Aron Smetana: How and Why You Should Learn Speed Reading

Sunday, January 13, 2013

How and Why You Should Learn Speed Reading

PickTheBrain How and Why You Should Learn Speed Reading

Do you wish you could get more reading done everyday? Of course you do!

Whether it's reading more novels or keeping up with industry blogs, just imagine what it would be like if you could read 2, 3, or even 4 times faster than you do now.

The reality is you can do it… and it's much easier than you think!

My name is Ryan Whiteside and I'm a personal development junkie. I've read (literally) hundreds of personal development books over the past five years. One of those books that I gained incredible value from was called Breakthrough Rapid Reading by Peter Kump.

Before that book I had never taken the subject of speed reading seriously. Like most people I was a bit skeptical it was even possible to learn speed reading, and if it was I thought it would be too difficult for me to learn.

As it turns out, speed reading was much easier than I expected. In only a matter of a few hours of practice with the drills in the book, I went from reading 180 WPM (slightly below average) to 450 WPM (top 1% fastest in the world). I couldn't believe it!

I've been a slow reader my entire life, but now all of a sudden I was able to read over twice as fast as I did previously. A book that would normally take me 20 hours to read would now take me less than 10. I could now read 4-5 books a month instead of just 1-2.

In addition, what I found was that my comprehension was remaining exactly the same and even improving a little bit! Many people report that when you speed read, you maintain focus easier which helps with comprehension. I was certainly no exception to this.

The reality is, you can achieve the same kind of results that I did. Speed reading is a skill and like any skill, it just takes practice. The more you practice, the better the results you can expect.

How You Can Speed Read

After reading Peter's book, I picked up every other speed reading book and training course I could get my hands on. I was addicted and wanted to know every trick there was so I could take my reading level further.

What I found was calculating my WPM in the books I was reading became very tedious. And the various software I used just didn't cut it.

That's why I decided to take everything I learned about speed reading and build an iPad/iPhone app called RapidReading. I'd highly encourage you to check it out if you want to learn speed reading. There are three drills, each taking less than 10 minutes to complete. With continued practice, you can join me in the top 1%.

If you don't have an iPhone/iPad, try picking up a copy of Kump's book. It teaches you the science behind speed reading, as well as several drills you can do. It's not as fast or easy having to calculate your WPM manually, but it gets the job done.

If you haven't learned speed reading before, it's my hope that this post is the encouragement you need to give it a shot. I consider it one of the greatest skills I've ever learned how to do.

Post in the comments any thoughts or questions you have about speed reading or the RapidReading app. I'd love to discuss! :-)

Ryan Whiteside is the developer of RapidReading available in the iTunes store. You can learn more about speed reading at his website, RapidReadingApp.com .