Can You Really Learn To Read Faster? (Based on Experience)

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Can you really learn to read faster? I wondered while reading an article that included it as a must-learned skill. Bookstores grab my attention like a kid passing through a toy store. And because of that, I have a backlog of books that I can’t catch up on. So I practiced speed reading and here’s what I observed.

It’s possible to learn how to read faster through learning speed reading techniques. However, it does require practice and repetition to be able to read faster without affecting your reading comprehension. Furthermore, I noticed that textbooks are harder to speed read than others.

Ahead, we will look at some research that shows speed reading is possible to learn and vice versa. We will also discuss some of the speed reading strategies that I used, how I practiced them, and other alternatives to speed reading.

Learning To Read Faster

There’s been an ongoing debate about whether or not you can actually learn to read faster and not affect comprehension.

The first group claims you can double or triple your reading speed by learning some speed reading strategies. While the other group points out that it’s actually impossible to read 2-3 times faster without losing comprehension.

By the way, you can actually get the key insights from books by using Blinkist.

It’s an educational platform that summarizes nonfiction books into 15-30 minute reads or audio. It’s one of the best ways I found to learn faster without sacrificing comprehension.

Anyway, Let’s look at some of the arguments of both sides.

“Learning How To Speed Read Is Possible” Argument

A 2014 study aimed to find the effect of speed reading strategies on developing reading comprehension among second secondary literary stream students in the English language.

42 randomly selected students were split into two groups. The first group was the controlled group who hasn’t learned any speed reading strategies. The experimental group (second group) trained in speed reading for one academic year.

Both groups were administered pre and post-reading comprehension tests.

Results show that there was a significant difference between the two groups in favor of the experimental group, the group that learned the speed reading strategies.

The research not only shows that learning to read faster is possible, but it also revealed that it actually improves reading comprehension.

A similar study was conducted on 4th-semester English students in 2018 and revealed the same results.

Jim Kwik, author of my favorite book on learning—Limitless—argues that speed reading works because you’re forced to focus on the texts and not lose attention.

He shares an analogy comparing reading to driving. He says when you drive slow, your attention wanders and you are not focused on the road. You can be doing many things like listening to the radio or drinking green juice and just cruise down the road.

But when you’re driving on a racetrack, your focus is entirely on the road. You’re not thinking about dry cleaning or your hair appointment.

The same holds true for reading. Read slow and your attention wanders, read fast and your mind is focused on reading.

By the way, if you like to listen to Limitless and thousands of other books and podcasts, you can do so for free by subscribing to Audible’s 30-day free trial. You can cancel anytime at no charge.

If you’re not convinced speed reading is possible, check out this interview with Howard Berg, the world’s fastest reader, who read half of a 600-page fraud case book in 5 mins and explained what it was all about.

“Speed Reading Doesn’t Work” Argument

Dr. Mark Seidenberg, author of the book Language At The Speed of Sight, argued that people are less likely to read a thousand words per minute as they are to run faster than the speed of light.

Dr. Seidenberg added that what is claimed by speed reading courses cannot be true without compromising comprehension.

A reading expert who began his studies in the disco era (the 70s), Dr. Seidenberg shares his analogy on why it is humanly impossible to read super fast.

According to him:

• Your eyes read 7-8 letters clearly on each fixation
• You make 4 to 5 fixations per second
• The average word count on each line of text is 5 letters long.
• 4 fixations per second multiplied by 60 seconds is 240 fixations per minute
• 240 fixations multiplied by 7 letters per fixations = 1680 letters per minute
• 1680 letters per minute divided by 6 letters (5 letters + 1 space) = 280 words per minute

The average number of words you can read per minute without sacrificing comprehension is only about 280 words which is far from what speed reading courses claim (400-700wpm).

At best, speed readers are taught how to skim which very little is comprehended, he added.

Livescience.com also shared quotes from several scientists who’ve maintained their skepticism about speed reading.

One of those mentioned, Schotter, claimed that “those who are claiming to help people speed read is usually making money off those claims.”

It seems there are pretty solid arguments from both sides. So the most logical thing to do is to learn from other people’s experiences.

I’ll share with you my personal experience and observations on speed reading. Please do note, however, that I am not in any way a professional speed reader or someone who does this for competitions.

I’m merely a regular reader who took advantage of speed reading to read through my stack of books faster.

My Personal Experience On Speed Reading

I learned speed reading because I had too many books stacked that I haven’t read yet.

Unlike most people who learned speed reading by joining paid courses, I never paid a penny for a course.

I bought the Limitless book from amazon which has a whole chapter on speed reading, followed the strategies, and recorded my own pre and post word per minute count.

I also watched a couple of youtube videos on how to do it and applied it together with the things I learned from the book.

I was able to increase my reading speed from 262 words per minute to 414 words per minute over time which isn’t that impressive but is faster than average.

