Speed reading is a top skill that an individual should learn to get ahead of the information era. Knowledge is power and you can gain knowledge through reading, so the more information you can read and understand, the more knowledge you can acquire. You can gain or enhance your speed reading skills through downloadable software or you can study it in the web through a free online speed reading course.
Websites that offer free speed reading lessons also provide guides on how to improve your speed reading skills through the various tips and techniques they offer. Most people can read at an average of 200 to 400 words per minute, even while they are in college where much reading is done. People can still enhance this skill like working out a muscle and can reach reading speeds five times faster or more.
Techniques and Tips used by Free Online Speed Reading Courses
Speed reading coursesprovided free online utilizes certain techniques in helping people develop their speed reading skills. The following are some of these tips and techniques which anyone can utilize and take advantage of in developing their skills.
* Sight Reading
The main technique in free online speed reading is to read by sight and not by mouth. A person can only vocalize an average of 200 words per minute so reading with sub-vocalization can definitely slow down your reading speed. More information can be absorbed at a fastre rate if you are reading by sight.
* Avoiding Regression
Regression refers to the act of going back or back-skipping to previous words that you have already passed through. This is a very wasteful move and slows down your reading speed as well as cause comprehension problems. Going back through words previously read could send confusing signals to your brain causing it to process information more slowly thus resulting in a slower reading speed. Your free online speed reading course can help you overcome this dilemma.
* Eliminating Bad Habits
People have certain habits while reading that cause them to slow down more. This includes motor habits like tapping their fingers, flicking hands or tapping their foot. These people have developed the habit of requiring movement in their bodies in order to read. One bad habit that will surely slow down reading speeds is moving your lips while reading. This is of the same kind to voicing out words and slows you down significantly. As you progress through your free online speed reading course, you will learn how to eliminate these bad habits.
* Controlling Eye Fixations
Some people have difficulty in reading with their eyes smoothly as their eyes tend to fixate word per word. This slows the reader down as he or she needs to stop at every word. Fixations can have an effect on your level of concentration and reduces your grasping power.
* Increase Eye Spans
A wider eye span means more words are taken in at a single look, which starts from a single word up to a whole paragraph. The more words you can look, the faster you can assimilate information from what you are reading.