How to read faster

1. Read only what you like

Your teacher told you to read this book from cover to cover, from first line to last. Don't listen to him. Your friend advised you to read this article from Le Monde, Le Figaro, or Libération in its entirety to get your opinion. Don't listen to him. Your parents told you that to understand a document, you have to read every letter, every word. Don't listen to them. Just read what you like! That's what you're already doing anyway. Maybe you don't realize it, but a very telling example for the internet or social media regular is to become aware of how you process a web page. When you check your Facebook feed, you will realize that you do not read all the posts that are presented to you. You already instinctively ignore the ads and the menus on the sides. You ignore the texts that seem too long to you. At best, you read the first words, and if you feel that it will not be interesting, you zap. That's good. When you look at the results of a Google page, you immediately look for the first and second links. The most experienced will also avoid the advertising links that are at the top of the page. And when you are interested in the link, you will not even read everything! You will catch your eye on one or two words that stand out, often the keywords you are looking for, those that Google has put in bold. If you are still not sure whether it will be beneficial for you to click, you dive into the middle of the description of the site, just below the link. Only if you want even more information, you will read the whole description, otherwise, you will move on to the next link and repeat the same process. A very simple test if you got hooked on this bold word, and you only skimmed the big paragraph above very quickly, it's because you're already doing the work of reading what you like. If you read the entire paragraph above, it's because you wanted to understand what we wanted to say. After all, you know it's important. Or else, you've already skipped over it. Our first piece of advice is therefore simply an encouragement, it is there just to reassure you: do not read everything, and continue to read what you like: this is what will make you productive in your reading.

2. Read only the outline introduction and conclusion

This is where all the message the author wants to convey to you lies. It is in the plan of the work, that is to say, the titles of the chapters, the titles of the parts, and in the introduction and the conclusion that the author makes his transitions, that he articulates his thought. A very simple test: if before reading this sentence you already know what points are going to be covered later, because you have already quickly skimmed the titles, that's great. If you haven't done it yet, you can do it now. This technique will save you a lot of time in understanding an idea, in understanding an article, and in understanding an entire book. If you already know the points the author is going to go through, you have the structure in mind. You have the big picture. Unless you are reading a novel for pleasure, in which case it is always more interesting to follow the story step by step, it is always much more interesting to know everything about the story, to have the general plan in mind, and only then to specify, to go into details, which you can calmly connect to the structure. It's like a puzzle where you already have the frame, it's much easier to fill it in afterward. The important thing is that it remains our rule number 1: read what you like. So if an introduction seems too messy or too long, go faster and ignore it. It is simply a matter of being aware that it is only through the structure of the book, or any document, that you will be able to read it quickly and efficiently. In addition, this will allow you to identify which chapters or parts are the most interesting for you, those that interest you, and those that please you.

3. The 80/20 rule

To summarize briefly, the 80/20 rule is that 20% of the book is 80% of what you need to know from an article/book/journal. Focus on the 20%. This idea goes back to our previous points: focus on the essentials. So the whole job is to quickly identify what the essential points are, where the 20% are that represent 80% of the interest of the book. This is why we advise you to read the titles of chapters or parts first and foremost because they are the ones that concentrate the majority of what you need to remember.

4. Use a timer

A very simple way to get to your true potential reading speed is to set a goal for yourself and check your performance. Believe in yourself, you have this resource within you, you just haven't used it! At least until now, because from now on, you will have your timer next to you when you read. Out of curiosity, you can calculate how long you usually read. It's very simple, just take a book, start the timer, and read about fifty pages. At the end, do the math: how long did it take you to read a page? Calculate how many words there are on any page: how long does it take you on average to read 10 words? By reading 50 pages, you will have a large enough sample to determine your true reading speed. Now, divide your score by 2: that is the time you will give yourself to read the next 50 pages! Do you think it is impossible? Think again, start your timer, and read! You will be surprised by the quality of your results.