With regards to reading comprehension, there are some books that I could speed read through pretty confidently and retain most information, and there are also some books that require me to stop, reread and analyze.

For me, speed reading works well on:

• Books with stories (fiction or nonfiction)
• Books that are about things I’m already familiar with (like basic knowledge, self-help, confidence, etc.)
• Books that are written simply, without the use of challenging words

Examples of books that I found very easy to read fast are Limitless, Quiet, Unlimited Power, Talking to Strangers, and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century.

I remember flying through these books and finishing them within a day or two.

In contrast, there are some types of books that I find hard to comprehend when I speed read.

These types of books include:

• Textbooks
• Science-related books (mostly because I don’t understand some terms and I have to pause and think)
• Books with lots of numerical figures (for some reason, I have to stop and analyze texts that have lots of numerical figures in them)
• Fact-based books (books that present lots of data and facts that I have to completely internalize before moving on)

Examples of these books are Beyond Order (for some reason, I find the choice of words in this book hard to comprehend without slowing down), Intelligent Investor, and my Physical Therapy textbooks.

Unlike the former, It took me several weeks to finish these books. Some even took me months.

However, I noticed that I was also extremely bored with the latter. Maybe one of the reasons I cannot speed read was that I wasn’t really interested in them. I was merely pushing myself to read them.

So is it possible to learn to read faster based on my experience? Yes, I was able to learn how to read faster quite effectively. And with consistent practice, I was able to get more comfortable and confident with speed reading.

I’d also point out that overall, I was able to benefit more from reading lots of books quickly than from being thorough in learning all the details of a few books.

Some books only require that you get the idea and the lesson of the books. Those types of books tend to be the best books to speed read.

But for textbooks or manuals used for school or work, I slow down and focus on the details more closely.

Do Reading Speed Increase Naturally?

The good thing is, even without using speed reading strategies, your reading speed increases naturally. By expanding your vocabulary and naturally improving your focus through reading, your reading speed will naturally increase over time.

However, it does have a cap. If we use Dr. Seidenberg’s analogy, we could only read close to 300 wpm without sacrificing our reading comprehension.

Speed Reading Strategies

Now that we’ve discussed whether or not speed reading is possible, let’s discuss the speed reading strategies that I learned from the book Limitless and other sources.

Here’s an outline of the strategies I use

• Get the overall idea of the book first – Before reading the whole book, look at the table of content, find the main arguments in the introduction, and read the conclusion of the book closely. This will give you an idea of what you are to find in that book and know what the entire book is all about.
• Use a pacer – Probably the most effective strategy to me is using a pacer. Use your finger or a pen to point to the words you’re reading so your eyes follow your finger. Gradually increase the pace of your pacer which will also increase your reading speed.
• Stop talking in your head – Don’t voice over what you are reading in your head. Chew a chewing gum or press your tongue to the roof of your mouth to stop yourself from vocalizing what you’re reading.
• Stop rereading – Avoid reading back to read every detail of the book. Unless the detail is extremely important, you probably won’t remember that small detail after the whole book anyway.
• Keep reading – Last but definitely not least, practice. The only way to get comfortable at reading faster is by reading more.

I discussed these strategies in closer detail in another article. Once you’re done reading this, you can read that one for more information.

Alternatives To Speed Reading

If the reason why you want to read faster is to learn more, speed reading is not the only way. In fact, I learn faster and comprehend better through the alternatives I’m about to discuss.

Learn Through Blinkist

Blinkist is an educational platform that summarizes nonfiction books into key insights that you can read or listen to in 15-30 mins.

Since most nonfiction books can be summarized through key insights, Blinkist allows you to get the most out of the books without having to spend countless hours reading them.

With over 5,000 book titles and podcasts, It’s almost a guarantee that you’ll find a book about anything you want to learn. This program conveniently makes learning from 2 books a day possible.

And because Improvement Buddy is an affiliate partner of Blinkist, you can save 20% off your first year with your free trial if you sign up through this link.

Listen To Audiobooks

Audiobooks are a revolutionary way of “reading”.

Imagine being able to read books while doing your laundry, driving your car, gardening, cooking, running, or going to the gym. Audiobooks make reading books more time-efficient, convenient, and fun.

My favorite audiobook platform is Audible simply because they have the largest selection of audiobooks and they have a wonderful app.

They offer a 30-day free trial which you can cancel anytime.

Conclusion

Learning is a part of human growth, and everyone has to strive to learn. One of the best ways to do that is by reading.

Learning how to read faster is possible. And although there has been some skepticism from the scientific community, speed reading is still a useful tool overall because it allows you to take the key ideas out of plenty of books.

There are a number of strategies you can apply to read fast including:

• Getting the overall idea of the book first
• Using a pacer
• Avoiding subvocalization
• Avoiding rereading
• And consistent practice

However, speed reading is not the only way that you can read through books faster. Blinkist and audiobooks are some of the most effective ways.