moving the eye across the screen and let the eyes pause at the proper places to take in the information. iSpeedRead is powerful in training you to develop the right, not the wrong fixations. Although the “single word” mode may be useful for those learning to read or those having trouble with regression, it is not recommended for readers trying to increase their speed. Rather, start with the “multi-word” or even semi-line mode.

8. Gradually increase your eye span, which designates the amount of words you can handle at a time. iSpeedRead facilitates this by letting you adjust the multi-word setting as well as set the semi-line mode. Advanced readers should also practice using the line, multi-line, and paragraph modes.

9. Your speed and comprehension will vary with the material. For example, scientific reading differs from legal documents which differ from novels. iSpeedRead provides flexibility for practicing with different material at different rates.

10. Practice makes perfect: Habitually PRACTICE! These directives for reading with comprehension combined with iSpeedRead are all you need… if you work at it. Schedule two blocks of 15 minutes each day for reading with iSpeedRead. After 2 weeks of such work, you will hopefully find that iSpeedRead has been a most lucrative investment in your capacity to quickly assimilate knowledge.

Specific iSpeedRead Guidelines

1. Most users should start with the multi-word mode with three words and about 200-250 wpm. Become comfortable with this rate and immediately move it up to about 300 wpm.

2. Set the color schemes that you are comfortable with. Simple black on white is recommended; but there are other options. Feint background text is useful so you don’t lose your place and can take in nearby words associated with the chunk of text you are scanning; but don’t make the background text so visible as to tempt you to regress.

3. Gradually increase the rate and the number of words used in the multi-line mode. All the time, be sure to take the exams associated with the articles. Increasing the number of words is a great way to gradually increase your eye span. If you find yourself picking up “nothing” with the eye fixations, slow down a bit. On the other hand, if you pick of the “essence” of the block of text and find yourself waiting, you should definitely speed it up some.

4. You should practice much with the semi-line mode where the document window is set to mimic the dimensions of a large page. This is a practical way of forming the proper habits for good eye fixations which are appropriate for a wide variety of material.

5. You can also practice “scanning” with the multi-line and paragraph mode. Don’t expect your comprehension to be perfect here, even with practice. Rather, you will develop habits, especially as your concentration increases, to assimilate an amazing amount of material in a short time.

6. Don’t let yourself get discouraged by trying to increase your speed too fast and then be frustrated with poor comprehension. The increased speed and comprehension arises from regular practice that gives rise to the required motor skills and increased concentration.