5. Your best ally auto-scroll

The most discerning readers and technology enthusiasts will be familiar with this function: auto-scroll. Offered in the latest applications, particularly for smartphones, it simply consists of scrolling the page for you , without you having to do anything. Generally, it is presented as a curtain that falls on the current page and forces you to speed up your reading. Bite off more than you can chew and set yourself a high goal. Each page will turn, scroll, or disappear, depending on your settings, faster than you can read it. It doesn't matter. You will quickly get used to reading like this, much faster. You will spontaneously focus on the most important elements. If you read more traditionally, on books, real ones, and you think that this system is unworkable, think again! You will be your executioner, and we count on you to be merciless. All you need is a wand (a thin pencil or pen will do) and your handsets the pace: scroll faster than you read! Our favorite method is to replace the stick with a rectangle of paper, for example you can use your bookmark (or simply place your stick horizontally on the page). The adva,ntage is that this cardboard covers the entire width of the page, and you only have to scroll vertically. Your reading speed will be increased tenfold thanks to this tutor, because the auto-scroll, or for the more French-speaking among us, let's say the automatic scrolling, will radically and mercilessly force you to follow it, faster, faster, and even faster. At first, it will be difficult, but we won't hide it from you. It will become much easier after about ten minutes, and even: it will be addictive! You will not be able to do without it, so much will you have the impression of wasting time, when nothing forces you to hurry.

Understand what you read

Thanks to the previous steps, you already have all the techniques to force yourself and succeed in reading faster. All that remains is to make sure that you understand what you are reading. You will be happy to know that all the work is already done: from now on, it is only a matter of trusting your brain on two points.

6. Your brain already knows how to organize and arrange

When you read quickly, diagonally, picking out words here and there, you can legitimately ask yourself the question: is it possible to understand a sentence if you don't read the subject, the verb, and the complements in their entirety? The answer is scientific, proven, and re-proven: YES, you will understand even faster! There is a test that you may have already had the opportunity to take, it is one of the letters in disorder. The human being is capable of reading any word even if its letters are in disorder! Astonishing isn't it? And yet true If you managed to decipher this sentence, congratulations! The reason why our brain can understand a word even if its letters are out of order is that it considers sentences in a general way, all the words at once, all the letters at once, and not letter by letter. And here's some good news: it's the same for an entire book, for entire paragraphs, and entire sentences! In this series, you have no articles, no adjectives, no complements of time, place, etc. So, is it impossible to understand what you are reading From a few scattered words, taken here and there, you can already guess that Germany feels concerned by the nuclear problem It's even easier to become one when you've already read 10 chapters on the environmental issue, and you're on the Europe chapter So trust yourself, and be a reading detective: with just a few clues, you will be able to understand everything you read.

7 Read instantly understand and win the competition on your voice

So you will have understood that it is better to read in large groups, rather than letter by letter. Your gaze must focus on a group of words and immediately jump to another group of words. That is what we call reading If you want to go even faster, then you need to make sure that you don't read these groups of words to yourself. OK, this sentence is hard to understand, so let's explain it better. Imagine telling a story to a baby. You read the page word by word, out loud. Now imagine telling the same story to yourself, but this time not out loud, but saying the words in your head, one by one. Imagine how you read these words, with what intonations: stressing certain words rather than others. For example, try what you're reading right now, this article on speed reading. Imagine saying this sentence to someone, emphasizing certain words over others. Well, all this is is reading word by word, almost "out loud" in your mind. You're going to have to get that voice out of your head because it's wasting a lot of your time. Just saying the words, whether it's to someone else, to a baby, or yourself, in your head, is a waste of time. The brain understands much, much faster than you speak! And yes, you can admire your brain, because it is super efficient, and before you even have time to say it, it has already recorded everything So you have to stop yourself from reading and pronouncing word by word what you read. How Well, you're going to laugh: the best way to succeed in capturing the meaning of what you read without even having to pronounce it, to tell yourself: is to read faster So you're already on the way! You read that right, read faster, and the little voice in your mind that was telling you stories will disappear. It will make way for a much more powerful and faster reading: that of instant comprehension So it's a race: read faster than you can say it, and you'll have no problem, you'll go as fast as your brain can, and that's the best we can wish for you.